STATIONARY POWER
Miller Adds To Big Blue Welder Line Miller Electric Mfg. Co., Ap- pleton, Wis., has added a new unit to the heart of its line of engine-driven welder-genera- tors. The Big Blue 300 Pro is a fully enclosed diesel engine-driven welder/ ac generator designed for construc- tion and pipe contactors, MRO spe- cialists and fabricators. “With the Big Blue 300 Pro, Miller brings the Big Blue reputation for quality and reliability to a 300 Amp machine that provides the arc quality desired by the most demanding weld- ers,” said Joe Gitter, product manager at Miller Electric. The Big Blue 300 Pro is available with diesel engines from Caterpillar and Deutz. The Cat engine is the liquid- cooled, three-cylinder C1.5 diesel rated 21. 7 hp at 1800 rpm. The 300 Pro D is powered by a liquid-cooled four-cylinder Deutz D2008 L04 engine rated 24.3 hp at 1800 rpm. According to Miller, the increased horsepower of the Pro 300 D allows for welding at higher elevations. The ac generators used in the Big Blue 300 Pro welders are rated 10 kW continuous/12 kW peak at 20 to 410 Amps and have been produced by Miller for over 50 years at its Appleton headquarters. They include weld and power windings that deliver 120 or 240 V, single-phase output. Along with welding, the units can be used as generators to power lights, grinders and other tools on the job site, as well as for backup power at homes and powering travel-trailers and portable office trailers on-site, said Miller. The Big Blue 300 Pro is designed for stick, lift-arc TIG, flux cored and MIG welding. The ac output is con-
24 DIESEL PROGRESS NORTH AMERICAN EDITION April 2010
The Miller Big Blue 300 Pro welder-generator is available with two diesel engine options, a 21. 7 hp Caterpillar C1.5 or a Deutz D2008 L04 engine rated 24.3 hp.
verted to dc, which is then controlled to produce a smooth and controlled arc. This conversion allows greater productivity and efficiency by reduc- ing the size and weight of the ma- chine, which in turn reduces the fuel and horsepower required to drive it, Miller said. As the engine and generator are fully enclosed, cooling is a priority. The Big Blue 300 Pro uses direct- drive, belt-driven fans to both cool the engine and pull air through the case to cool the welding components. The fans are supplied with the engine and measure approximately 15 in. in di- ameter. The fans are teamed with JB Radiator Specialties 875 sq.in. alu- minum radiators. Sound attenuation was also a de- sign goal, and Miller said it worked closely with Custom Marine, Neenah, Wis., to meet sound and backpressure requirements. The muffler is mounted inside the lower portion of the welder’s base and, as a result, the welders are rated 71 (with the C1.5 engine) and 73 (with the D2008 L04 engine) dB(A) at 23 ft., respectively, Miller said. The Big Blue 300 Pro uses elec- tronics to control the output of the rec- tifier, which are enclosed into a her- metically sealed PC board that Miller branded the Vault. According to the company, the Vault has two main functions. One is to create a seal that is impenetrable to dust, dirt and mois- ture. The other is to act as a heat-sink to keep the thermal cycling on the board’s components low, adding to the machine’s extended life. Additional features of the Big Blue 300 Pro welders include low fuel shut- down and a backlit LCD display for monitoring of fuel, engine hours and hours to oil change gauge. The dimensions for the new Big Blue 300 Pro welders are 32 in. high x 26. 25 in. wide x 56 in. deep. Dry weight for the Caterpillar-powered machine is 1100 lb., while the Deutz- powered unit is 1208 lb. dp
