$125 333a/bp

[stickermigtigger]

330 not 333

I've wanted one of these for a long time. Every time I've seen one for sale the seller wanted to much, they were half way across the country or they looked like they'd been outside for a few years. This one popped up on FB Marketplace and the first buyer didn't show so it's now in my shop. :-)

The owner died and the new property owner claimed to know nothing about it and just needed the garage space. Pretty sure I can get $125 for it as scrap copper or parts so I drove 11 miles and grabbed it no questions asked. The Sioux water cooler and the foot pedal are probably worth $125.

Now on to read all the forum threads on troubleshooting/testing these old machines. Only thing I know right now is there were four fuses laying on top; three old ones (blown) and one fairly recent looking one (un-blown).

Fun times ahead!

[aametalmaster]

Nice

[Bushytails]

Excellent deal for a clean machine with pedal and cooler.

[MAC702]

Not keeping us updated regularly will result in immediate [email protected]

[stickermigtigger]

1st Update.
- Interior is near clean enough to eat off of. Some of the wiring looks like new (it's not, just observation)
- I pulled all the TIG stuff off and disconnected the water cooler
- Set the blade switch to metallic (TIG function test will come later)
- Did a thorough flashlight and eyeball inspection
- S/N # JG130804 - Stock # 901043
- Miller manual page ascribes the 1985 manual to the s/n
- I installed a power cable male end
- Plugged it in and checked voltage on the mains
- Cut power and installed the good fuse
- Returned power and checked good voltage at both ends of fuse
- Hit the unit's front panel power switch, fan came on, sounds great
- Ordered a set of stick leads, SMAW test will happen when they arrive.

Love to hear any tips and tricks anyone who has experience with these machines has to offer.

[stickermigtigger]

Can anyone comment on the taped in/over portion of the wiring diagram. See photo.

[stickermigtigger]

What should I derive from the "Power Factor Corrected" line on the unit label?

[stickermigtigger]

What should I derive from the "Power Factor Corrected" line on the unit label?

"Power factor correction in welders uses a capacitor bank to balance the inductive load of the transformer."

So, just a feature.

[jjohn76]

Great find! That is a clean machine!!! Being that clean, I am not sure it'll run right... The label says you have a 575V tap on yours (be sure you have the tap jumpers right), and the power factor will be an issue if you're running a 50A or less breaker (you said plugged in above, so I am assuming you have a 50 amp plus on it - I have seen one melt when a guy had it on a 100A breaker, haven't met anyone one else brave enough to do it).

The capacitors are in there to balance the impedance of the big transformer/inductor you have in the machine at higher loads. If you put an AC clamp on one of the input leads to your machine, it'll read ~50A+ current at idle, drop down to about 40A as you increase output amperage, then climb back up to about 100A (maybe more, can't remember) as you keep increasing amperage. So if you let it idle on a 50A breaker long enough, it'll overload the breaker. You can get around this by disconnecting one of the PFC capacitors. I have on experimented on Lincolns (3 capacitors on PFC), but kept one connected on a 30A circuit and 2 on a 50A circuit without issue. You will be limited on the higher output, especially with AC Tig, but it gives you some more room than without the PFC. Just measure idle with a clamp to ensure you are drawing below your breaker rated amperage. You can also just ignore all above and turn your machine off when not welding.

[ryanjones2150]

Great machine. About 11 years newer than mine, so I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the selenium rectifiers, you probably already have diode bridges.

If that foot pedal works at all it’s worth more than you paid for the whole machine.

On the screw in fuse.....it’s not the same as an old house wiring “slow blow” fuse. You need the right fuse. It should be yellow. If it’s a house hold fuse, let me know and I’ll send you a picture of what the right fuse should be. If you can’t find one, I have some spares and I’ll send you one.

Good find. As an added bonus, during a Hurricane or tornado, just tie yourself to the side of the machine and you won’t find yourself blown off to Oz.

[stickermigtigger]

On the screw in fuse.....it’s not the same as an old house wiring “slow blow” fuse. You need the right fuse. It should be yellow. If it’s a house hold fuse, let me know and I’ll send you a picture of what the right fuse should be. If you can’t find one, I have some spares and I’ll send you one.

Are you talking about the fuse for the 110 outlet? The round screw in we used to have in house panel boards? The fuse I'm referring to is the long one inside the back cover. It's a 6amp and about 6 inches long.

[stickermigtigger]

"tap jumpers right"
"50A or less breaker".

Awesome; have to check out "tap jumpers" Just got the manual so some "put me to sleep" reading ahead.

Yes, plugged it in to a 50amp circuit just to turn it on and I'll probably leave it there just to test out a 3/32 7018 or 6010 to make sure it will weld. If it passes that test I'll run a much larger dedicated circuit for it and upsize cable and sockets to match. Plenty of room in the shop panel boards.

Your last point is pretty advanced for me. I'll have to ponder that one a while. LOL

Thanks for the assist!

[stickermigtigger]

I found a little problem with the polarity lever. At first it wouldn't move at all off Reverse. It finally moved to A/C with a little encouragement but not to Straight. The previous owner had it setup for TIG only and for many years probably and I think I may have some oxidation in the jaws. Hopefully I can find a way to get back in there and clean it up to make it move normally instead of having to force it and may breaking something.

[ryanjones2150]

Yes, the screw in fuse.

[stickermigtigger]

I checked the input jumpers and found pic 1 and change them to pic 2. I have no clue why they would have been configured as in pic 1. Could the previous owner even have TIG welded with the jumpers as in pic 1? Possible there is a legitimate reason for pic 1? Manual wiring pic included.