Lincoln 300/300 Power problems?

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I picked up a 70's vintage Lincoln Idealarc 300/300 stick / tig that I'm trying to setup at home for aluminum welding.Here's what I do know.It weighs 928 f'ing pounds, but that has nothing to do with my question.It's definitely name plated as a single phase machine.  It has triple inputs 208, 230, 460I put in a 60 amp breaker at home.I set it up on the 230 V input (and later tried it on 208).In both cases, I get some chatter/vibration when I turn it to Stick Welding or when I activate the Arc Start swith while in Tig mode.I've also noticed that the 110 receptacle on the front of the machine only shows 60 or so volts instead of 110.It seems to weld very nicely in CD, stick mode although I question whether she's really puttin gout 300 amps when I had it cranked up to the max.  It does weld very smoothly though.Is this enough info to point towards a definitive problem or area to look further at?I almost thought that I had not enough input voltage, but would have thought that inputting to the 208 setup would have proved that.Is there something internal that needs more testing that would be causing these symptoms?Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
Reply:Are you sure you're getting 230v at the input or is it only 115v across L1 and L2?MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110

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Reply:I have the same machine. When I bought mine I tried it on a 50 amp breaker. I tripped it almost every time I struck an arc. I wired the machine to a 100 amp breaker and all my problems went away.I have my water cooler plugged into the recepticle at the front of the machine with no problems.Sounds like you need more amps. Good luck
Reply:

Originally Posted by duaneb55

Are you sure you're getting 230v at the input or is it only 115v across L1 and L2?
Reply:Sounds to me like you don't have the machine "jumpered" correctly.If you inadvertently have it set for 460 vs 230V input, that would explain the 60V you're getting on the front receptacle.I'd recommend going back and checking to make sure you have it set for 230V operation.If the circuit breaker was undersized for the load, you'd just pop the breaker.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:I thought the reading on the Front receptacle would be Ok @ 60v since this is fed off the transformer from inside the machine a 120v system without a Grounded conductor which gives readings of 60v.Dunno really just thinkin' since I'll get that type of reading on 120v gensets which are basically the same type system

Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I got it fixed.  Thanks for the tips.  When I started from scratch and tested the volts at the input, I realized that I had wired in incorrectly and was only feeding her 120 Volts.When I matched the wires colors from inside and fixed them on the male end of the plug, I got 220V at L1 and L2 and the machine runs SOOOO much better.I have a 60 amp breaker and ran the stick welder wide open at 300 amps and melted through some 3/8" plate.  Quite a work horse!!Still tweaking the tig setup, which was the goal.Thanks again for the tips.
Reply:

WOOOOOWHOOOOO!!

(welders across the net rejoice knowing another arc has been struck. . .)


Thanks for letting us know you got it up and running OK.

MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110

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Reply:BTW - if you don't have a manual for the unit you can go here http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...ualsearch.aspx and download it by entering its Code# found on the front panel and click SEARCH.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110

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Reply:See you got yours going,great. I just got a 300/300 80's, owner had died, so not much history and it was just used as a stickper his son. got a new pedal and tig air cooled torch and just get same spark on med or High AC. ideas on what i should check, trying to save this older machine. Not real sure how to use these treads thou. Thanks
Reply:Go to www.lincolnelectric.com and get an owners manual.Read and make sure it is set up correctly.start tests by setting up for stick welding with out the remote.See if you can stick weld and adjust the out put, in all the ranges.Then add the remote, see if you can control the arc.then set up for tig and repeat. Make sure you are set up for the line power you have.You should be able to see if the welder works or have a problem with these basic test.
Reply:This is an older thread, but since I found it useful to me, I thought I would update my experience here for the next person that comes along.I hooked my mid 70s C model 300 up to 50 amp circuit. Testing with 1/8 rod, shooting for ~125 amps, which puts you in the medium range. I figured since I'm not going up to maximum, I would be ok with this range. It was super weak output. The breaker was not popping. The welder is in really  fantastic condition. Hi freq was working. I was stumped. Swapped up to the max range (I figured, why not). It was slightly better but really not even close to weldable.THEN I NOTICED, because I'm an idiot, that the "fine tuning" knob is intuitively backwards. Turning counter-clockwise raises the output! It's even marked, but I was just twisting the knob clockwise and not paying attention.Once I figured that bit of genius machine configuration, all was great.  Sharing my DOH for future readers.-Bob