Finally got the welder sorted, I did wonder why the previous owner had stuck it on eBay, as the contactor problem wasn’t too big a fix. Sort of found out now, as the pipe union on the gas valve had been broken and bodged with superglue, wouldn’t have known if the pipe hadn’t been cut. I bodged it again, by fitting a 4mm OD tube inside, so I can use the same quick release coupling as is standard on hobby migs, leaks a little, so may rethink it later. Put a 24v 55W bulb across where the discharge resistor should fit, which seems to work fine. The wire feed hub had been broken, flange missing, so I machined a groove near the end and fitted a circlip for the reel to butt against.
So, fired it up last night and did a test weld. A little disappointed by the lack of power, this machine is the “Snap-On 185”, so expected more when I bought it. On the forum, I found its max is actually 165 amps. Not sure if it can replace my little Oxford oil cooled stick welder, but will do more than the 100E Clarke, which was usually restricted to tacking, before using the stick welder, and the odd spot weld.
So, fired it up last night and did a test weld. A little disappointed by the lack of power, this machine is the “Snap-On 185”, so expected more when I bought it. On the forum, I found its max is actually 165 amps. Not sure if it can replace my little Oxford oil cooled stick welder, but will do more than the 100E Clarke, which was usually restricted to tacking, before using the stick welder, and the odd spot weld.
