airco dipstick 160

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I have got an airco dipstick 160.stock #1346-6040code #0037serial # DG908028I am looking for a owners manual. Would appreciate any help.
Reply:I just aquired an Airco Dipstick 160. I've tried to find a manual online, but all the sources listed in the older posts seem to be gone also. Is there anyone on here that still has one they could email? I'd really appreciate this. Thank you
Reply:I don't have a manual, but depending on what you need it for we may be able to help you. Are you having trouble figuring out how to set up the machine for a certain welding process?Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power

) Hobart MIG
Reply:

Originally Posted by SquirmyPug

I don't have a manual, but depending on what you need it for we may be able to help you. Are you having trouble figuring out how to set up the machine for a certain welding process?
Reply:Maybe this will give you what you're looking for?http://edgewh.esabna.com/literature/..._ADI-1734F.pdfESAB Migmaster 250

Hobart Ironman 230Multimatic 215TWECO Fabricator 181i & 211iHH125EZ - nice little fluxcore only unitMaxstar 150 STH - very nice
Reply:

Originally Posted by Dan

Maybe this will give you what you're looking for?http://edgewh.esabna.com/literature/..._ADI-1734F.pdf
Reply:I borrowed a dip stick 160 to work on my truck years ago.If I remember right you cant use flux core, no way to reverse polarity on mig.Nice welder,well built.First time I welded stick DC.Built a dc converter for my Lincoln 225 AC.If you need tips take one with you to the welding supply so they can match them.Some say that welder was built by Miller.
Reply:I got an AIRCO Dip Stick 160 welder about 6 months ago. Free because it “didn’t weld right.” I didn’t have any experience with MIG welders so I looked for help online but didn’t find much. I’m not an expert but I’ll share what I’ve learned so far and what I wish I had known.Don’t open it up until you disconnect all power! This is just what I’ve found and is not intended to be operating instructions. I’m not responsible if you kill yourself! Read the manual!First - Get the manual! It’s on an ESAB site and it’s free. Read it about 5 times.https://www.esabna.com/literature/ar..._adi-1734f.pdfI’ll be referring to pages and parts in this manual.This is a mid 1980’s welder. No electronics. A transformer and a rectifier for DC. The transformer output is changed by moving a steel core in the transformer with a hand crank. The controls are a crank to change Amps, a MIG wire speed dial calibrated in metal thickness, a big switch to select two MIG ranges, AC, DC +, and DC- for Stick welding.Amps are controlled by a crank on the front. There is no voltage setting like new MIG machines. Amps show as a red line on the face. That’s from a white & red tape that’s spring loaded and connected to the moving transformer core. Not exact. I had to tighten the spring because the tape was sagging. I had to loosen the guides on the moving transformer core because it was almost impossible to change power settings. I’ve read that the clamps keep the core from vibrating. I haven’t noticed any vibration.For MIG there’s a high and low range that pulls in extra windings on the output side for power and also switches voltage and switches wire feed speed ranges.Page 12 says MIG wire speed is from 100 inches per minute (ipm) to 340 ipm. That’s not correct. I put a tach on the wire drive wheel and got 140 to 230 ipm on low range and 333 to 460 ipm on high range. Notice that you can’t set the wire speed from 230 to 333 ipm. There’s a gap.I calculated ipm from reading the revolutions of the drive wheel. It’s 1.368” in diameter. I subtracted 0.010” for the effective groove and used 1.358” diameter or 4.266” on the surface for each Revolution. I rounded the numbers off.I think this was the reason for original complaint the it “didn’t weld right.” They also said it felt like the wire was pushing back. I’m guessing that wire speed was too fast.The welder setup has various Amps and speeds listed but the manual is confusing. Generally for MIG welding the rule is 1 Amp for each 0.001” of metal. The rule for 0.035” wire is 1.6 ipm for each Amp. That gives50 Amps 80 ipm for 0.035” wire75.             120100.            160125.             200150.              240160.              280 ipmMY FIX FOR SPEEDS: The schematic on page 29 shows the wire feed motor (MTR2) in the middle of the page on the left side. There’s a resistor (RES3) in parallel with the motor and a potentiometer ( POT2) in series. I checked the resistor and the Pot and they measure the correct values. I don’t know why the speeds were messed up. I ended up buying a US made NOS Pot that had the same power rating and double the resistance ( 2 ohms and 25 W ) and installed it in place of POT2. After that change the speeds on the low range were  from 81 ipm to 235 ipm and the high range 235 ipm to 440 ipm. 81 is probably lower than needed and 440 ipm is faster than needed but the entire range is covered from those 81 to 440 without any gaps.Caution! The wire feed area is electrically hot while welding! I used a plastic adapter on the tach and wore hot work rubber gloves when measuring speeds.I marked the high range and low range speeds on tape at the speed dial.I welded with the power indicator set at 160 Amps on the high range and measured 149 Amps with a clamp-on meter. Not exact but close for my cheap clamp-on meter. Not changing the power setting but switching to low range I measured 90 Amps max output while welding. Switching MIG ranges changes power and speeds.TIG is just a DC- (DCEN) connection with 100% Argon gas and a scratch start. It works but it’s all manual. There’s no provision for a foot pedal to control TIG power. There are lots of videos on scratch start TIG.For MIG you need gas with 75% Argon and 25% CO2.100% Argon spatters badly and the weld is not good. If you ever try MIG on aluminum, you have to use 100% Argon.Page 12 says MIG and TIG are max 160 Amps, DC stick is 172, AC stick is 227.The most common question I’ve read is where to buy a replacement MIG stinger. Until recently it seemed like a custom made one was the answer but now they are easy to find for less than $100. Look for “MIG Stinger Euro Connector”. I got a 10’ one made by YESWELDER and it works fine so far. It uses Lincoln and TWECO consumables.The stick weld connection is a smooth tapered plug that I couldn’t match so I replaced it with a Dinse 50mm2 female plug mounted on the machine. I had to enlarge the hole to get it to fit. That works now on AC and DC stick.I had a problem with the contractor that pulls in for MIG welding. The wire would feed. The gas came on. No arc. The contractor (Item 22 part CON) apparently was not pulling in. I unplugged the welder, drenched the contractor with contact cleaner, moved it manually many times, and then sprayed it with WD-40. It worked.It’s very very hard to feed the 0.035” wire from the drive wheels into the block that has the power connection and the stinger attachment. It must have a 0.036” hole. I may make a brass guide with an 1/8” entrance and a 0.035” exit - someday after I finish the spool I’m on now.It’s a good solid welder with no electronics to worry about. Regards, NoellLast edited by Noell; 7 Hours Ago at 08:02 PM.Reason: Correction