As MIG Welders Go...

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 10/17/2015 at 16:14 • Filed to: None

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...is this one worth fooling with?

A friend is moving and gave me this 110-volt MIG welder. He says the wire feed needs repair.

Any thoughts?

Birddog > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/17/2015 at 16:32

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For free?

It’s very worth fixing. There isn’t much to go wrong on them.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Birddog 10/17/2015 at 16:44

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Yes, free.

Frank Grimes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/17/2015 at 16:49

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Yes yes it is. may just be a worn drive wheel or something simple. I would take the case off clean it all out put it back together and see if it runs.

Found the manual. http://home.lewiscounty.com/~forhire/Silve…

Birddog > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/17/2015 at 16:56

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Well worth putting a couple of bucks into. That’s not a cheap HF welder that you toss after two or three years. It’s a pretty solid machine!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Birddog 10/17/2015 at 17:04

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Thank you. I know almost nothing about welding, but I’ve done okay the few times I’ve tried it. I thought I’d get this one going and get some scrap steel and make some joints.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Frank Grimes 10/17/2015 at 17:05

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Thank you. I have two professional fabricators living on my block and I’ll ask them to help me check it out.

Thanks for looking up the manual for me.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/17/2015 at 17:07

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Somebody raised a should-I-shouldn’t-I question with a very similar MIG welder yesterday,and the price tag was $80. I left them with a slightly hesitant yes. In your case, it’s absolutely yes to your “price”, though a fresh cable or other parts may set you back that same $80, assuming that’s what needs attention. Triage time!

The biggest reasons for it to not be feeding correctly would be issues with the motor and drive, issues with the wire drive wheel, issues with the tip/handle, and issues with the cable sleeve. The first two might be hard to fix, but are probably less likely. If the sleeve is worn out (not uncommon) the wire can snag when the handpiece is held at certain angles. It’s probably not the tip, or he’d have just replaced it, but if you replace the handpiece/cable the tip will be taken care of.

Your steps are: open the side hatch, check for the presence of wire and correct seating in the little drive wheel, hook it up, turn it on, pull the trigger, and watch. If the drive/etc. are all working as they should, move on down the line. If the wire is slipping on the drive wheel, you’ve either got binding or poor adjustment of tension to the drive wheel, or both. If the drive wheel isn’t turning... big trouble ahead, maybe.

If wire simply doesn’t want to go through the sleeve smoothly and gives indications that’s worn out, you’ll need to find another cable and handpiece. Hopefully, one with Miller/Hobart or other readily sourceable standard tips. Fortunately, the swap isn’t terribly hard.

Birddog > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/17/2015 at 17:07

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It’s a good unit to learn on. Looks like it has the Gas hookup too.

desertdog5051 > Birddog 10/17/2015 at 18:37

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There’s a few, but major, things that go wrong with cheap mig welders.

1. the feed mechanism

2. the transformer.

Both expensive to repair.

Birddog > desertdog5051 10/17/2015 at 18:44

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That was my point. This wasn’t a cheapie in it’s day. I’d put it on par with my Hobart 135. Just not as fancy looking.

desertdog5051 > Birddog 10/17/2015 at 19:37

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I know nothing about Silver Beauty welders. Thanks.

Birddog > desertdog5051 10/17/2015 at 20:23

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That felt a bit cold. I wasn’t trying to be “that guy”.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/17/2015 at 20:53

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As I mentioned in another reply, I’ve got a couple of official welder/fabricator guys living right on my block who are very friendly and I bet they’d be happy to look at it with me. Yes, there’s also a gas hookup on it.

Thanks for the tip.

desertdog5051 > Birddog 10/17/2015 at 21:37

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Not intended to be cold in any way. I had never heard of the brand until now.

‘Thanks’ was for giving me the information about them since I knew nothing about them.

Original post was just pointing out things that do go wrong with welders, especially cheaper ones.

My first welder was a cheap one and it fried the transformer from me not knowing its limited duty cycle.

Birddog > desertdog5051 10/17/2015 at 21:53

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Right on. I just have to make sure my inner “That Guy” stays locked up. That was a good check.

That’s the same way I fried my first welder. 20% Duty Cycle? WTF? What’s that smell?