By Kimberley Gilles, associate editor

The welder installed and ready for work.

Zena Inc.'s compact, under-the-hood welding machine and cables.

Part of Scott Farrow's job is to repair his company's 13 concrete mixers, two dump trucks, and a variety of tractors and trailers when they break down in the field.

Farrow is one of the owners of Pioneer Concrete & Fuel Pumping Inc. of Helena, Mont., and he says towing a broken-down concrete mixing truck back to the service garage is not always an option, especially when the mixing truck is still filled with concrete.

Farrow's bag of repair tricks occasionally involves welding, for which he keeps handy a 650-amp, portable welding machine on the back of his service truck. However, the machine takes up 2 ft. by 2 ft. by 3 ft. of space that otherwise could be occupied by equipment and supplies used more frequently than the welding machine.

So, he evaluated other types of portable welding machines and found a 200 amp, DC stick welding machine made by Zena Inc. (www.zena.net) that suited his needs.

Farrow chose the machine because it fits under the hood of his service truck, and because it did not require replacement of the truck's standard alternator. Other manufacturers offer similar under-the-hood configurations, but those welding machines require replacing the vehicle's standard alternator with a combined welder-alternator unit.

"I like the idea of leaving the engine alone," Farrow says.

He said he also likes the electronic control system for the Zena welding machine. The controls are built into the electrode holder — the stinger. He says the remote controls eliminate trips back and forth between the service truck and the work site to adjust the equipment. In addition, welding power is not supplied to the electrode holder until the operator presses and holds a push-button safety control.

Farrow adds that the way the machine welds also is important.

"I've welded anything from as thin as ¹/8 in. up to ³/8-in. thick in one pass," he says. "Our trucks tend to get concrete build-up on them. So often times, we are welding dirty metal, and the Zena welder will burn through a fine coat of concrete," Farrow says.