Engine Driven Welder/Generators Reduce Fuel Use

These systems provide a smaller and lighter footprint for ease of mobility and more space on work trucks used in general construction, structural steel, maintenance and repair, mobile fabrication, and farm and ranch applications.

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. (Appleton, WI) has introduced the new Trailblazer series of engine-driven welder/generators — the Trailblazer 275 and Trailblazer 325.

Built for general construction, structural steel, maintenance and repair, mobile fabrication, and farm and ranch applications, the new Trailblazer welder/generators offer a number of industry-first technologies designed to reduce fuel use by as much as 35 percent, extend run times by 50 percent, reduce noise by 68 percent, and provide a smaller and lighter footprint for ease of mobility and more space on work trucks.

Two industry-exclusive technologies anchor these new welder/generators: Smart-Cor™ technology and Auto-Speed™ technology.

Smart-Cor technology provides independent weld and generator power, ensuring no interaction between the welding arc and jobsite tools such as grinders and chop saws.

Welder/generators without this capability can cause fluctuations in the welding arc when a load is simultaneously applied to the generator, creating an erratic arc.

Auto-Speed technology automatically adjusts the engine speed to run at lower speeds determined by the load applied to the machine.

Whereas other comparable welder/generators operate at 3,600 rpm at all times, the new Trailblazer series varies its output based on demand.

For instance, welding with a 1/8 in Stick electrode can be accomplished at idle speeds of 2,400 rpm. This significantly lowers fuel use and cost, and helps reduce noise in the work area rather than having a machine constantly running at full speed.

“We designed these machines to be the most fuel efficient gas engine-driven welder/generators produced in this size class without sacrificing any power and performance,” said Chris Wierschke, a product manager for Miller.

“These advances, along with design changes to the way the machine is built, allow for extremely quiet operation and a noticeably smaller and lighter layout,” he continued. “We’ve also built a number of recommended optional technologies into the Trailblazers that make these machines extremely fuel efficient while driving down total operating costs over time.”

EXCEL POWER, EFI ADD TO FUEL EFFICIENCY
In addition to Auto-Speed technology, there are two recommended options on both the Trailblazer 275 and 325 that significantly improve fuel efficiency: Excel™ power and Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI). Excel power is a new and exclusive technology that allows users to run most jobsite tools at idle speed (2,400 rpm) — saving fuel and reducing noise.