Powcon 400SM

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I just scored a Powcon 400SM off of craigslist this afternoon and until this afternoon I hadn't ever heard of them so I have a few questions. My initial thoughts are that it appears to be a quality, heavy duty machine, everything works and it welded very smooth in my inexperienced opinion. The man I bought it from seemed to take good care of his stuff and this is a machine that he bought from work, said he's ran a welding shop for 40 years and is retiring and doesn't want to touch another welder anymore. It came with a heavy duty cart, a full bottle of co2/argon gas, the welder, extra leads, TWO wire feeders and he threw in all the tips he had, 3-30pound spools of wire with about a full spool between them, brand new in the plastic lincoln welding jacket, gloves and a spare gas gauge. I'm probably forgetting somethings. Both wire feeders are also Powcom PD60, the one hooked up to the machine has a tregakiss 15' gun and the other one he threw in because he had no use for it, said he never hooked it up so couldn't tell me if it worked or not and it didn't have a gun. My MAIN question is what can you tell me about this machine, I really have no idea what I've got or its capabilities. Can I still get parts for it if I end up needing some down the road? Any way to get a manual for it? It is set up to run on 220 single phase and he had it hooked up to a 30amp breaker in his shed, that seams kinda small to me for a 400amp machine, anyone know what size breaker it would need? I'm just pumped up to have a machine I can learn on now. Thanks
Reply:That is a rightous score indeed.  Sounds like an old welder gettin out and cashin in his tools.  Good luck and be patient as you learn.  It will come with time.BobI'm spending my Kids inheritance, I dont like him that much anyway!!!!!!Enuff tools to do the job, enough sense to use em.Anybody got a spare set of kidneys?  Trade?
Reply:Hello Bryan27, Powcon was one of the first manufacturers of inverter welding power sources. You have a great machine there with a LOT of power in a small package. I am pretty sure that you will find that that machine will run really well on say, a 50amp, 220V, single phase hook-up. Although it would also run on a 30amp breaker, ultimately the breaker size will decide whether you can run it at full power for any appreciable length of time. If my memory serves me correctly, there is a company based in San Diego that currently provides parts and service for those machines as they are no longer manufactured. I know that others on the forum here can provide you with the name of this company. Whether you are running GMAW, FCAW, SMAW, or GTAW, that particular machine has some really nice welding characteristics and they are known for some pretty decent reliability. I believe it also has arc control adjustment when it is set to the GMAW short circuit setting. If you are a bit green to welding this setting might not be of great value just yet, but as you get more comfortable and proficient you will appreciate it's availability and function. I also seem to recall that there is an availabilty of operator/service manuals on the internet. Been a while since I have looked though. Enjoy your great find/purchase. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Thanks, I have a 50 amp breaker in the box not being used for the stove plug in, I have a gas stove so I may send that juice towards the garage. Another option would be to run a welder extension cord from the kitchen about 40' to the garage. One other thing I think I forgot to mention is he tossed in a auto darkening hood too. I didn't need it but it'll be nice to have a back up or extra in case someone comes over to mess around with it. I'm really looking forward to getting this thing buzzing, I ran my first string with a mig testing it out at the sellers house and kinda surprised myself with how good it looked. All that practice and watching the weld puddle and figuring out what it's doing with stick seems like it might transfer over to mig, I hope anyways.
Reply:You, sir, have picked up one of the best welders available.Powcons were built in San Diego and have a proven record for being a top quality high production machine.I currently own a 300sm and it's my main machine for in shop work.I've worked with about a dozen others at other folks shops and they all were great.At one shop we had 4 units go through a flood, all we had to do to get them back in use was wash and dry them. Every one fired up no problem after the clean up.Arc Products  http://www.arc-products.com/ carries parts, manuals, and rebuilt machines.Also check with any local welder repair shops, most are familiar with these rigs.Good score!Brian LeonardAppalachian Ironworks L.L.C.434 Long Branch Rd, Marshall, NC 28753828 649 9966828 702 [email protected]
Reply:Originally Posted by app-ironworksllcYou, sir, have picked up one of the best welders available.Powcons were built in San Diego and have a proven record for being a top quality high production machine.I currently own a 300sm and it's my main machine for in shop work.I've worked with about a dozen others at other folks shops and they all were great.At one shop we had 4 units go through a flood, all we had to do to get them back in use was wash and dry them. Every one fired up no problem after the clean up.Arc Products  http://www.arc-products.com/ carries parts, manuals, and rebuilt machines.Also check with any local welder repair shops, most are familiar with these rigs.Good score!
Reply:ive never used one but ive been thinking about getting one...may i ask what you payed?Thanks,Aaron
Reply:Originally Posted by AMC724ive never used one but ive been thinking about getting one...may i ask what you payed?Thanks,Aaron
Reply:very good priceany pics?
Reply:I don't  have any pics right now, I'll see if I can get some posted tomorrow afternoon.
