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After having installed my on-board air system, dual batteries, and other various components over the past few years, I am often asked, “Do you think you have enough “stuff” under your hood”?  Evidently not!  I’ve wanted an on-board welder for quite some time.  I had two recent opportunities to use a welder in the field, but didn’t have one available.  Therefore, I had “no choice” but to make room for this latest addition to my Jeep.  This is one of those products that I didn’t bother doing any research on.  Based on their reputation, and recommendations from several members of my Jeep Club, I went directly to Premier Power Welder (of Carbondale, CO) and ordered the applicable unit for my vehicle (which consists primarily of a high output alternator, welder control box, and remote throttle control).  I also purchased a set of 25-foot welding leads, dust cover, spare regulator kit, and instructional DVD.

Installation of the welder is pretty straight forward.  You swap out your factory alternator with the Premier alternator, mount the welder control box, connect all of the wires, and install the remote throttle control.  I knew from the start that my biggest challenge was going to be where to mount the control box.  It’s not that big (at approximately 4" x 4" x 9"), but neither is the space I have available under my hood.  You know, with all that other “stuff” I have under there!  I could have mounted it in a couple of locations inside the tub, but I didn’t want to give up the interior space, and I didn’t want to have to extend the Premier wiring harness.  Instead, I was able to “rearrange” a few things under the hood in order to clear some space on my driver’s side fender well, just behind the windshield washer reservoir.

With that challenge out of the way, the next think I had to do was to dig my way down to the alternator, which required removal of the York compressor and some of the on-board air plumbing.  Since I was already this far into the engine, I temporarily removed my air tank and unbolted the A/C compressor, which gave me a clear shot to replace the spark plugs.  The welder comes with a new alternator pulley, which is smaller in diameter than the factory pulley.  This allows the alternator to spin faster, thus producing more power at a lower engine RPM than with the factory pulley.  Since I have a York compressor, however, I couldn’t use the pulley that came with the welder.  Instead, I used the Kilby pulley that came with my on-board air kit.  This pulley is the same diameter as the one that comes with the welder kit, so it produces the same increased output, but it also included the outer “V” groove to drive the York.  The Premier alternator bolted right in to the factory mounts.  And all of the wires on the Premier wiring harness were clearly marked, so the electrical connections were a snap.  I simply routed the wiring harness across the top of the engine bay (in front of my air tank), and zip-tied it to the two fore/aft support rods, nothing fancy.

During reassembly of all the previously-removed components, I installed a new serpentine belt and new v-belt on the engine and air compressor, respectively. 

The last step was to install the remote throttle control.  I obviously wanted it close to the welder control box, so I found just enough space to mount it in front of the windshield washer reservoir.  I made a bracket that attached to the fender well using the same holes as the factory horn mounting brackets, to which I then attached the throttle control bracket that came with the kit.  The throttle control cable lazily curves around the engine bay and back to the factory throttle linkage.  I connected the end of the cable to the throttle linkage using parts supplied with the welder kit, secured the cable housing to minimize flex, and tested it for smooth operation.  Perfect!

Now that I have more “stuff” under the hood, I have to carry more “stuff” in the Jeep!  I found a soft bag that would fit in one of my rear storage compartments, and loaded it up with some welding rods and a rod container, gloves, hammer, angle grinder, and an extension cord.  There’s just enough room left in the storage compartment for the two welding leads and the helmet.

I’m really looking forward to enhancing my welding skills with the Premier Power Welder.  And with its additional capabilities to run a variety of electrical equipment and charge batteries, I know that it will be a very useful addition to my Jeep, both on and off the trail.  Here’s an updated picture of my engine bay. 

 

 

Damn, there’s a lot of “stuff” under there!

 

For more information about the Premier Power Welder, visit their web site at www.premierpowerwelder.com.

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