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I just got a health-club quality elliptical for very cheap, but it needs a piece welded. I figured I could pay the welding shop down the road, or I could instead use that money to get myself a cheap flux-core welder and learn to do the welding myself. Easy decision for a tool-aholic!I found a Lincoln Weld-Pak 125HD on eBay that said it was as is - bad drive: "This 125HD has a bad drive / gears and does not operate." I decided to take the gamble that it was something I could fix, and went for it. I got it for $115 delivered. This included a partially used roll of Hobart E71T-GS .030" flux core wire. What it didn't include was any extra contact tips or the adapter for 8" spools, nor the stupid hand-held face shield. Oh well.Today my "prize" arrived. I plugged it in and turned it on. The fan came on. I hit the trigger - the drive roll moved! Whew, now I knew the PC board wasn't the problem ($$$) nor the motor ($$)! I tried to feed some wire into the liner and it immediately stopped. I could see what looked like wire in the tiny gap between the drive assembly and the gun connector. I loosened the knob and removed the gun connector from the front of the welder. When I looked into the connector "socket", way inside there it was crammed solid with wire. Aha! I dug some out to get a grip on it, and pulled the entire clot out. I put the gun connector back, and noticed it want in farther than before. On the next try, the wire fed all the way out the end of the gun! OK, now we're getting somewhere. I put the ground clamp onto a piece of scrap metal (why is scrap so hard to find when you're looking for it?!) Then I put my welding gloves on, and using the "lean away and close my eyes" method, I successfully welded a 3/4" bead! Woo-Hoo!I'm so happy, I had spent hours looking over the repair manual for this machine, anticipating anything from bad drive motor, to bad PC board, loose connectors, etc. This seems like a good little beginner machine. It's the Home Depot model (sells for $419) so it hasn't got the infinitely adjustable heat settings, instead using 5 settings, A thru E. Not a huge drawback, I guess. It doesn't even look like it was used that much. It's only 2 or 3 years old (not that newer is necessarily better with welders...) I spent less on this than it would have cost me to wire 220v to the garage for my old Lincoln AC225-S buzzbox. I still plan to get the 220 out there eventually, but I expect I'll be spending my money on flux core consumables, at least for a while.What's the lesson for welding newbies today? Be sure your gun connector is seated all the way in the welder, or a wire knot will form in the gap, and your welder will end up as an eBay BARGAIN for someone desperate enough to gamble on a "broken" machine!Scott in Penfield NY
Reply:Congrats!Even my Lincoln PowerMIG 216 has A-G voltage taps instead of a infinite dial. I haven't found it to be a major inconvenience yet. Simply pick the "best" voltage and adjust the wire speed to suit.Andrew
Reply:Congrats man,It works the other way for me.Tim Beeker.
Reply:Originally Posted by tnjindIt works the other way for me.
Reply:One of the best ways to avoid the problem is to feed out a few inches first then push the gun into the socket. This way you can make sure the wire goes into the gun and does not hang up. Make sure the brass polarity nuts are tight or you will be replacing the plastic panel after it has melted and the stud is burnt. Use 12 gauge or larger extension cords. The 8 inch spool adapter does not come with a lot of HD model units.Any LWS can get you one. |
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发表于 2021-8-31 22:09:43