Aluminum windings/SA200??

admin

I have used SA 200's for years on various jobs. They are my preferred welder, hands down.My question deals with the SA 200's that were compromised with aluminum windings during the later years of the Viet Nam war. Can anyone tell me what to look for in order to spot one of these machines? I've used many of the early & mid '70's SA 200's & have owned several & have never had a problem with them relating to the aluminum windings. Was this a myth or did it actually happen? If so how can I tell it is aluminum wound w/o dismantling it?
Reply:It doesn't coincide with the war in VN.The alu wrapings first appeared in late '73 or early '74. The barrel of the generator is octagonal shape because the round barrel was too small to contain the larger alu. So a smooth round generator housing will be an all copper machine. An octagonal generator will, unless modified, have some alu in it. They went back to the smooth round housing and all copper in the early '90's. Lincoln found the old dies for making the early housing collecting dust in a warehouse and put them back in production. JTMcC.
Reply:Lincoln produced the alum shunt windings from the early 70's in to the 90's.  Finally got smart and went back to copper in the Classic I.  I have a main generator housing in the barn with burned out main shunts (aluminum).  Thought the exciter gen aluminum shunts were bad, ordered a set of copper, replaced them, still no go.  Found out it was the mains.  Too expensive to replace, parted out the machine and sold everything except the main gen housing on eBay.
Reply:Originally Posted by JTMcCIt doesn't coincide with the war in VN.The alu wrapings first appeared in late '73 or early '74. The barrel of the generator is octagonal shape because the round barrel was too small to contain the larger alu. So a smooth round generator housing will be an all copper machine. An octagonal generator will, unless modified, have some alu in it. They went back to the smooth round housing and all copper in the early '90's. Lincoln found the old dies for making the early housing collecting dust in a warehouse and put them back in production. JTMcC.
Reply:Originally Posted by gizzardgutzOK, now see I've been told that the octagnol housing is what separates the Redface from the Blackface, but no one has ever mentioned the aluminum aspect.
Reply:And to confuse the situation, my 58 is a red face black plate...lolEsab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldAnd to confuse the situation, my 58 is a red face black plate...lol
Reply:Stumpf and several others says it is "technically"...According to the serial number, it falls into the "category", even though it has a black plate.   The same exact part# on my face plate also came in "red" just a sshort time later.  I also have a 5 position selector on the left side.  Only a few were built this way according to different "sources".Last edited by lugweld; 03-01-2009 at 04:28 AM.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Well it's not, technically or any other way. In 1958 the red face plates were but a dream in a designers mind. People who don't understand these things use the term redface incorrectly all the time. People selling machines do as well. It's just too simple, a redface is a machine that came from Lincoln with a face plate that had a red painted backgound, that's it. No more and no less. Before they started using the red paint in the early 60's, the faceplate background was black. After they quit using the red paint around 1970 the background again became black paint. The desireable round barrel/all copper generators were made decades before the red faceplate, and several years after the red faceplate. Calling a '58 a redface is just wrong, whoever does it. It's a 1958 SA-200 that was born like all SA-200's in that year with black paint on the plate. The large number of people developing an interest in these machines lately has led to some really weird things, this is one of them.JTMcC.
Reply:Originally Posted by JTMcCNo, the faceplate color was changed in 1970. Early '70's was a red flate and late '70's were a black plate, the generator remained the same. If it's any help to you, the electronic idler and side lugs came to life in late 1972. First long hoods came in 1957.JTMcC.
Reply:A lot of machines have been repaired with parts from other machines over the years.Or I may be wrong on that date, but I got it from a pretty reliable source so I think it is accurate. Many, many faceplates have been changed out over the years, you used to order them directly from Lincoln and they would transfer your machines original numbers to the new one. People would do that when they painted the machine because the paint fades out on the originals and they look spiffier with new paint and a new front. Plug your code number into the Lincoln website (obsolete manual section) and you can download the operating manual for that machine, it should tell you if your machine has had changes or not.Code #7275 and later are electronic idler, code numbers before that are vacume idler.JTMcC.I might of put that wrong, it might be code 7275 and earlier are vacume, either way, that code number is the point of change. If someone shelled out a motor and replaced it with an earlier model you could end up with the older vacume idler.Last edited by JTMcC; 03-01-2009 at 04:33 PM.
Reply:My serial# is A 716412. According to Lincoln's #'s the first # for '73 is A 707589, the first # for '74 is A 734446. My code is 7214, so vacuum is what I'm supposed to have and the later code is a different machine manufactured at the same time making the changes an option, so to speak. That's the way it makes sense to me whether it's tecnically correct or not.
Reply:No, not options, theres no telling, somebody might of stamped the wrong numbers but the only option Lincoln ever offered on those machines was a starter, they were optional up into the 70's.Code numbers were to designate changes made, they run consecutively, when production of one code number begins, the previous code number ends. People can, and do sometimes make too much out of this. I would just upgrade the idler and put it to work if it was me.JTMcC.
Reply:If I am remebering right, lincoln put the serial numbers on the barrel as well. Or maybe it was the code I cant remeber. go to the aws forum, they have a whole section dedicated to the SA 200. And pretty much everyone over there has one.
Reply:Welders built after May 1973 (above code 7275) have an electronic idler. Gordie -- "I believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Reply:I was in touch with Lincoln Electric concerning information on my welder.  The reply says mine is a Canadian machine and is a 1974.  Was told that in that year the Canadian version didn't use code#Would be nice to have a document listing all the changes year by year and code by code.  I have been working on one.  Hard to pin things down since every story has at least one other version with other "facts". Gordie -- "I believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."