Powcnon 200sm cyclomatic help please

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Is there any one out there familiar with this machine? I bought one off kijiji last night and am not sure whats going on with it. I did something I shouldn't have, I bought a welder with out testing it first because he didn't have 240V power. I know I'm going to get flamed hard for this but in my deffence it was priced ok and I talked him down to what I thought was a price worth the risk.I got it set up to day and switched it to SMAW since thats primarily what I bought it for and the feeder and whip need to be cleaned up before I can try them. Anyways I set it up turn it on and am happy to here it turn on until i start to burn a rod. As soon as I start to burn the rod the machine makes a kinda squeal sound that changes with the arc the sound changes if I draw a longer arc and goes back to the original sound when I shorten the arc back. Whats going on and how bad is it?I opened the case to look in side but made sure not to touch anything just look I've heard you can get a nasty shock touching the wrong thing in an inverter if you don't know what your doing and well lets face it I don't  The fan is the only moving part that I could see so what could be making that sound? Other than the noise it seems to weld fine. The noise doesn't bother me I just don't what to wreck it before I've gotten some use out of it. I realize it's old and don't expect it to last for ever but would like a year or two out of it before it's toast.Now the tuff Question did I buy a dud or can I fix this problem? Or is this even something to worry about? I know that last question was just a really hopeful oneLast edited by Mega Arc 5040DD; 04-01-2011 at 10:27 PM.Reason: Spelling
Reply:LOL, Mega!The old school inverters pulsed the transformer at 16khz (squeelers). It's normal.What you won't find normal is the rings of fire (sometimes 2 or three) that appear to dance around the electrode when welding. But you'll get used to it.Oh, when you break the arc do it like you mean it or you'll trail all over your work.Loved those machines.Matt
Reply:Wow I have searched the net and this forum for the last 2 hour and only 5 min before reading your very releiving post did I find any mention of the squeeling. And I only read one sentence in an old post where someone mentioned they squeel Thats awsome that its normal I was starting to worry My wife was very understanding about me buying a forth welder or at least she was when I told her I would sell one to a buddy. I didn't want to have to tell her I wasn't selling one because I need 3 working ones and number 4 was a dud  Four welders and I still don't have a tig guess I need to keep an eye out for number five.Now that I know its not a dud did I actually get a good deal? I got the welder, Feeder, cart, and regulator for $460 CDN. It was supposed to be $450 but the stupid bank machine only gives out 20's so I gave him an extra $10 since he was nice enough to hold it for 2 days until I got paid.I would like to clean the inside of the machine since I saw it was quite dirty but am a little scared to open it again. I have this tendency to find ways to shock myself Is there a safe procedure I can follow to clean it all out?
Reply:Cleaning an inverter that age would be above my pay grade. I would imagine that dry air would be OK but I'd limit to 20-30psi.As for a good deal? Those were expensive machines in the day, and as for the feeder, they had two types. One was a finicky thing that had two canted rolls that spun around the wire to feed and straighten at the same time. It was pretty nifty on the 2-3 days out of 365 when they were set just right. The other looked like a normal mig feeder and worked OK.Even the stick only Powcons were very good scatch start TIG machines and will flow sluggish materials like inconel and stellites like water.Have fun with it, I have a 1988 Kemppi that squeals too.Matt
Reply:Cleaning them isn't bad, but you MUST discharge the capacitors first. If you don't know how, let someone qualified do it.One shop shop I was at had 4 Powcons go through a flood back in '04. All were opened, discharged, cleaned with a pressure washer and electrical cleaner, blown dry with compressed air, then allowed to dry for several more days before reassembly and hook up. All of them continue to perform flawlessly today.I love that squeal, let's you know it's a Powcon. Other inverters will do it too,but in my experience the Powcon squeal is pretty unique. GMAW spray and GTAW sound similar.Brian LeonardAppalachian Ironworks L.L.C.434 Long Branch Rd, Marshall, NC 28753828 649 9966828 702 [email protected]