spool gun wiring

[choco]

I see you can pick up cheap enough spool guns for about 120 euro. does anyone have a wiring diagram for the clarke 160en wire motor. Id imagine you could retro fit a spool gun connector spliced into the wire feed motor to control the spool guns wire speed from the feed speed knob on the machine ??

 

[mike 109444]

Some things you need to consider: Is the voltage from the mig correct for the spool gun (12 / 24?) Is the circuit in the mig capable of providing enough current for the motor ?. If the above is ok then look to have a change over switch which would isolate the built in motor and thus feed the power to the socket you have installed for the spool gun.
Good luck with it BTW.
Post up any pics you take and results.
The 120 euro one is that the £59 one on ebay ?

 

[choco]

Its actually 110 euro no its on www. lcdvision.de ill check that out thanks

 

[Wendelspanswick]

There is a spool gun on eBay that comes with a euro connector.

 

[mike 109444]

There is a spool gun on eBay that comes with a euro connector.

Only problem there is the 160en does not have a euro connector.

 

[outofthefire]

You can convert to a euro connector fairly easily.

 

[choco]

there is also another socket for the spool gun even with Euro connector.

 

[mike 109444]

The euro socket just feeds the gas and welding voltage to the spool gun, the second plug (4 or 5 pin din ?) is to supply the voltage for the motor in the spool gun and the triggering of the welder to "weld" (feed power up the euro plug!)
If you did not fit a euro socket then you would have to remove the euro plug from the end of the spool gun and attache some how to inside welder as well as feeding the gas. You don't have a gas valve in the 160 so would have to add that and the circuit to operate it

 

[choco]

Thanks Mike, Thread is a bit old now but. I don't want a euro connector. I want to keep the original gun. I could wire in the spool gun. What about the gas solenoid?? Will the original gun work if I hookup another gas solenoid for just the spool gun.

 

[choco]

I guess this is where you wire it I haven't checked it with a meter yet. What voltage gas solenoid will work with the 160en?

 

[mike 109444]

If you look at the two schematics one is the original and the other is where I think you can "tap off" for the power feed to a gas valve (240V AC) and power to the motor in the spool gun (assuming it has same voltage as the welder feed motor) If you put a Tee" in the gas pipe this can feed into the gas valve. This will give gas for the normal torch (as it has mechanical gas valve in handle) and then when using spool gun the electric gas valve will operate feeding gas to the spool gun. If you have the supply to the gas valve "switched" it can be disabled when on normal operation. Also you could switch OFF the feed that normally goes to the wire feed motor and then use the speed control to adjust the supply to the spool gun. Also yo will need a big power plug and socket for the weld voltage (you could use the same type that is used for the ground clamp on other welders (dinse type).

 

[mike 109444]

Just realized there is no "triggering" allowed for for the spool gun ..... Working on it......

 

[choco]

Mike your a legend thank you. The welding voltage wire on the stock gun is just a crimped round ring connector bolted into the welder +. Thinking if I cut the euro plug off and just crimp the welding voltage with a round connector??

 

[choco]

Trigger for the spool gun I would think is two wires hopefully. That can just replace where the original two wire connector plugs into from the mig gun? The trigger wires go to what's looks like a big silver heat sink in the pic above. And the other goes to the top connector on the circuit board in the other pic

 

[mike 109444]

There you go....
Not sure what connections are on the spool gun you are looking at, do you have a link to it ?

 

[choco]

Yes link is here theres no specs on it. I emailed asking but been Christmas, I say I won't get an answer any time soon. More than likely they won't know the specs either.

http://lcdvision-schweisstechnik.de/Spool-Gun-4m

Also if the voltage to the spool gun is way off compared to the welder I can always run and external power source to the spool gun

 

[mike 109444]

You should be able to "REMOVE" the euro plug by taking it apart There should be a small screw in the side when the screw collar notch is lined up with the hole. Then there should be a small grub screw to disassemble further.

 

[mike 109444]

Note if you use a separate psu then it will need to be variable.
The connections you need to make are like the bottom half of this unit. (you have the top half with the wire feed on the Clarke!

 

[choco]

Something like this if the feed for the motor in the clarke is to weak.

 

[mike 109444]

One of the problems with the likes of the Clarke machines (and SIP) is that they take there power for the feed motor from the welding voltage so as you strike the work with the wire the voltage will dip !
Note some of the terms the chap in video used were a bit misleading namely saying that the HIGH voltage is present on the two little pins. It's NOT they are the other end of the trigger switch and the voltage is NOT HIGH it's the welding voltage which, as it can feed the motor is at much the same voltage. Also it's NOT AIR that goes in there its shield gas