Rebadged Synchrowave?

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Hi all. Here is a welder I am looking at purchasing. Its an Airco 300 ac/dc heliwelder V. Just curious if his is a rebadged Synchro 300? Does anyone have any experience with one of these? It comes with stick welding leads and a foot pedal, but no tig torch or cooler. Any guess on the value? TIA Attached Images
Reply:Anyone?
Reply:Don't know if this helps but I just found a thread from the UK that talks about a similar machine. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/s...ead.php?t=2524 About the fourth post mentions rebuilding a machine of the same name. I've had Airco stuff, it was mostly rebadged ESAB. Its an old rectifier TIG, if it works they are usually fairly reliable.Sent from my Kindle Fire using TapatalkLast edited by CherryBrosRC; 02-26-2012 at 10:39 PM.Miller Maxstar 200 DX - Syncrowave 200 - MillerMatic 200 - Bobcat 225 NT - Spoolmate 3035/SGA 1003 X Lincoln Power MIGs (200, 215XT 255)3 X Lincoln SP's (100, 125, 130)Thermal Arc 181i (spool gun and TIG torch)HT Powermax 1000 G3
Reply:Rebadge a synchrowave and sell it for less?Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:That's an ESAB.HammerFile Big Hammer------------------------------Here, let me Google that for you...
Reply:Heliarc was an ESAB trade name for their line of tig welders IIRC. Airco (orange machines) were mostly rebranded miller units and would usually say somewhere on the front panel that they were produced by miller for Airco
Reply:That makes sense. It was throwing me off that the older ones were orange and looked like an  330 a/bp and this one is red looking more like an synchro. I forgot about the esab connection. Is it worth 500$?
Reply:I have no experience with Esabs per say, but they did make decent machines in general. $500 for an older AC/DC tig  would be a decent price if it welds and is complete. I'm using the 330AB/P's that I usually see in the $500-800 range as my comparison. I'm guessing it's a somewhat similar, older transformer based industrial AC/DC tig / stick machine. I'm betting like most older transformer machines in that amp range, it will take at least 70 - 125 amps of 230v to run it full bore. Can't say if it's a 3 phase only machine or not, so be sure to check the tag to be sure you can run it on single phase unless you have 3 phase at your shop.Can't comment on any particular problems or issues that particular machine may or may not have though. Hopefully one of the guys who's more familiar with the Easab machines can chime in on that..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I've had the 250 heliwelder and it is a good machine. I'd imagine the 300 is similar as long as its 1 phase like DSW stated. 500 for that with or without components is a good buy in my opinion.HammerFile Big Hammer------------------------------Here, let me Google that for you...
Reply:Originally Posted by ironmangqHeliarc was an ESAB trade name for their line of tig welders IIRC
Reply:Yeah. its a single phase. I think its draws about 125 amps wide open, but its rated at 425 amps!  . I think i may buy it. anyone see any problem arc gouging with something like this? I 'll report back if I buy it. Going to look at it tomorrow.
Reply:lol.....you in the Chattanooga area?   I just came across that welder and posted this.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=91971then was directed to this thread.   It looks like the same blanket in the photo. Let me know if you dont buy it
Reply:Yeah, thats it.
Reply:I've always been happy with my Heliwelder 250. Have it on a 50a breaker and never tripped, but I rarely if ever have it maxed to 310a (max amperage) with the pedal buried. It's a beast and recently thought about stepping up to something smaller with more parameter controls, but I'll likely always keep this one around for backup.I believe these guys, http://arc-products.com/, own the AIRCO rights or at least provide service/parts. A few years back I asked politely and they forwarded free-of-charge a couple of chapters from the user manual.
Reply:Originally Posted by papaharley03Heliarc was a trademark of Linde Corporation.Papa
Reply:Well I bought it. Its better than I thought. It came with a practically new water cooled tig torch (GB200 W20?) a foot pedal, 50 ft. or so of leads, the original owners manual, and small box of rods. To my suprise, I lifted up the bottom cover and it does have the built in cooler. Whomever had it in the past took very good care of it. Hardly any scratches. It also came with a steel cart with a hydraulic foot pump to raise and lower it. I think its a little scissor table. I got it for 400 bucks. I'll take some pics tomorrow. I dont have it all hooked up yet, but when I get some argon and tungsten well see how it does. Till then I may burn a couple of rods with it.
Reply:CRAP!!   Congrats....soundslike a sweet deal.  If only I was a couple days sooner.  They Guy actually texted me and told me you bought it.       Ill be looking for some welding updates soon.
Reply:He called me this morning to see if I was still coming because he said that he had another call on it. It was probably you. I almost told him I was going to pass because I was busy and I thought it didn't have a cooler. I'm sure something will pop up soon. Thats the second thing Ive bought from cleveland off of craigslist in a week, and Its an hr and half drive for me.
Reply:Congrats. Deals like this are out there, and out there on a regular basis. You just need to keep your eyes open and have the cash to jump on them when they happen. That's a lot more machine than one of the cheap china imports, even if it doesn't have the "fancy" bells and whistles. You'll probably never out grow a machine like that, and if in the future you decide you want to upgrade, chances are you can get every penny if not more back out of that machine if you take good care of it. Probably get almost what you paid for the package just if you chose to sell the cooler alone..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan