Miller Dialarcs

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Hey allJust curious is it common for miller dialarcs after years of use to not hold their amperage proper ?  We have 5 or 6 at work and they all vary in the amperage range.  By this I mean when you light up your heat is great but without changing anything the machines tend to get hotter by themselves.  You cant run a root pass with these machines because of it.The machines have been checked out and they say they're working fine, but every welder at the shop agrees the machines get hot.Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:First I've heard of this?What rod(s) you guys running with them?Never seen this with my Idealarc 250.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:First thing that would pop into my head with electrical/electronics getting hot would be poor connections, especially on older machines. Cheap and easy fix if you can find em.
Reply:Line voltage can change over time according to what is happening in the surrounding area.  Some interior shops will notice a drop in voltage of input power in the early morning when local packing plants start up their lines.  Once everything is up and running the situation settles down.
Reply:Snuffy the machine gets hot as in the amperage changes.Like the other day for example I was running a practice root for a pressure test I have to take, went up one side of the pipe nice,  started on the other side and the machine was crazy hot.  The guys in the shop told me not too bother with the older dialarcs for anything where I need to control my heat and to use the new syncrowave 250.More curious as to why a machine would do this,  the owners really don't want to spend any money replacing these machines either,   most have seen some extensive gouging over their 30 years being used....Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:Originally Posted by Newfie_1986Snuffy the machine gets hot as in the amperage changes.Like the other day for example I was running a practice root for a pressure test I have to take, went up one side of the pipe nice,  started on the other side and the machine was crazy hot.  The guys in the shop told me not too bother with the older dialarcs for anything where I need to control my heat and to use the new syncrowave 250.More curious as to why a machine would do this,  the owners really don't want to spend any money replacing these machines either,   most have seen some extensive gouging over their 30 years being used....
Reply:Could be bad connections inside the machines, doesnt seem to happen til they warm up.  How many connections are in a dialarc anyways id imagine a few.Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:There's gonna be a few. The point is that checking connections doesn't cost anything and if it does turn out to be a wild goose chase, all you wasted is time. I lost count a long time ago as to how many problems I've solved by simply reseating a connector or circuit board.
Reply:I have seen this before, several years ago I had a chance to buy some 250s form a voc. school.  All were tired and had run on 208 input.  Cleaned them and switched them to 240. Acted like a new mach.  Now this may sound weird but I believe that the windings for 208 were "tired" why or how I do not know but when a circuit gets used for years it seems logical that they might wear out some.Short of a new transformer try replacing some electricals, esp. the rheostate and then maybe some diodes or rectifier bridges.,
Reply:Yeah I doubt there will be anything done with these machines,  the company owners are much too cheap, they dont care one bit about the equipment all they care about is whats in their pockets,Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:Biggest thing where heat will change is the Rheostat. Carbon scraping off the brush plus some from extensive arc gouging. A cheap easy, satisfy your own curiosity is to look at that and clean it while investigating other burnt, loose connections. A cable crimp inside will appear servicable till its called upon to carry the cable rating, then it will heat up and change the total resistance in the circuit.
Reply:I dont know how they were tested, usually the machines are sent out for testing.  They are the only machines in the shop, other than the new syncrowave so sometimes they do get used on critical stuff.  Then again if its being welded its usually critical.   The machines are almost 30 years old, in my opinion its time to dump them all and replace them, but the owners wont do that.Thank god im starting up on my own with some good equipment,   I hate dealing with junk, the shops ironworker bends the material it shears,   the press brake doesnt bend the same from one end to the other (one end may be square and the other not), the welders are crap they only have 2 decent portables 2 Miller big blue 400 machines.Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:I doubt they will be replaced,  over the 30 years this company has been in business I dont think much has been replaced, and their work is now dwindling,  They don't do any work for the oil companies, they did in the past but could not give them the proper services due to poor equipment and lack of man power.   Its kind of a shame really if the company had been ran right the place would be much better off...    I figure soon enough the doors will be closed and the owners know this....Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:7A749 funny you say all that,   this place cannot keep a shop foreman,  they expect you to get things done fast with crappy equipment which just doesnt work.  The new shop foreman hates the job, but he is stuck because he was put in the position because he was off on workers but now is back at an easier job (shop foreman)...As for jumping ship I am asap.  In the process of getting a Ranger 305G and getting set up on my own, I dont want to be there when it all goes down.  With nothing but junk for equipment including trucks, and less and less customers with the 3 owners getting older and older, the one who brings in the business is 73, things can only go one way.Thanks too, by the way you have really made me think a lot about getting things on the go faster than I had anticipated.Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw