I've got what I consider to be a rather unusual welder.It's a Lincoln SAE 200j Aircraft Welder.What makes it unusual is that it has a huge ac motor that generates a dc welding current from a 220v 3 phase input.Does this thing have any value in the shop or should I replace it with a good quality ac buzz box of around 200a ? I'm a little concerned about firing this old thing up,shock therapy would probably benefit me but.... To see how unusual this thing is,here is a link to the operators manual on the Lincoln website. Thanks. V7 (Steve) http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM132F.pdf
Not that unusual, we had one where I work we used for portable maintainance work and putting up cranes and such until it finally gave up the ghost. If you don't have 3 phase it's not worth getting a converter, but if you do, and it burns rod, use it.
Same experience as above. Had one in the shop and is an extremely stable power source for stick welding.
do the math on it, even though it's three phase, some of those old lincoln welders are very specialized. My welding teacher worked at lincoln, a kid brought in this welder he bought for $100. thinking he would use it at home. it was three phase so he figured it would be somewhat useful. well after reading the plates on the side and doing some math, we figured out it would weld anything from tin foil to a tin can, but no thicker. so a cool machine, but not very useful for joe schmo
It depends on how much you want to spend on a welder. I have a 3 phase Miller Dimension 400 that I am running with a home made single to 3 phase rotary converter and I couldn't be happier. I also use the same converter to run my 2 post hoist. Total cost of the converter was the price of a 10hp 3phase motor that is used as an idler and come oil filled capacitors. It isn't a project beyond the skill level of any hot rodder that has ever wired his own project. Those older Lincoln welders are high quality units. I am not familiar with that particular unit, but a google search on the internet should turn up all the information you need to help you make your decision. http://www.metalwebnews.com/electric.html
Thanks for all your input...keep it coming.That's a great article on building a home made phase converter ! V7 (Steve)
That's a pretty heavy duty machine. We called them torpedo's. Lots of 4",6" and 8" pipe with 3/8 walls was welded with machines just like that on the rare construction job that had the electrical service to feed them. It's a DC machine. The motor drives a generator. It's over kill for our hobby needs IMHO. If it is free and you don't have to spend a lot to get it hooked up then I might go for it. Compared to a buzz box that thing is heavy and takes up a lot of floor space. If it cost over a 100 bucks including the costs to get it operational, then I'd p*** on it.
The Jalopy Journal
