Comments by "Comm0ut" (@Comm0ut) on "Making mistakes with Greg" channel.

  1. M113 FOV hulls are aluminum alloy, mostly 5083. The alloy armor was tested and found more effective for the weight used than steel. APCs were a fundamentally bad idea since their light armor made them dangerous while their cross-country mobility coerces their use in AFV roles.
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  2. It would be interesting to see some WPS for military vehicles of that era and learn what welding rods were used.
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  3. Many Dialarcs (and Lincoln Idealarcs) remain in commercial/industrial use. Most reasons for going inverter involve mobility not cost. BTW Dialarc, Idealarc and even monsters like my 340 AB/P will run off a 50A source but not maxed out. The old machines cost less used than a replacement inverter board. Used machines are cheap enough to have both. Also worth noting if you already have a stout RPC (rotary phase converter) they will run transformer machines. (Shop Floor Talk fora have some useful threads). I have an RPC to run three phase machine tools and air compressors. In your manual (Miller and Lincoln have them for free download so get one for everything) info on breaker size etc for various three phase connections shows why that's worth considering. When I built my shop I had a new service placed on a pole with a breaker panel so powering large machinery is NBD (and getting power before shop makes building the shop much easier and more convenient). If you want to run big rods or weld aluminum at high amps appropriate transformer machines are worth having. My old Miller will output 500 amps and the arc is delightful. It was 250 bucks because the seller saw a "three phase" sticker on a box mounted to it. I knew I could run it single phase because I download manuals BEFORE buying. It's the size of a fridge and weighs about 1300 lbs but those downsides only matter when moving it. Tip: A Tommy Gate can be "assisted" by a couple of ag jacks when (not grossly) overloaded for the popoff valve. It's easy to accumulate used industrial welders with some looking. I have lighter machines too because covering all bases pays off.
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  4. They are popular for arc gouging which some businesses buy them for because gouging is hard on modern inverter machines whose replacement boards often cost more than a used motor-generator welder. Manuals are fairly easy to find. Motor-generator welders were a way to get high DC amps before modern solid state rectifiers and (when DC aircraft generators from WWII engines were very common surplus and dirt cheap) a popular homebuilt welder construction method. Since the motor end is normally three-phase they will run off a rotary phase converter of suitable size (which you can also make then enjoy three-phase tools and equipment without paying business rates or where you cannot get three-phase at the pole). Some owners convert them to gas engine drive which makes for a rather long trailer but at the right price why not? Others harvest the generator end and make PTO drive conversions for their tractors etc. Lincoln sold towed PTO driven welder heads similar to their SA series which are interesting in their own right. Look up Lincoln Tractapac.
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  5. What country are you in and who supplies cylinders with integral regulators?
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