I phoned up Technical Arc and ordered one... £25 posted. There are cheaper ones online, but hopefully the 'proper' replacement will last for 10+ years like the original one did.
So I went on the TIG course yesterday, using my welder at first, but the gas valve started playing up after a couple of hours - the previous owner said he thought it was sticking a bit.
Is it worth trying to clean or repair these? Or just get a replacement.
Looks like it’s just an electro...
Just bought one of these. Glad this thread was here to read about others’ experience with them. Machine is very clean and seems to have done little work - previous owner bought it new and struggled to find enough time to use it much.
Time to book the TIG lesson.
I just heard on the radio that it’s National ‘Restart an old thread’ Day, so here I am.
Thought I’d enquire if anyone is selling a carolla type jug that bolts to the wheel hubs. I’m in mid resto and thoroughly bored of lying on the floor
Thanks for the full and patient explanation.
Yes it’s a Tec-Arc rectifier. Now fitted and seems to be working, although I haven’t loaded any wire into it as yet. I convinced myself it was right by testing the old part and seeing the same diode test results.
So the new rectifier arrived today. I’m not an electrician, and I’m probably about to make that blindingly obvious, but here goes anyway
the new part is marked up on the terminal, which seems helpful, but only if it’s correct.
Remembering school physics class, over 35 years ago, I think that...
Thanks for this suggestion, earlier in the thread. Now that it’s got a faulty rectifier diagnosed, do you think it’s still worth doing this? If so, what am I looking for once it’s out?
i got the rectifier out tonight and started testing. My multimeter gave readings in the 470-482 range (on diode test - assume it’s resistance but not sure - the meter doesn’t specify the unit of measure) except one which is open circuit both ways. The connection to it was broken as well, so I...
Thanks... 0.5-0.6 Ohms? kOhms?
Those chinese rectifiers make me nervous, but there are UK sourced ones for a bit more. I wonder if it's possible just to source and replace the diodes?
Thanks for the feedback. Went back tonight and re-tested. Trigger worked 5 times then tripped the power again. I’ve been using my portamig through the same sockets with no issues. The snap on is the backup, these days. One is meant to be in the workshop, the other in the garage at home.
What do...
So, I did some testing last night. These are baseline numbers without any clean up of contacts or other work. No wire reel on the machine.
The voltage at the highest power setting was consistently 39.9-40.0 volts, and 23.5 on the lowest power setting. I did several tests, of about 10-30 seconds...