Looking at the details of this Clint R’s engine adaptation video (that will not directly link up!) and Ernies pictures I can see, and think back, on my own previous Miller welder-generator; you have to reverse your outlook.
On most personal sized direct driven engine electric generators distinctly the generator head mounts onto the engine. The engine as the mounted core of the system.
These bigger capacity welder generators this is reversed. The generator-welder part of it is big heavy cast iron, with an engine mounting bell housing. All of that four points mounted. The engine is hung off of that essentially.
I’d never thought once of repowering a Miller.
I selected; then dug down deep to buy mine new for that modern EFI engine.
Passed up for much less on two different used older 1800 RPM Miller generator-welders. Not wanting their old hard to get parts for low compression flat head engines.
Wow was I ever stupid. Adapt over to a modern.
Don’t any of you all be Steve-stupid too.
The old 1800 RPM units are gold.
Steve Unruh
the older lincoln’s were decent welders, but some of the smaller models had some quirks. Buddy has one that the governor inside the motor crapped out and when high idle switch kicked on it would sing out to about 4600 rpm and started a death shake. We tore it down and found the problem but could not source parts to fix it, so we pulled the motor and found a elongated taper shaft hookup to the gen head/ welder. Very odd setup with a older briggs motor and could not source a replacement engine with the correct crank shaft. I have the sister machine to it sitting in the back of the shop a few years newer and it uses a kohler engine with an oil pump and filter, much better setup in my opinion, even they I prefer honda small engines I have ran a great many kohlers and they work great until they don’t. Usually catastrophic failure of rod knock is what I see kill the kohlers but they run like a gut shot bear up until that point. I have seen that same failure on briggs motors as well but I have never actually killed a honda engine, just wore it out till it smoked so bad it was unusable or loss so much compression it became an ether baby. That being said that is only my experience with these small engine generators and welders, I’m sure others can tell a different story of there experience
The kohler motor I used doesn’t have a tapered crank, I welded a hub for a pulley to the flexplate and the bellhousing fit but upside down. I had to setup my own governor, at correct rpm the voltage will read 120 volts.
Yes Ernie the same straight motor shaft to a taper hub fix that that Clint R. said he did. Clever guys you are. “Make-Do, or do without.” Attitude approach matters.
Hey TomH on your E-bay link is listed a Miller Trailblazer 301G pretty much like mine was. 3390 use hours on the meter. Impressive if it was the original Kohler engine. Asking was $2,500 USD. Pictures there show the engine actually hanging off the end of the unit as I said.
On a Repowerspecialist site they list Honda V-Twin engine re-fit kits for your’s and other welder-generator models.
Did not want you browning your pants at the price of those. Pictures do show the shaft adapter coupler though if you’d want to peek.
S.U.
Tom, I have that exact welder, bought it in the 1980’s. Mine has the 16hp cast iron Tecumseh single cyl. still runs. Used it on lots of construction jobs. One of the smoothest running welders I ever used, with 7018 rods.
Hi Al.
Mine is a 1986. Hard for me to believe but I still have the manual for it. Same engine. They don’t make them anymore. I have seen on other forums that you can’t get parts for that engine, but everything is still available for the welder portion. I always thought Tecumseh’s were supposed to be crap engines. I’m surprise Miller used them but I guess the XL designation made it better.
That Trailblazer is a really nice welder SteveU. I’ve run them before. They don’t go for $2500 any more. I can’t believe the price for some of those welders now.
Before I bought my Miller Trailblazer new I looked at three different of these older Millers, used.
These were at an older equipment rental company going out of business.
Ha! I could have gotten all three for less than the price of the new Miller. Had two depth back up then. Been my own spare parts supplier.
Just saying guys. Don’t overthink this stuff. These dual cylinder Onans have been wood gassed successfully.
And as Ernie I. and Al F. have said; you can always just engine re-power it.
S.U.
Burned two gallons of reclaimed fuel today. I don’t know what it was. Smelled like pinesol. I used the power to run a pump all day. I am working on emptying 400 gallons of used motor oil in barrels.
This is the oil burner from Gerry’s DIY. I am putting it in the propane tank behind the burner.
We didn’t get any sun today, and I burned trash in the stove. Do Amazon boxes count as homemade fuel?
Yep. Yep.
Corrugated cardboard burns great.
I inside woodstove most of the year. Burning for useable heat all of the household paper based generated packaging, wrapping and shipping papers. Most junk mail too.
