EDMONTON — Raymond Phillips doesn’t just wander around the Farm and Ranch show picking up pamphlets.
The northern Alberta farmer stops at each booth, listens to the discussion and seeks out new products.
“I consider farm shows as a seminar,” said Phillips, who farms near Beauvallon.
“Farm shows are my education.”
Phillips suspected he might have found a tool he can use when he stopped at the Multiples welding booth in the new products section of the show.
The welding tool uses distilled water, alcohol and household current for welding, cutting, soldering and brazing.
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Multiplaz salesperson Jim Bondy of Onoway, Alta., started importing the Russian-invented machines to Canada last year when he went looking for a welder.
He was so impressed with the combination welder and cutting machine that he secured the rights to sell it in Canada.
The fuel for the cutting tool is a syringe of water squeezed in the top of a hand piece that looks like a drill.
The combination of water and electricity creates hydrogen to produce a jet of heat 14,000 degrees.
The tool can cut 3/8 plate steel when plugged into a 110 power outlet and 5/8 plate steel when using 220 power.
Water and isopropyl alcohol are combined to create a welder that can be used outdoors to weld cast iron, aluminum, all alloy steel including stainless steel, plus copper, brass and bronze.
“With a 4,000 watt generator, you can hang around your favorite fishing hole and weld an aluminum boat,” said Bondy. “It allows you to weld in the field.”
The complete kit offered by Bondy at the show, which is slightly bigger than a lunchbox, replaces plasma cutters, acetylene and mig and tig welders and doesn’t involve gases or tank rentals.
Phillips said he was looking at buying a plasma cutter, but thinks at $2,100, this might be a better tool to cut and weld difficult metals.
“If this can do it all at a low cost, yes I am interested. Aluminum is very hard to do. This is portable. I have a portable generator and I could go anywhere with it.”
The Edmonton Farm and Ranch Show was held March 29-31.
