New member with first mig

[mike 109444]

Jay 1st you will need a meter.
NOTE You are dealing with MAINS VOLTAGE do not try if you are not sure you are safe.
Then you will need to meter between A and the other two connectors B and C.
With your meter set on AC volts put one probe in A and then the other in B. You should NOT get a reading of any volts. Now press the trigger and see if you get a reading of 240V, if you do you have found the connections you need to add onto. If not try same but this time try C and not B. Once you have figured which is which you can then look to add piggyback spade connectors to these points and connect your gas valve to these. Just remember make wires secure and covered as this will be mains voltage.
The circuit diagram is of another Sealey but is much the same as yours.

 

[mike 109444]

Have been looking on ebay for suitable valves but within the <£15 price range there is very little aviable (of the 240v type) You could as has been mentioned use one from an old washing machine but then you will have to find reducers to drop the connector pipe size down to a suitable size. Have a look around your area for a scrap washing m/c. If you find one you need the valve where the water goes in at the back of the machine. See whats around and post pic for further advice.

 

[mike 109444]

The valves are avi from Welequip
http://www.weldequip.com/gas-solenoid-valve.htm
Don't forget you need a 230v version (looks like it comes with the connectors for the pipe so a few £'s saved)

 

[mike 109444]

Jay forgot to add you will need to add the cost of a regulator to connect to the gas!
http://www.weldequip.com/regulators-gas.htm
Depending what gas you go for will decide which type of reg you need.
I and many others use CO2 in pub type cylinders (even for car bodywork) The welds are not quite as pretty as Argon/CO2 mix and the welding is a little bit fiercer but you get more gas for your £'s and it can be easer to get hold of.
Some (most?) of the hobby type Argon/CO2 cylinders may have the same fitting as a CO2 cylinder anyway( think converted fire extinguishers!). Some come with a built-in gauge (AirProducts I think?)
Don't go for the 'disposable' type reg and gas as this is faulse economy as the gas cylinders last only 10 mins of constant welding adn when practicing you will soon use that up.
As you are in the West Midlands you are in a good location for a lot of the suppliers of home/hobby gas. For example http://www.jawel.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=111
Your first bottle with gas will be expensive due to either
1: 'rental for year'
2: 'deposit' (check if it's a refundable deposit)
3: 'out-right purchase' of bottle. There after it should only be the refilling (As you are in the west midlands you are well located for some suppliers. See the 'gas supplier list' on this forum.
I know the above is a lot to add to you bill for what was a cheep welder but if you look at what a welder with all the above included goes for on ebay you may still have a bargain.
Might be the previous owner just needed to replace a broken tourch and the Sealey one for that machine would have been lots of ££'s and a euro tourch and mod kit was cheeper by far. I know this is a lot to take in but stick with it and the guys AND gals on here will give you LOTS of support
What you might want to do first is give the machine a good thrashing using the 'no gas' wire and make sure there are no issues with power or wire feed. If so post pics of welds for advice.
Sorry to ramble but was giving it some thought as to what you had with your machine, hence above

 

[Jay76]

Jay forgot to add you will need to add the cost of a regulator to connect to the gas!
http://www.weldequip.com/regulators-gas.htm
Depending what gas you go for will decide which type of reg you need.
I and many others use CO2 in pub type cylinders (even for car bodywork) The welds are not quite as pretty as Argon/CO2 mix and the welding is a little bit fiercer but you get more gas for your £'s and it can be easer to get hold of.
Some (most?) of the hobby type Argon/CO2 cylinders may have the same fitting as a CO2 cylinder anyway( think converted fire extinguishers!). Some come with a built-in gauge (AirProducts I think?)
Don't go for the 'disposable' type reg and gas as this is faulse economy as the gas cylinders last only 10 mins of constant welding adn when practicing you will soon use that up.
As you are in the West Midlands you are in a good location for a lot of the suppliers of home/hobby gas. For example http://www.jawel.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=111
Your first bottle with gas will be expensive due to either
1: 'rental for year'
2: 'deposit' (check if it's a refundable deposit)
3: 'out-right purchase' of bottle. There after it should only be the refilling (As you are in the west midlands you are well located for some suppliers. See the 'gas supplier list' on this forum.
I know the above is a lot to add to you bill for what was a cheep welder but if you look at what a welder with all the above included goes for on ebay you may still have a bargain.
Might be the previous owner just needed to replace a broken tourch and the Sealey one for that machine would have been lots of ££'s and a euro tourch and mod kit was cheeper by far. I know this is a lot to take in but stick with it and the guys AND gals on here will give you LOTS of support
What you might want to do first is give the machine a good thrashing using the 'no gas' wire and make sure there are no issues with power or wire feed. If so post pics of welds for advice.
Sorry to ramble but was giving it some thought as to what you had with your machine, hence above

