Minnesota Hillbilly Welder

Here's how we weld cast manifolds here in the woods. 99 percent nickel 3/32" 75 amp positive stinger. I really believe OEM manifolds are worth the extra effort to repair....over aftermarket, low nickel, economy castings.

Photos.
Believe me, this smart phone doesn't recognize which way is UP!

Finished job with paint.

Reason I posted this is that the thread "checklist" below, reminded me how many operator/owners don't know to properly REMOVE the plugs.

timguy said:

Reason I posted this is that the thread "checklist" below, reminded me how many operator/owners don't know to properly REMOVE the plugs.

Click to expand...

And when/if we do properly remove the drain plugs and probe the drain ports, there would be no need for any welding!

Yee-hah!

Jeff (redneck)

You're in fresh water, so it doesn't really matter. If you run in salty, then the manifolds will see corrosion faster so higher nickel content is better. If you wanna weld cz it makes you feel better, knock yourself out. Metallurgically there's no compelling reason.

Yup, your probably right. Guess I just like to weld. However, I did save the guy a bunch of money. The aftermarket manifold vendors strongly suggest you get a new riser too....so it will match up properly??? Or are they just trying you for a fool?

Did ya pressure test it to see if cracked internally?

No, Pappy, should have, but ran out of time. The customer had tried patching it up with epoxy and actually ran it awhile with water leaking out. With what he described and what I observed looking inside and blowing air around.....I felt a fairly safe bet. First time out next spring, I have set up to go for a ride with him. It's his first IO, older Aluminum Lund....kind of untypical as IO's I've seen around here. He wants me to set some things and help decide what to do with trolling. To effectively fish trout and salmon here in Lake Superior you have to maintain a constant speed of 1.8 to 2.4 mph. Not sure how that little 120 will perform with that light boat. He might be in the market for a trolling motor. I recommended a 15 LS 2 stroke because of its lightweight and I just happen to have a few. His game is to troll for hours and hours, day after day....here on huge L. Superior. Not a bad idea to have a second method of propulsion, eh? Thanks, Pappy.