Reply:I gave $550 for mine at an auction. No one else knew Powcon enough to bid on it. The Millers and Lincolns were going for near new prices, crazy high for used. A wore out Bobcat 225g went for over $3500 as an example.As far as value, to me it's worth a couple g's easy.Here's a 300sm w/ a Cyclomatic Powerdrive feeder and a 15 foot lead, and 400 amp gun.Brian LeonardAppalachian Ironworks L.L.C.434 Long Branch Rd, Marshall, NC 28753828 649 9966828 702 [email protected]
Reply:Hopefully these pictures work as attachments, I uploaded them to my photobucket so I could post the pics right in the text but for some reason when I right click on the img it won't let me copy and paste. Anyways, here's 5 pics and I can get more if you want pics of anything specific.edit to add....Don't mind the mess in the garage, right now I'm storing a boat for my dad and a bunch of boxes for my brother. I'll be running them off shortly........ Attached ImagesLast edited by Bryan27; 02-08-2011 at 08:16 PM.
Reply:very nice and clean machinedo you think you might be interested in selling the second PD60?
Reply:To be honest I really don't have a plan for it right now but I'd like to hold on to it until I figure out what I'm going to do with it.....or not do with it, kinda depend on if it works or not. I can see how having 2 wire feeders already set up could be beneficial for production type work but I'm just trying to learn how to stick metal together right now. If I decide to sell it I'll let you know.
Reply:Hello Bryan27, there was one other thing that I meant to mention the other day when I replied to your thread. If you are going to open the case on this power source for any reason please be careful. One of the little know things about these is the stored electrical energy that they have in the capacitor bank inside of them. If you don't properly discharge them before poking around inside you could be in for a serious to fatal electrical shock. I don't remember off the top of my head the correct discharge procedure, yet I believe you mentioned that you were able to gain access to the operational/service manuals, I know it is in there. Once again, nice find and enjoy your "new" machine. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:That's some GOOD information. I'm going to print the manuals out and read over them before I mess with opening it up, electricity is something that I just don't "get" enough to feel comfortable going at without reading up on it first. I wouldn't have had a clue, Thanks. Do you see any problem with using an air compressor to blow it out with?
Reply:Bryan,does your machine display the volts in gmaw mode when you are not welding or does it display 0?
Reply:I'd have to check it out when I get it powered up, I didn't really pay much attention to the display other than I noticed it did light up. Right now it's sitting in the garage waiting on a 220 line to get ran out there. My uncles electrician buddy is going to come over this weekend and give me a quote on running a line out to the garage to power it up, as long as it's not too expensive and he has the time to do it I plan to be squirting metal the middle of next week, we'll see. I'm very curious how many amps it will really put out on single phase 220 on a 60 amp breaker? It's about a 50' run from the box to the garage.
Reply:i just bought one....300 sm with wire feeder and 25' weld craft tig torch 150a? 35' gashose power blockand that little cart thats in the pics ( im going to build another one though)i dont think you can see it in the pics but the front  is cracked  and i think the handle on the cart did it.the display reads 0 unless im welding, i had it up to 325 amp on a 60 amp fuse on single phase 220the wire feeder i got is not as nice as yours those pd60s are repackaged miller s-60 wire feeders Attached Images
Reply:Looks real good, how's it weld? I'd like to hear about the tig function of these welders. I'm a long way from tig welding, but I am curious how they do as a tig machine.
Reply:well...i threw on a roll of .045 hard wire ( i normally use .035) so it was hard to dial it in.other than that it welds pretty nicetomarrow im going to buy a new roll of .035 on the way home tomarrow and maybe this weekend i will hook up the tig and see how it does
Reply:Originally Posted by AMC724Bryan,does your machine display the volts in gmaw mode when you are not welding or does it display 0?
Reply:Originally Posted by Bryan27I just checked it out and it does display zero when not welding. I called Arc Products and spoke with Eddie, had a few questions for him about the wire feeder. While I had him on the phone I asked him about the display and he said that it's not a display for setting up the machine, but it is a meter used more for inspection really. I guess so that boss man can tell what your settings are while welding? Anyways, he also said that due to being single phase I would have to reduce the dial settings by 1/3 and the max amps output will be about 280ish.
Reply:Originally Posted by Broccoli1That seems odd as there is n indication in the manual that the machine Outputs less power on Single Phase-Duty Cycle is Lower on Single Phase- and that is standard on Single Phase vs 3-Phase operation.
Reply:Originally Posted by Bryan27Looks real good, how's it weld? I'd like to hear about the tig function of these welders. I'm a long way from tig welding, but I am curious how they do as a tig machine.Before you simply swap a 30 for 50 amp breaker make sure that the wire size leading to the breaker is campatible Originally Posted by Bryan27Thanks, I have a 50 amp breaker in the box not being used for the stove plug in, I have a gas stove so I may send that juice towards the garage. Another option would be to run a welder extension cord from the kitchen about 40' to the garage. One other thing I think I forgot to mention is he tossed in a auto darkening hood too. I didn't need it but it'll be nice to have a back up or extra in case someone comes over to mess around with it. I'm really looking forward to getting this thing buzzing, I ran my first string with a mig testing it out at the sellers house and kinda surprised myself with how good it looked. All that practice and watching the weld puddle and figuring out what it's doing with stick seems like it might transfer over to mig, I hope anyways.
Reply:Originally Posted by app-ironworksllcI have a universal dc scratch start tig set up to use on this or my engine drive.The 300sm does great with it. I need to get a water cooled set up, though, because I have a lot of amp range left over. To weld 3/16" or less I'm running at less than 30% on low range. According to the meter that's still around 125 amps. (240 single phase input, btw)
Reply:Originally Posted by akpolarisBefore you simply swap a 30 for 50 amp breaker make sure that the wire size leading to the breaker is campatible