Thank you for all your help, will take your advice and give the welder a good blast on gasless and see how it performs over a period of time as its really only been tested for 5-10 mins, I don't mind spending some money on it as it was cheap to start with and could spread the cost out over a few weeks while still getting to grips with welding, can I just ask another question?, what size wire would I be looking at for the solenoid?, I have some 1mm and 2mm solid single strand lieing about, thanks again jay

 

[rtbcomp]

what size wire would I be looking at for the solenoid?, I have some 1mm and 2mm solid single strand lieing about, thanks again jay

I'd use flexible multi-stranded wire because it will stand up to vibration better than solid. The solenoid will draw very little current, so wire the same as that used in the mains lead of a phone charger &c will do.

 

[Jay76]

what size wire would I be looking at for the solenoid?, I have some 1mm and 2mm solid single strand lieing about, thanks again jay

I'd use flexible multi-stranded wire because it will stand up to vibration better than solid. The solenoid will draw very little current, so wire the same as that used in the mains lead of a phone charger &c will do.

Cheers mate, just checked my shed I've got some 1.5mm multi strand, sounds Abit overkill though by the sound of it

 

[mike 109444]

The wire for the gas valve does not carry a great deal of current but you would be better off with flex/multi strand cable as solid will tend to break down with the moving of the machine in and out of shed ect. A length of light gauge flex from an old appliance would do. Main headach is attaching to the existing spade connectors. Remember if you use spade connectors then make sure that there are no bare parts of the spade showing (use sleaving/heatshrink tube).
Piggyback connectors WITH uncovered area. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-PIGGY-...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3a7b7a3096
Piggyback connectors WITH covered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-RED-FU...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3cc9a12e45
Spade type WITH uncovered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-Blue-F...8?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item43b8112e18
Spade WITH covered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-Blue-F...3?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item5aeed992e3

And thers is this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-SCOTCH...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3a7d3f2775
But would secure with cable ties the cables to stop them popping out. Note the white cables in your photo are quite thick so the last one may not go round the cable correctly as it says it's for 1.5 to 2.5 cable. They may do a bigger one?

 

[Jay76]

The wire for the gas valve does not carry a great deal of current but you would be better off with flex/multi strand cable as solid will tend to break down with the moving of the machine in and out of shed ect. A length of light gauge flex from an old appliance would do. Main headach is attaching to the existing spade connectors. Remember if you use spade connectors then make sure that there are no bare parts of the spade showing (use sleaving/heatshrink tube).
Piggyback connectors WITH uncovered area. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-PIGGY-...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3a7b7a3096
Piggyback connectors WITH covered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-RED-FU...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3cc9a12e45
Spade type WITH uncovered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-Blue-F...8?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item43b8112e18
Spade WITH covered area http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-Blue-F...3?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item5aeed992e3

And thers is this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-SCOTCH...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3a7d3f2775
But would secure with cable ties the cables to stop them popping out. Note the white cables in your photo are quite thick so the last one may not go round the cable correctly as it says it's for 1.5 to 2.5 cable. They may do a bigger one?

Thank you for your help!, ill dig the multimeter out this week and get some readings