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Hey guys i am new here. My friend just gave me an old welder a century pow-r master 70. It is a gas less welder. I would like to weld with gas can i convert it?
Reply:Hello saleen9973, I am not familiar with the particular machine that you spoke of in your post, but you might run into some substantial issues depending upon a couple of things. The gasless welder is typically set up to operate on DC straight polarity, meaning the gun is - and the ground is +. Some of these machines cannot readily be converted to change the polarity. You would need to be able to change the gun to+ and the ground to -. If you can do that then you are part way there. The other issue has to do with the gas. On some of the machines this is accomplished with an electrically actuated solenoid, probably not the type that you would like to try to convert it to. Instead, you might be able to adapt one of the guns that has a manual gas valve incorporated into the gun assembly. Here again though, you might have to do some fairly extensive modifications to make this happen. Ingenuity is the mother of invention, so if you have the time, the necessary resources, and the will to succeed, you might be able to bring all of that together. So best of luck to you and possibly others might have additional information to give you other choices and ideas. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:I tried to do a search on google and came up with no matches on the welder i got. There are a few welding shops local i may bring it there and see if they can help me. If i cant convert it oh well it was free right, and it works now but it has a lot of popcorn.
Reply:Check out Lincoln Electric's web site for owner manuals.  Lincoln produced the majority if not all the machines for Century.  Do a search in the owner/operator manual section and you may be able to download the pdf you need which may help you.  If you cant convert, like you said, oh well, it was free!  Good luck!     A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:I would just use it as a fluxcore welder and not waste the time trying to convert it.  There are plenty of good used gas migs for sale every day on Craigs List at very low prices, that it would not be worth it at all to throw any money into your current machine.  You'll need the extra energy of fluxcore wire to do much with that 70 amp machine anyways.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:DesertRider33 makes a very good point.  The little welder just doesnt have enough oomph for hard wire to justify the expense.  It would be good to learn on and play with for a variety of things.  Like he said, possibly invest in a larger used machine capable of solid wire.A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:By the way, I searched Lincoln's site for manuals and the only one I noticed was for the Century 80.   A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:You sure it's not a century powermate 70?Drink a Guinness Draught....Millermatic 140Do you still rememberDecember's foggy freeze --when the ice thatclings on to your beard isscreaming agony.
Reply:Look on the back of the machine for a model number. It will start with a 117-XXX. Look online under THAT number for better results.We want to see something like this in the signature line:Lincoln Ranger 250Miller Auto-Darkening Elite HelmetLincoln 100Lincoln MigMiller Spectrum 375Craftsman 8 galllon gas powered compressorLongevity 200amp Tig Welder LT-200D
Reply:Yes its a powermate 70. I will look for a number.
Reply:saleen: email lincoln electric  support they should have the manual(as I did a search for a power mate 70 on this site and found a thread from 2007 where the person got documentation and a user manual via email)Last edited by GiddyWelder; 08-26-2009 at 08:50 PM.Reason: brain dead,left out a couple of thingsDrink a Guinness Draught....Millermatic 140Do you still rememberDecember's foggy freeze --when the ice thatclings on to your beard isscreaming agony.
Reply:I sure will thanks
Reply:Model number is 117-060-901. It says pow'R-mate 70. I looked on lincolns site and it had no such welder.
Reply:You won't find a manual for it since it's old and century was bought out by Lincoln Electric. Email support.Drink a Guinness Draught....Millermatic 140Do you still rememberDecember's foggy freeze --when the ice thatclings on to your beard isscreaming agony.
Reply:Dad has one of those, he gave me, then my brother borrowed it back and I haven't seen it since. It's set up for gas, but just doesn't have much power, I could never get more than a minute continuos welding out of it and it'd time out. I was gonna use it for body panels and exhaust, but still using my WNP-200 stick welder on 50 amps for all that, since it went away LOL.Rob H.
Reply:I do see a barb connect when i take the cover off it is on the first part of the crod where it is brass. Right behind it is a pin connector comming from the other side. I will get some pics up for you guys.
Reply:pics