|
|
I just picked up a Lincoln Idealarc SP-100 today. The guy told me it was barely arcing, but everything else worked fine. I figured it was diodes, so bought it for $40. Brought it home and it worked fine unless you moved the torch cable. There was tape at the machine end, so pulled it from the welder and unwrapped the tape. Under the tape I found the copper shielding was loose from the connector. My question is what is the best way to fix it other than buying a whole new torch? Is there a repair end available? I tried searching on Google, but only found info on repairing the torch end. The torch (or gun) is in great shape as is the rest of the cable. Is there a proper way to reattach the shielding to the connector? I don't want to ruin the internal gas line by soldering it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Reply:HTP sells replacement torches reasonably cheap.
Reply:Since there hasn't been much response here and everyone I talked to locally told me it can't be done, I decided I'll be my stubborn self and give it a try. So I peeled off about 3 inches of the outer cover, moved the trigger wires out of the way, removed the liner and peeled back the copper shielding. I pulled the hose off of the connector and shortened it about an inch and a half. I reattached it to the connector and used marine grade shrink tubing (with the glue in it) to give it a bit more strength. In the shielding there was a nylon cord mixed with the copper. I separated it and again used heat shrink tubing to attach it to the inner tube. I then pulled the copper shielding back up and over the connector. It now overlapped the connector over an inch. I used a stainless steel hose clamp to hold the copper shielding to the connector. Kind of like a crimp connector. Did a little trimming and covered the repair with more heat shrink and slid the stress relief back over the repair. Re-installed the liner and trimmed it to compensate for the shorter cable length. I plugged it in and it works like a champ!So I guess I answered my own question. YES it is possible. Maybe not proper, but it worked and is a lot stronger at that end of the cable than it was. A lot cheaper too!
Reply:Got their SP 85 Mig. Sure works good. Have done a few mods on the stinger.Added a bleed resistor on Tuesday.Charl |
|