Shopmaster Problems

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My old Miller Shopmaster 300 has a problem and I was wondering about fixing it. There are 10 blue cylinder things about 3" in dia. and about 8"long in the far back of the machine and they are all attached to each other by bars. One of these has a blown hole in the side of it. They are mounted to the bars with 2 screws, one screw in each bar. It would be easy to change out a single cylinder.What are these cylinders?Do they sell them singular?Would I be better off replacing them all?Where do I get them?Thanks
Reply:They are capacitors. Look on miller for the manual for your machine and then miller4less for the part#.
Reply:They are called electrolytic capacitors and can probably be obtained from miller or any good electronics supplier, find the capacitance value in farads (micro - farads are common) and the voltage rating on the side of the can.They are one of the most failure prone components and the likelihood of failure increases with age.  Definitely you will want to replace all of them.  They are also polarity sensitive so keep a sketch of your connections to make sure you hook them up right."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:I suggest you put this question in the Miller forum here, and hope that duaneb55 chimes in. He is one of the pro's here, especially when it comes to Miller. Also do a search, I think this has already been covered."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Thanks guys, I appreciate it. And yes, I know Duane is the Miller man.
Reply:I gotta add to be careful and look up how to discharge the caps prior to handling.  They can retain a charge even with the machine unplugged for a while.  They can zap you.  Be safe.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Wow, $46 a piece for the capacitors, $460 to replace all of them. I'm not sure the old machine is worth that much. I may just replace the bad one and go from there. I have a couple other machines I can use while I mess with the Shopmaster, it's just that it's my favorite.
Reply:Post up the specs, I bet we can find them cheaper.
Reply:30,000uF, 50V, 2-1/2" diameter, 4-1/8" tall, screw terminals (tall) on 1-1/8" spacing.Tedds and Mouser don't have any.  Already checked.  Anything bigger in diameter or much longer won't fit.OK to go up in voltage but not down.Edit:Phillips PN 1098333188FE303T050APA2Surge: 75VTolerance: -10/+50%Temp rating: 85CLast edited by duaneb55; 10-17-2013 at 12:57 AM.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Duane, I think you lost Bob 1/3 the way through that..........Any eBay links for the poor man?I use you do it electronics for parts......they have a web site and shiphttp://www.youdoitelectronics.com/Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Careful handling capacitors, they hold a charge and that charge is whatever voltage they carry during operation and they can dump that charge almost instantly which equates to a lot of amperage at whatever voltage they are charged at. There are procedures to discharge them, they usually involve shorting out the terminals with a resistor until the cap shows no more voltage.If you go to a 31,000uF the price drops to $29/eahttp://www.digikey.com/product-detai...470-ND/3906615Even says its for use in welding applications.
Reply:Originally Posted by TozziWeldingDuane, I think you lost Bob 1/3 the way through that..........Any eBay links for the poor man?I use you do it electronics for parts......they have a web site and shiphttp://www.youdoitelectronics.com/
Reply:Thanks every one, for $29 I will just replace them all. Those on the digikey.com site seem to be a perfect fit and if you buy 10, and I would need 10, is only $75. Great!There seems to be a little plug on the top of them and I noticed that 4 of them had this plug blown out. I was assuming that those were all bad.Last edited by Bob; 10-17-2013 at 06:50 PM.
Reply:Those safety plugs blow out due to overheating.  4 out of 10 is good reason to replace all of them but check your math (or typing).First price break is at 10 pieces for $27.54 each which means 10 pieces will cost you $275.40.Last edited by duaneb55; 10-17-2013 at 08:42 PM.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:They are on the way Duane, just over $300 with shipping and tax. I just missed a 2 on the 75 there Duane.Thanks Ironman for the link, you saved me a lot of money. This site is great ain't it.