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I let the smoke out of the welder

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Trevor Jessie

Trevor Jessie

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I rarely get much garage time to work on my projects, but yesterday I had a few spare hours. I was going to weld in some patches to do a rubber bumper conversion. I had everything fit pretty well with a nice little gap to MIG weld. I have (had) a little Lincoln 110 unit that has been with me for about 6 years. It is one of those with the four "heat ranges". To make a long story short, the gun fell and tripped the trigger at the exact moment I was changing the heat setting. It arced and smoke came out of the welder case. Something on the control board fizzled. Cheapest control board I can find is $150.

I ordered a little Eastwood Welder for $299 and free shipping. When I get a chance I'll look into repairing the Lincoln unit.

BTW you can't butt TIG weld sheet metal with a big air gap ... I finally stepped away after trying to lay a rod in the gap. Extra holes to patch now. :(

Oh well.
 
As my buddy Jim told me once: That's the problem with circuit boards, once the smoke comes out they won't work anymore.
 
I did that last year with my inverter TIG. It made some horrible noises, there was a spectacular light show, and finally the cloud of smoke. I replaced mine with a more capable unit from Everlast but I haven't had the opportunity to do much with it and learn how to use it properly.
 
dklawson said:
I replaced mine with a more capable unit from Everlast .
Click to expand...

Never heard of Everlast welding machines but it makes me think of a set of jumper cables on an Autozone battery.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! :laugh:
 
Everlast:
https://www.everlastgenerators.com/

I stumbled on them while shopping for a replacement to the one that went boom. They offered similar performance to some of the less expensive Miller TIG units and have a modest U.S. support network. Though I am sure the unit I bought was assembled in China it is my understanding that it is a U.S. design and the U.S. support made Everlast more attractive to me than purchasing a Chinese designed, built, and distributed welder.
 
Trevor, let me know what you think of that Eastwood unit after you play with it for awhile. I saw that promo too, with free shipping and almost bit, but the wife has other plans for right now. :( I'm not a welder yet, but thought something like that unit would be good to learn with.
 
kellysguy said:
How long have you had it?
Click to expand...

I bought the welder about a year ago and have only used it on a handful of projects so far. No panel work yet.

The unit I had before was a scratch-start, small, DC, inverter TIG unit. It served me well for a decade but when it failed I made the decision to move up to a full TIG unit capable of both AC and DC operation, with RF start and a foot pedal. That is a big change from what I had. I have yet to develop good coordination with the foot pedal but the RF start I appreciated immediately. I thought I would teach myself how to work with aluminum (which requires AC) but I have only made one or two attempts so far and I should have started on "practice pieces".

I am pleased with the welder itself. It is well made and not flimsy. I just need incentive to do more with it now that I have it.
 
When I was learning to TIG aluminum, I found that starting with 1/8" or thicker was key to developing the coordinated rhythm. Then gradually move to thinner stuff.
 
Based on the holes I blew through the 0.030" aluminum I was working with... I'll take that as good advice. I was naive to think I could weld thin aluminum just because I was able to work with steel body panels.
 
Much harder to see the puddle in Aluminum than steel.
 
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