New to welding and having big problems.

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I recently purchased a new Lincoln 175 HD 230V welder. So far 3 have broken on me. One caught fire, the other just made a bang sound and died, and the first just didn't work. I have use my friends mig and tig welders many times and never had a problem. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what I should check to try and fix this. I also wanted to know what "duty cycle" meant. I heard it was the # of minuets in every 10 you can weld. I also heard that you can ignore this because it has and overheat protection button thing. Although I have never gone past 3 minuets of straight welding. What does "rated CV Output Amps" and how can I find the maximum amps I can continuously weld at without overheating the welder. Thanks,Savagemania
Reply:Originally Posted by savagemaniaI recently purchased a new Lincoln 175 HD 230V welder. So far 3 have broken on me. One caught fire, the other just made a bang sound and died, and the first just didn't work. I have use my friends mig and tig welders many times and never had a problem. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what I should check to try and fix this. I also wanted to know what "duty cycle" meant. I heard it was the # of minuets in every 10 you can weld. I also heard that you can ignore this because it has and overheat protection button thing. Although I have never gone past 3 minuets of straight welding. What does "rated CV Output Amps" and how can I find the maximum amps I can continuously weld at without overheating the welder. Thanks,Savagemania
Reply:Duty cycle is what tells me how big a machine really is. Here is the manual.   http://content.lincolnelectric.com//...r/im/IM726.pdfIt says 30% at 130 amps.  So 3 minutes out of 10 at 130 amps.  NO more.  If you continuously trip out the hi temp circuit breaker, it will be hard on the machine.Never tripped out my SP 100 since I have owned it (20 years)good LuckDavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I bought it from home depot. Also do you know where I can find what the duty cycle at each knob setting is? Like for the 175 amp setting? I thought that might be my problem and why they are dropping like flys, but it has never popped out the circuit overload/thermal protection button.
Reply:I cant see blowing up 3 welders cause you worked it beyond the duty cycle within 3 minutes of welding, or having 3 defective machines...  Im going with incorrect input voltage? machine might be set for 208 and your plugging it into 240?I like to party!
Reply:I would suggest your LWS for lincoln, were you can get service, if needed.  John.SMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:Originally Posted by savagemaniaI bought it from home depot. Also do you know where I can find what the duty cycle at each knob setting is? Like for the 175 amp setting? I thought that might be my problem and why they are dropping like flys, but it has never popped out the circuit overload/thermal protection button.
Reply:I recently purchased a new Lincoln 175 HD 230V welder. So far 3 have broken on me. One caught fire, the other just made a bang sound and died, and the first just didn't work. I have use my friends mig and tig welders many times and never had a problem. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what I should check to try and fix this.
Reply:I have checked the plug it is outputting 242V and it is on a 30 amp breaker (the manual specifies a 40A breaker but it is on a 30A which Lincoln said was fine. I am having a electrician friend come over and look to see if i did anything wrong when installing the plug. I haven't checked but Lincoln says the welders come preset for 230V operation but I will look and see if it has been wired for 208.
Reply:It could be something as simple as a hot being connected to the ground terminal in your outlet or plug.   I could see reversal of the hots and ground at the outlet causing 3 machines to fail like that.   On most 220v single-phase blade-type outlets/plugs, the two hots go on the right and left flat blade terminals and the ground goes on the top, or center round or u-shaped terminal.  Commonly, the ground wire is green and the hot wires are black and white.   Always double check the outlet with a volt meter to be sure someone else didnt do something unconventional before plugging in a new machine.   Also, if you have a new-to-you used machine, open it up and double check where each wire goes to be sure a previous owner didn't change any connections inside the machine, possibly when installing a new power cord to it.Hope you get it straightened out before burning up machine #4!MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:My electrician friend came over today and found nothing wrong with the plug and we opened the cover of the welder and saw that the transformer was all burnt up and melted a bunch of stuff around it. but it was wired for 230V and the plug was hooked up correctly so I really am confused as to what could be causing it.
Reply:The only machine I ever tripped out on a regular basis was a Miller Cricket. It was a home owner hobyist piece of junk.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:I'm pretty sure you have an issue with your holes. Something isn't hooked up right somewhere. I own a lot of 220/240V gear I haven't smoked any up yet. Then I'm handy with wiring.:knock on wood: I'm used to seeing folks cook 110V welding equipment up. Rarely 220V Stuff Unless they have a wiring issue outside of the unit.Lincoln 175 HD is a Nice Unit. I can't imagine 3 Bad out of the box. They Test all their stuff before it leaves the factory.PJ - Bucks County PALincoln: AC-225, AC/DC 225/125, Weld-Pak 155
Reply:Maybe Trace the wires to the Breaker would help, Or a Bad BreakerPJ - Bucks County PALincoln: AC-225, AC/DC 225/125, Weld-Pak 155
Reply:Originally Posted by savagemaniaI recently purchased a new Lincoln 175 HD 230V welder. So far 3 have broken on me. One caught fire, the other just made a bang sound and died, and the first just didn't work....
Reply:I will try to get a pic but I don't know when I will be able to get down to the shop. I have used an AIRCO 250A TIG welder on the same plug and it works fine. I have done a voltage check with a multimeter as follows.I put both the leads into the hot holes Voltage-242/3I put one lead in hot and one in ground Voltage-121/2I put one lead into other hot and ground Voltage-121/2