The Pickhill Bantam

[Fishsound]

Hi

I'm new to this forum and only just registered so hope this is ok.

My son was given an old Pickhill Bantam welder some 20 years ago. It was working ok when he first got it but has not been used since. He/we no longer want it and were going to scrap it but came across this forum when searching for information about disposing of the oil.

The label states refill "with 4 1/2 glns of Shell Diala Oil" (see attached photo). Does this imply that the oil in the welder is Shell Diala, and not the older PCB containing stuff? How would I dispose of the oil? Would the local council waste recycling centre accept the oil? I guess the copper would have some scrap value.

But maybe the welder itself has some value and could be useful to someone, so I'd rather someone has it to use rather than scrap it (dare I suggest Ebay?)


Any thoughts/comments would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

 

[brightspark]

wont have pcb in it mines 40 yrs old and hasnt .stick it on ebay and see what it fetches. could be no interest or up to 90 quid ish .its hard to tell now that theres inverter welders . lots of silly prices being asked for but they wont get it

 

[nickk]

Welcome.
Proper made in England quality,such a shame to scrap it,won’t see these again.

 

[brightspark]

payed 115 quid for mine new me and bruv rewired a house and with part of the profit he bought one as well still got the receipt that was over 50 years ago

 

[frank horton]

perhaps give it to men in sheds or whatever they call......
retired people putting their skill to use for charity.....

 

[6ply]

A quick search on Google suggests PCBs were banned in the UK in 1981. Maybe you can date the welder by its serial number?

 

[Dragnet]

"Diala B" is/was PCB free. Do a search and you'll find several threads on refurbishment. I repaird the rusted bottom on mine, then refilled it after a kind forum member who services oil-cooled X-ray machines dropped by with a few gallons of Diala B or equivalent. They're very nice welders. I've been using mine for universal beams; carbon-arc brazing of cast iron (also very useful for heating thick section to bend it); 2mm sheet... It's so much easier to weld with than modern arc welders available new for the kind of prices people are getting rid of these old machines for.

 

[zzr1200]

That's a welder for life, someone will want it somewhere...

Inverters maybe nice and compact but they aren't bomb proof...

 

[Guineafowl]

That's a welder for life, someone will want it somewhere...

Inverters maybe nice and compact but they aren't bomb proof...

+1 I once used one of those all day on full amps, welding up steels on a farm. It didn’t cut out once.

 

[brightspark]

+1 I once used one of those all day on full amps, welding up steels on a farm. It didn’t cut out once.

i left mine plugged in and turned on for 6 month didnt notice til i went to use it and it was warm then proceeded to weld a car trailer up i was making for over half a day and it got no hotter

 

[zzr1200]

I'd be more than willing to buy it, but I already have an Oli Cooled Oxford in the garage. It's my second one, the first one had to be sold due to living in a flat at the time. This one's definitely staying......

 

[6ply]

@Fishsound where are you based? Maybe someone local to you will be interested.

 

[badabec]

Waterlooville.

 

[Bsmith]

payed 115 quid for mine new me and bruv rewired a house and with part of the profit he bought one as well still got the receipt that was over 50 years ago

That was quite a bit to pay out back in the 1970s but yea, I remember the 180a Oxfords selling then around that price.

 

[brightspark]

That was quite a bit to pay out back in the 1970s but yea, I remember the 180a Oxfords selling then around that price.

used to wire 30 amp sockets up on farms for them was no second hand ones ever for sale .used to see oxyacet gas welding gear all with knocked off gas bottles boc and air products

 

[500e]

Expect the people doing one up will pay as much for the label as the whole machine
That one is mint compared with some, have one in the workshop you cant read the numbers but it still welds all day.
Have a BOC oil filled we must sell but takes 2 people to lift it

 

[Bsmith]

used to wire 30 amp sockets up on farms for them was no second hand ones ever for sale .used to see oxyacet gas welding gear all with knocked off gas bottles boc and air products

It was easy back then to get a BOC refil if you had a friend with a BOC account, although the bottles had a serial number, no-one bothered, just swap empty for full, "gas is for me friend I'm collecting for him".

 

[brightspark]

gaffneys would just exchange the air products ones no matter who took them in no paperwork then it all stopped

 

[Barking Mat]

Don't think I'd ever get rid of mine.

 

[Erie Fred]

i left mine plugged in and turned on for 6 month didnt notice til i went to use it and it was warm then proceeded to weld a car trailer up i was making for over half a day and it got no hotter

....and your electric bill ?