When you blow out your XMT...

admin

Do you remove the cover?  The manual says not to, and to just blow in through the front and rear louvers.   Are inverters that easily damaged?  Seems like blowing through the louvers would at best just stir the dust around inside.  This is on an XMT 304.
Reply:Ah, the sound of silence.  Maybe you all don't blow out your welders?  I pulled the cover off to have a look, and there's a horizontally-mounted circuit board right on top, and it's loaded with grinding dust.  So I'm going to gently blow it off.  If you blow through the louvers, you will only be blowing out a shrouded area like a wind tunnel that travels between the 2 louvers and probably has whatever heats up the most inside of it.  Everything else on the machine including circuit boards is outside of this area.  I expect as long as you're using a safety tip at a reasonable distance, blowing them off can only help things.  There are as many screws holding the cover to that machine as there are on my TB!
Reply:Hey tbone,I would strongly suggest you NOT blow compresses air thru your power supply. You can drive metal particles into areas that may cause a shorting condition. I use my shop vac with a couple different size soft-bristle brushes to clean the innards. I also keep all my units covered when not in use. BE SAFE!  Be sure your unit is UNPLUGGED!DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Thanks Denny, a shop vac makes sense.  My stuff stays covered too, but this is a new (used) machine which needs some care.
Reply:I've taken the cover off my XMT and blown it out with compressed air.  I use an air chuck with a trigger control that allows for varying the air pressure so I wasn't blasting it at full force.  Works fine.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I think that recomendation is based on the "wind tunnel" technology,  or whatever they call it.the inside parts that are open to dirt and derbis is seperate from the rest of the interior,  so no real need to take the cover off.XMT 350 MPa, w/D52-DTA 185 TSWHarris of
Reply:The manufacturer can't issue a dose of common sense along with each purchase so they make blanket statements like "DO NOT". There are some pretty fine and fragile components and make-up on PCBs. You could easily lift some components right off there with 165 psi at 1/2 inch away with a pin point nozzle. Peel up lacquer coatings, lift traces off, blast paint off heat sinks, blow crap into those tiny relay boxes. Some guys hose might be spitting oily water at the same time.  That always works out well. I think the hidden statement is "do so at your own risk".  Think about it first. Don't drive tacks with a 4 pound hammer."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:sjames, while in theory I'm sure you're right, the reality is that there's at least 1/16" of stuck-on-there grinding dust on the horizontal circuit board on top, which is in the "shielded" area away from the wind tunnel.I tried the shop vac idea yesterday, and it didn't get much stuff off.  A few dust bunnies was it.  So it looks like the machine's getting blown out anyway.  Sandy, I'll try to control my puffing pressure.In other XMT news, I found part numbers to convert its Dinse-style connectors to large Tweco's so I don't have to use adapters.  Those came in today, and look like they'll be a cinch to install.  At $22/ea, they're also much cheaper than the Miller Dinse-to-Tweco adapters which were $36 each, highway robbery.In case anyone else is interested, the new connectors (or "receptacles" as they call them) were part number 209 219, and came with the new connector, washer, nut, and plastic spacer.  You have to order a quantity of 2.
Reply:That's good to know about the Tweco panel connectors.  I bought run of the mill Dinse to Tweco adapters at the local weld shop for not much money, which allows me to use both the Tweco stick/feeder leads and the Dinse tig torch lead on my XMT.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:When I first started in this business, we would take the power sources outside remove the covers and hose them down, sit them in the sun for 2 days then button them up and go back to work.
Reply:Originally Posted by Fat BastardWhen I first started in this business, we would take the power sources outside remove the covers and hose them down, sit them in the sun for 2 days then button them up and go back to work.
Reply:Let me clarify these machines were transformer based with fer electronics.I do not recommend any one do this now.
Reply:FB, are you saying you didn't start last year?
Reply:I would  not suggest using a vacuum to clean out your machine.  The bristles, and vacuum effect create static electricity and can shock your board and make them junk.  It's called Electro Static Discharge.  That's why when you get a circuit board, it's in a special bag.  If you install a circuit board  you are suppose to be grounded at all times.        Just hate to see anyone ruin their machine due to keeping it clean.                                           -Greg---No good deed goes unpunished---
Reply:Greg, thanks.  It was no problem because I used a shop vac with the plastic extension end on it (no bristles) and never touched the board at all.  It was also no problem to blow out the machine, and a lot of junk sure came out of it.