S.U.
bad gas. After it sits around for a while, it smells like that. Then it adds like a coat of shellac to your carb. In part because the volatiles evaporated off, and the heavy stuff settled, but there might be some oxygenation that goes on as well. You are best to use it like you are. cleaning carbs isn’t nearly as fun.
When we still got the weekly and daily newspapers here, grandma stacked them up. She had a log roller for them that we used in the fireplace. Pretty neat thing.
And on your household generated DIY potential fuels are engine oil changes and other automotive fluids changes.
I am a dedicated get-the-contaminated-loaded-fluids OUT guy.
Households; I generate at least 1, to 1 1/5 gallons a month of engine oils, transmission fluids and gear lubes, power steering fluids.
I still do have a Chinese 7.5 hp “Changfa” pattern single cylinder water cooled diesel engine.
Theses have been directly fueled with de-watered and filtered used motor oils.
Still . . . no easy parts anymore for these imported so why take the risk. Set up for the needed maintenances. A much simpler forced air oil burner for the shop supplemental makes more sense. No de-watering. No filtering just forced air burn.
Vehicle repair shops in the State of Washington are allowed to heat with their own gnerated used oils from service and repair changes in certified systems as more environmentally safe than storing, later pumping into trucks, then hauling to somewhere else central for burning or re-refining.
Useful DIY energy in my viewpoint too BruceJ.
S.U.
Aliexpress can help you get parts for your Duetz pattern chinese made diesel engine.
parts are standard and easy to get
At the end of the world when the roaches are in charge you will be able to get 7.62mm soviet bullets, Twinkies, Injectors for A duetz Changfa Andoria… what ever you want to call it, glass bottles and gasoline ( for the final revolution you know ) and pistons for small block Hondas…
parts are only hard to get if you are unwilling to deal with a company in China
Be ware of Chinese electronics:
Engines and conventional generators they tend to stick pretty close to standard parts.
But add some electronics and they make that out of what ever they can source
Chongqing Ampride Power & Machinery Co., Ltd.
Did anyone see a crank grinding machine, or drill press or any machine tools of any kinds?
Chongqing Ampride Power & Machinery Co., Ltd. assembles engines from parts sourced from whomever had what they needed.
Be aware they are not a manufacture like Lifan.
I had 40 gallons of gas stored from last November. I know before you guys pile on, that I should keep it in rotation. I’m trying to get everything ready for the seasons changes. Log splitter, snow blower, generators. Stored gas had Stabil in it. Still wouldn’t work in the small engines. Car and truck have not problems with it. I don’t really understand what happens to gas when it is stored in closed lid containers. No air gets in. Chainsaws and weed wackers will only run on fuel that is less than three or four months old even with the Stabil and this is non-ethanol.
Tom it should be fine.
In the future every month draw off 3 or 4 gallons of gasoline from your drum and and refill with fresh clean fuel.
You will never have a problem
See this little drum it holds about 20 USG ( not sure on the conversions ).
I made a special bung with a vent and fuel pick up I can screw in and feed a direct line to a generator.
Also these little drums are not all that heavy.
I can by myself pick up one that’s full and load it in the trunk of my car.
Its easy as hell to handle small drums avoid 45 gallon drums you will blow out your back.
If I get scared there might be a storm or something I can fill up one of 4 - 6 gallon cans I keep just incase.
These are heavy and I don;t like to pour them so I also keep a few 2 1/2 imperial gallon cans ( thats ??? 3 USG ??? ).
These are easy to handle.
I keep one in the trunk and when I see gas is cheap I fill it up with Premium ( up here that’s ethanol free ) and draw off the same from my drum to always have plenty of fresh gas.
The gas I draw off is perfectly good for anything around the house like a mower or even car.
Its fine to sit for a year since it already relatively fresh anyways and full or preservatives if I leave it in something over the season
I had to pull these images from the internet for some reason I cant get them to upload from my PC
A plastic gas can should be considered for term use.
A certain amount of oxygen and water can somehow get into the gas.
Does not matter how hard you try to seal them.
Steel cans seem to work better at keeping gas fresh if sealer properly with a good tight bung
This might be an option too.
OMC tanks like this hold 6 USG and have a good seal.
You can fit a hose too them and they only vent when that hose is attached.
OK the phone works…
Man its getting crowded in here I need to sell some stuff
All gas cans in the states have to have a vent to prevent pressure build up like when you put it in the sun. When it cools down and contracts air gets in. The OMC tanks are either an expception or they added a vent that releases at a certain pressure.
That being said most if not all gas already has some water in it.
