A few days ago I bought Butters 170C...MOST DISSAPOINTED in the wire feed mech. It looks AND SOUNDS like something from Toytown. At higher powers, the feed doesn't behave too badly BUT turn the thing down to the lowest possible setting to do thin stuff the motor in the unit is so unstable it just can’t move the wire through at a constant rate; there just isn’t enough torque in the motor. Out of curiosity I opened the cover up to see what they had used. To my horror I saw a tiny little cheap Chinese looking DC motor just like I used to have to power the track system in my Matchbox Motorway when I was 12 years old (for those of you who remember them).
I have just sold my trusty Clarke 135TE to buy the Butters and I would say without a shadow of a doubt, comparing the two the Butters’ feed system is crap both in terms of noise and stability (although I never did pop the lid on the Clarke to see what they had used as a motor.
It may of course be that I have a faulty unit. But having used these little motors on models for many years I suspect that's not the case and they have just been tight arses and cheap in producing these MIGs. It'd only put another £2 or £3 on the price of them to have used a unit with a more powerful motor; there is just no power overhead whatsoever in the motor, it's completely on its limits! As you run the wire up the liner, the wire feed moans and slows right down as the wire reached the resistance from the bend in the neck of the torch, this for me just provides the evidence to back up my theory
Of course I shall be phoning Butters on Monday to express my horror and ask them what they will do about it.
In the mean time, if I can persuade Butters to send me another drive unit to play with, has anyone had any experience of taking these apart? What do you think the chances are of replacing the motor for a more powerful one? Has anyone looked into this?
By the sounds of it the speed regulation is done by thyristors etc. as you can hear the electronic high frequency whistle as the motor runs, so the control of a replacement motor should be just the same as the original (I assume)
Any thoughts chaps? Any experiences to share from all who own a Butters 170c?
I have just sold my trusty Clarke 135TE to buy the Butters and I would say without a shadow of a doubt, comparing the two the Butters’ feed system is crap both in terms of noise and stability (although I never did pop the lid on the Clarke to see what they had used as a motor.
It may of course be that I have a faulty unit. But having used these little motors on models for many years I suspect that's not the case and they have just been tight arses and cheap in producing these MIGs. It'd only put another £2 or £3 on the price of them to have used a unit with a more powerful motor; there is just no power overhead whatsoever in the motor, it's completely on its limits! As you run the wire up the liner, the wire feed moans and slows right down as the wire reached the resistance from the bend in the neck of the torch, this for me just provides the evidence to back up my theory
Of course I shall be phoning Butters on Monday to express my horror and ask them what they will do about it.
In the mean time, if I can persuade Butters to send me another drive unit to play with, has anyone had any experience of taking these apart? What do you think the chances are of replacing the motor for a more powerful one? Has anyone looked into this?
By the sounds of it the speed regulation is done by thyristors etc. as you can hear the electronic high frequency whistle as the motor runs, so the control of a replacement motor should be just the same as the original (I assume)
Any thoughts chaps? Any experiences to share from all who own a Butters 170c?