Lincoln 300D

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Has anyone had problems or know of anyone having issues with the new 300D Lincolns ? To make sure it wasn't me I took it to the local vo-tech and had both of the welding instructors weld with it. The first one would just say something is wrong....the second instructor got so frustrated he about threw the stinger at it... The problem I/we have is.....when you are putting root/stringer pass into butt joint it will just loose arc.....almost like you just take the ground off but will start right back (we even put the ground directly on the pipe)....almost like watching a strobe light. We weld 6" beveled pipe with a 1/8" landing and 1/8" gap using 1/8 6010 Fleetweld 5P.....if you try to keyhole it will always go out if you try to jump the gap but will start back when you reach the other side....problem only exists with 5P with stringers. Runs 7018 fine....so we call the welding supply and see if they have had any bad rods......they had just sent back 250 pounds of 7018 cause they would just flame out about the last half of the rod...but had no problems with the 5P we had.....so we break open another can....different lot number...same problem.  The Lincoln repair shop has load banked it twice...one repair place told us to "rack" it.....so we tacked up some pipe with 1/8" gap and the repair guy moved the rack while I welded. We(the repair guy and myself)  have been on the phone with our local Lincoln district rep numerous times....he gave us a guy in Cleveland to talk to.....and he said we are to never rack one esp a new one(even though the repair guy has a warranty book that tells us exactly how to set it and rack it esp for the 300D's. So that guy in Cleveland connected us to the Lincoln welding school instructor and he tells us that a 1/8" gap is too wide for a 300D ......That is just hard for me to believe ! There had been one in the same shop just a week before mine with the same problem.....he told me the guy complained it wouldn't weld downhill worth a poot(his had 15 hours on it, same 300D but he had the Perkins and I have the kabota engine). But when he load banked it, it all shows to be fine just like mine so the guy just took it home cause they was stumped as to what to try to do. Thats why I had two welding instructors weld with it to make sure it was not something I was trying to get this machine to do that maybe it was not supposed to. I am in no way trying to bash Lincoln or start a Lincoln vs Miller battle....I love my Lincoln and have always had great luck with them. ..just curious if anyone else has heard of problems or have buddies that had problems...I am not the only one that has been to my repair shop with the same complaint...or does anyone think a pipeline welder should not jump a 1/8" gap to keyhole downhill ( in the field I cant always set it to 3/32......). I recently got my steamcard and was scared to use it for the test (6" pipe, 6G sch 40) so I used the one there at his testing facility but still using it at work....missing my old 200
Reply:I haven't heard of the exact problem you have described, but I would call Lincoln Cleveland again.  Your description of what you've been told sounds like they're unsure what's going on, and are trying to isolate the problem.  If they don't hear from you again, they'll think the problem has been solved.  (No news is good news.)  There is a Lincoln procedure for racking, I've seen it too, but they don't encourage it's use unless everything else has been tried first.If I had the machine, the first thing I would do is check the OCV and put a short set of properly sized test cables on it and eliminate the possibility that it could be a cable-stinger-work clamp problem.  Next, I would give it a good visual check.  I would look for poor internal connections and check the commutator, slip rings and both sets of brushes for any sign of trouble.  I would check that the rack was still on (or very near) the factory mark.  I would then test it for grounds and load test it.If all the testing went well, I would try replacing the bridge rectifier with a known good one.  This little part would be high on my list of things to try on your machine.  An intermittent failure of the bridge under load could possibly cause very short dips in output voltage.  A 7018 (AC/DC rod) may be able to handle this where a 6010 (DC only rod) may not. If this stuff didn't help... I would be on the phone to Lincoln!Please let us know how things turn out.Good luck,Bob
Reply:Thank you Bob for replying.  It has been load banked twice and that shows nothing is wrong. When I bought the new welder I bought new leads too ( 100' 1/0 lead with 12' whip, and 100' 1/0 ground and all those connections have been checked....as far as under the cover, I was under the impression that load banking it would reveal those problems....I have never had welder problems of any kind with my older lincolns so I am not to savy on what it could be or what to try ). This thing has us stumped. Someone had told him that using a stone on it may help so we tried that ( not sure how you spell this but they had told him it could have been cosmoline ). We did mark it before we racked it and when that didnt seem to improve it we put it back to factory. We have not tried the other things you suggested so we are open to trying any suggestions. Last time we talked to Lincoln they mentioned not having another one in the state at the time( and my rep was at the airport when we called so he was not where he could help us much, he told us his boss was at the next gate so he ran down there and thats where we got the man's name to contact in Cleveland. By him saying there was not another one in the state shows they was willing to replace it ( I had heard that Lincoln's tech support was not that good but they have been really willing to help. Its just the people we seem to talk to describe the problem with seems to all say " we are not welders so let me put you thru to _____".....thats where the Lincoln welding school instructor told us that the 300D would not weld a 1/8" downhill gap. I just dont buy that. I know it will/should. When the repair center heard that and with it load banking fine he was ready to give up even though he put on a helmet and seen what it is doing himself. I just hate to keep bugging the repair guy cause he said he is only getting paid 30 min to load bank it and last time I was there he spent 2 hours on it with me and he has a shop full of things waiting for him that will pay him more than warranty work....(plus its a 2 hour trip one way to there). It is still getting me by but its just not right I dont think....and I really dont want to trade it for a new one if we can fix this one....it welds everything else just fine. I just cant get passed the "1/8" gap being too wide for downhill with a 300D)..I just dont buy that. I have not had any repairs on any roots (yet..knock on wood)....but I been feathering all my stops since it started this.The repair guy did call me this morning and said he talked to the previous guy that had the same problem and was going to ask him if he wanted to try to rack it and his has straightened out(now he has 40 hours on it and his problem started around 15 hours)..Thank you for all your help. I certainly understand what your saying about "no news is good news". I just wish it was something they had problems with and knew what it took to fix it. I will certainly be calling the repair place and run these suggestions by him.....I am willing to try all ideas. Thank you again....Kelly
Reply:Bob Crow is the MAN at lincoln for engine drives.  I had some questions about mine and he helped me out quite a bid.  This was after talking to a BUNCH of other people first.  He even straightened me out on my invertec V350 Pro.  Nothing was wrong with it, just the operator and a part omitted from the instructions.Good luckDavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Thank you David,  well...that is what I thought at first(and I am not denying it could be operator now)...This is the first new machine I have ever purchased and all I have to compare it to is the old 200. This could and may turn out to be operator error(and I hope it is cause I can always learn to use newer fancier equip)....thats why I drove my rig to the area vo tech and had the 2 welding instructors there weld with it.....but just like me....they have experience with the older machines. They also thought it just wasnt right. Maybe newer is better once I learn to weld with it.....just didnt think it would be so different. Then the instructor for Lincoln told me 1/8" gap was too wide about blew my mind. But I didnt doubt him or question his professional opinion I am just finding that hard to believe. I am just lost because I have never had problems with any Lincoln engine drive before so I have never had to tinker or adjust before....so I know nothing about what could be wrong.  I am certainly going to call the warranty repair place about the suggestions BobC had. I certainly dont doubt any of your professional opinions....I am game for anything.