A whole host of trouble, and I cant see what I'm doing

[david.bradley]

Just bought a cheap Cebora outfit on eBay.
I'm having terrible trouble.

Wire Feed, kept jamming & forming a bird nest after the wire feed motor.
I've had the head apart, & cleaned everything, fed it through gently, and seem to be getting somewhere

The wire drum fastener is homemade, just a bolt & cup washer. I find as the drum turns it tightens the bolt & eventually jams the drum fast.
If I leave it really slack, the wire unravels itself. I'm not sure what a proper fastener looks like.

Having managed 2 or 3 test runs that looked Ok, I tried to fix a patch on the car. Disaster.
I find that I cant see anything through my visor.
It's an old thing that came with an arc welder I bought 25 years ago.
It's so dark that you are just guessing what you are doing. I found I'd welded a run on top of the patch & not along the edge.
Do they darken with age, &/or do migs not need something so dark?

Finally the welder has stopped delivering any current. It hums well enough, but I cant get a spark. I've had the case off & there's no break in the wires to the earth clamp or welder head. Hard to diagnose remotely I appreciate, but any ideas please. I hadn't welded long enough to overheat, and dont know there's a thermal cut-out anyway.

Close to abandoning hope, but I'd really like to do it myself

Thanks

 

[madkayaker]

hello and welcome. Will sort the easy bit first try a lighter shade of mask. As for the rest i presume this is a second hand rough unit? Look on ebay for a seller called Techarc he has spool holders or PM weldequip he also has them. When you are trying it are you using clean steel and ensuring good electrical connection on earth

 

[weldequip]

Which model of Cebora is it David?
weldequip

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

check any plugs or connectors inside as they can vibrate loose when a unit is transported.

Other than that you're going to be checking for broken PCB track around the larger components and then using a meter across various devices to try to pin down any faulty component...make sure the mains plug isn't connected and switched on before poking around inside the welder.

This may or may not be a quick fix but keep at it and there's always a good chance we'll get it working again. Some photos will help the diagnosis.

Regards
Peter

 

[Drains]

Don't forget the old trusty, "check the earth lead is plugged into the machine properly" ploy.

 

[david.bradley]

Thank you everyone.
My welder has returned to the land of the living.
I wonder if last night it had tripped a cut-out. I hadn't realised it had a non-live head, so my repeated attempts without pulling the trigger were hopeless.
Bit derr-brainish that

However, continuing in my usual vein.
I cant see a blooming thing through my arc welding helmet.
I notice that glasses can be bought in shades 8 to 12 (& I guess less than 8, but I didn't see any for sale)
What should I go for?
I wont be doing day-long sessions, so I want the most see-through I can get away with
Thanks again

 

[malcolm]

I tend to go for about shade 9 for thin metal MIG welding. Though that's with an auto-darkening helmet and their 9 might be different from others. I made do with 10 with a fixed shade helmet, but it was a little too dark for thin metal. But it's different for different people.

Autodarkening helmets are very handy - you can see where the torch is before you start welding. Most have some adjustment so you can find a good spot to suit your own eyes.

 

[Omniata]

A shade 9's about the lowest I'd go for Arc or MIG, more for TIG...

Weldequip stocks autodarkening masks that drop to a shade 5 or so when you stop welding, had mine a year or so and it's still in good working order...


Edit: Beat me to it Malcolm

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

I think I have an 8 in my fixed mask, but I don't tend to weld all day.

If you have a 9 and find it's too dark then you can set up an extra light above the bench.

Regards
Peter

 

[zardoz]

Arc welder fixed shade helmets are usually 10 or 11. Too dark for a beginer to do MIG with really. they are some good Parweld auto shade helmets on ebay for £40.

 

[M1CDQ]

for the wire drum sticking i did find on a mates welder he had got some new wire and the drum used to stick turned out it was buget range and the inside of the drum was slightly smaller getting a new decent drum of wire cured his problem. when he finished the new drum we rewound the old wire in the new drum and did not have any probs

 

[clem dog]

PM weldequip about a SIFlite mask i bought one and it has transformed my welding no end!