wire feeding off a bobcat

[gasdrive]

Hello i have a bobcat 225G been stick welding off it for yrs . got a great deal on a wc 115 and a 30a spool gun . okay i have been using it with no real issues. the welding supplier where i bought the bobcat is telling me that these machines don't have good cv qualities for mig processes and says i should get a tralblazer . okay the 302 is bad ass but i don't do alot of mobile work . also i have a mm251 (which I also use the 30a with ) and a dialarc in my shop where it is heated and has a/c . so i don't need the 302 . but truthfully do these bobcats weld good in cv mode or what ?

[FusionKing]

If it is working good for what you need then why worry? He is only trying to sell you something.
If you wanna be able to set your amps remotely, which you cannot do with that set-up anyway, then you need to get a machine with remote capability.
Arc-wise it is good enuff for many folks. If you use it everyday then you may wish to upgrade.
I would choose a stand alone power source instead and run it off of the Bobcat's generator. Like a MM211, a Passport Plus or an XMT/feeder style machine.

[DDA52]

CV wise, the 225G isn't so hot. They run very hot actually. Run a mean spray transfer or FC and DS easily, but short circuit MIG can be a pain. I could never get mine to run short circuit acceptably. I stayed with DS or FC mostly. Running it in CC gave me a tad more adjustment. I sold my 8VS to a guy with a Bobus250, newest version. It ran a great short circuit with the 8VS. Miller at least got that CV ironed out on the later models.

[Desertrider33]

If it is working good for what you need then why worry? He is only trying to sell you something.
If you wanna be able to set your amps remotely, which you cannot do with that set-up anyway, then you need to get a machine with remote capability.
Arc-wise it is good enuff for many folks. If you use it everyday then you may wish to upgrade.
I would choose a stand alone power source instead and run it off of the Bobcat's generator. Like a MM211, a Passport Plus or an XMT/feeder style machine.

I fully second all of that.

[duaneb55]

I'm quite pleased with the performance of my "home made" wire feeder http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=42217 off my 225G Plus even though I've only run .035 ER70S-6 thru it so far with C-25. I've welded with it thru the full voltage and WFS ranges and as I said am very pleased with the combination.

However, I have yet to weld aluminum with the WC-1S/Spoolmatic 1 off the unit and plan on running some test welds in the near future.

[duaneb55]

OK, I didn't want to wait any longer. This post is not meant to be a hi-jack but rather an example of a spoolgun welds off a Bobcat 225G Plus for the OP.

Went out and stole the argon tank off the 180 SD and hooked up the WS-1S/SM-1 to the Bobcat and ran a few "first time for the combo" test welds in aluminum on some scrap 1/4".

Fine Current Control - 10
WFS - 6
Argon - 25CFH
Wire - .035, 4043

Equipment setup. Yes, that's a 14-pin receptacle on a Bobcat.
WS-1S & SM-1 001.jpg

3-pass weld. The light/glare/shadow makes it look like undercut on the lower bead to the right of the dime but it isn't.
WS-1S & SM-1 003.jpg

Another look at the same beads. No doubt needs improvement but bear in mind this was the first go with the WC-1S/SM-1/Bobcat combination.
WS-1S & SM-1 006.jpg

Flipped it over and ran one down along the outside corner. Didn't clean off the paint adjacent to the weld so it pulled in contaminates as a result even though it can't be seen in the photo. Note the cold start at the far right.
WS-1S & SM-1 005.jpg

View of the cross section.
WS-1S & SM-1 008.jpg


Ran very well and now I just need a lot more hood time with it. As for your setup, if you're as happy with its performance as I am with mine, you shouldn't have much reason to change.