What have I bought? migatronic 200 mono...?

[Gareth J]

Hi all,

I recently picked this machine up and I think it's going to be alright but I'm not entirely sure what I've bought or how to work it!

It's physically pretty big and weighs a lot.
Single phase and attached to a huge, ancient bakalite and possibly original 3 pin plug (fits into standard socket) with a 16A bullet fuse in it. I've blown the fuse once and the thing is also trips the rcd pretty regularly. I've got some 13A sockets that were originally wired for 15A so I've been using them but it wont be a major issue to get a 16 or 30A round type plug/socket set up.

The sticker on the back seems to call it a 200Mono

I'm used to a Clarke 150 so the number of knobs and dials on this machine are a bit confusing:

1: No idea, 4 settings, pictures include arrows pointing up/down
2: Voltage output indicator?
3: Amps output?
4: Again, no idea. more arrows
5: picture suggests distance between torch and metal. 0-10 on the dial, 0 has argon written next to it, 10 CO2. Not sure exactly why the distance between torch and type of gas used is related but I'm currently on Co2 so stuck it towards the higher end.
6: wirespeed. managed to sus that one out.

Came with a fair bit of 0.6mm wire left. would prefer 0.8 but I'll use this up for now.

had a play on setting #2. seemed about right for the 2-3mm steel I was welding. much higher and the RCD starts flipping out. setting #2 seems similar to getting on for max output to the clarke 150. There are two earth wire sockets in the pic above^^ one with a "little earth" pic the other a larger earth pic... any ideas there?

So can anyone point me towards somewhere I can find a manual for this or a similar welder? I've tried a bit of googling but no come up with anything. So I can learn about what all the knobs and dials do/tell me so that I can have a go at setting this up with some kind of logic...

Any thoughts, opinions, suggestions welcome really!

 

[Robotstar5]

Looking at the data plate, you need to run it from a 32A socket.

1 - top 2 settings are for timed welding (stich timer etc.) time is set by knob 4
3rd setting is 2T (welds while trigger held)
4th is 4T (pull trigger to start and again to stop) for long runs

5 - could be burnback (adjusts length of wire sticking out after weld)

 

[brokenbiker]

looks like a decent nit of kit with a lot of control on it.

 

[Flapdisk]

By eck! you won't get any crap from the wire drive, bloke who designed that meant it

 

[brokenbiker]

appears to be a windscreen wiper motor lol

 

[Bill Edwards]

TBH, you've picked up a heap of junk there, whatever you paid for it was too much.
Send me your details and I'll arrange to get it taken off your hands.


I wonder if the two options for the earth are for different power levels - a high and a low range?
With some proper gas that should be a great unit, provided you can get a power supply rigged up for it. What is your trip switch rated at, you'll need at least 30 amps to get anywhere near full whack with this machine?

 

[Tigman]

I have two earth ports aswell , one for small amps one for big amps , standard stuff !

 

[wheresmejumper]

That right there is a beaut.
a monster.even goes all the way up to 11

 

[wheresmejumper]

Looking at the data plate, you need to run it from a 32A socket.

46.6 amps flat out!

 

[brokenbiker]

That right there is a beaut.
a monster.even goes all the way up to 11

must have been made by a spinal tap fan...

 

[Paul.]

Spent many hours (years actually) on one of those, mine was a migatronic 350, the only difference is mine had 2 knobs for voltage, coarse and fine.
settings are as exactly as robotstar said, the 2 return lead sockets are for high and low inductance, supposedly improves arc stability and reduces spatter.
If you pull the cover of the other side opposite the reel you will find a harness coiled up, remove the bolts holding the wirefeed unit on top of the main welder uncoil the harness and you have a remote wirefeed unit, saves dragging the welder round the shop.
Biggest problem with these is if you ever have a circuit board fault they are very expensive to repair.

 

[julianthegypsy]

I'd buy it, just because it goes up to eleven!

 

[brokenbiker]

i would love something like this, with that amount of control and a wire feed unit, just no space to keep it and nearly all my mig jobs require a lot of portability

 

[Gareth J]

Thanks very much for the replies guys.

Haha, I hadn't clocked that it goes up to 11. That is most excellent.

Yep, I've sussed out all the settings now. You're right about switch #1, all very fancy stuff for me. Still not sure about #5 but burnback seems to make sense.

I'm increasingly pleased with it as it was a bit of a gamble. Even on CO2 it welds just so much nicer than the clarke (shouldn't be a surprise really).

I took all the doors off it this afternoon to hoover/brush/blast the decades of dust out and just have a general look over. The insides look really heavy duty, I can see one modification though, someone has at some point either added or replaced a resistor in line, one component in from the power supply cord. It seems to be working fine though and looks to be well installed so I'll hope that someone knew what they were up to when they put it in there.

Power supply wise, I should be able to get a 32A line sorted, will speak to a sparky mate and see what we can rig up. You're right that it is a bit of a monster, I managed to flip the trip just starting the wire feed motor up (no arc) once!

Thanks for the earth lead clarification. I guess I'll try it out in the bigger port when I get the power supply sorted.

Going to have to keep the clarke though as even on the lowest setting, I'm going to struggle on bodywork. I think that's why the garage I bought it from was selling.

Something I noticed in use; the voltage gauge hangs after you have stopped welding and there is a small spark/arc if you touch the tip to the work. After the spark the voltage dips back down. Normal? Problem?
Anything I should do in terms of servicing this beast?
The circuit board issues; any preventative maintenance I can do? Not sure when it was made, but its certainly not new and looks to have seen some work...

Many thanks again for all the replies and reassurance that I have not bought junk!

 

[dan.taylor.1]

Normal for it to do that if theres no voltage bleed on it, my machine does it every now and again, but the rest of the time is fine!

Dan

 

[brokenbiker]

not really an issue, just something to be aware of really

 

[Robotstar5]

Some robot welders have a permanent OCV on the wire, where parts to be welded are not always in the same position the robot can be programmed to search for the material using the wire stickout as a "sensor".

 

[Gareth J]

All good, that's reassuring. my main trip is 100A but if that's no good I also found spare a 63A separate trip lying around so may be able to make the welder have its own separate trip.

Any recommended online shops for industrial electric bits? need to get some plugs/sockets for it...

 

[Robotstar5]

I normally use TLC but I'm sure Brightspark has suggested somewhere better before?.

 

[Gareth J]

Thanks - looking at some plugs and wire now.

any opinions on plugs? I think I'll get away with 32A plugs/sockets bearing in mind that if I'm reading the plate correctly, the welder's only got about a 60% duty cycle at that current. A friend of mine is happy with his 311A single phase beast on a 32A setup too. 63A plugs look like overkill....