1. Home
  2. ⏣ General Metalworking
  3. Gas welder electrical question

Gas welder electrical question

I just bought an old Lincoln Model Ac 150/4.5 as gas welder... I was told it does not generate... I thought maybe it just lost it magnetism... So I jumped it with a 12 volt battery... It did not help... So I opened the case and decided to try changing the capacitors ... I did not have what was needed... It takes 3- 200 mfd

150dc capacitors... I tried with what I had... My one capacitor was AC and almost the same mfd and volts... With the one capacitor I had I got the welder to strike a very small arc... Do you think by buying 3 new capacitors that It might fix the welders problem??? And is there a difference between AC and VDC capacitors ??? Everything looks to be in very good condition inside... I only paid $80.00 for the unit and the 10 hp kohler runs just fine... The unit not putting out any 110 volts ... The two brushes look good. I'm going to replace the bridge rec. also...

Thanks. Kevin

Reply to
kbeitz
Loading thread data ...

In general, an AC capacitor will replace a DC capacitor of the same rating very adequately; the DC rating is generally 1.414 x the AC rating, e.g a

250VAC cap is good for 350VDC. Note that this doesn't work the other way around, NEVER use a DC rated capacitor on AC! Make sure that, if you're using motor capacitors, that you get 'run' rated caps and not 'start' rated caps as the latter have very short operational lifetimes, higher losses and are less tolerant of abuse than 'run' rated capacitors. Martin
Reply to
Martin Whybrow

My biggest question is if the capacitors was dead would it stop the welder from welding ???

Reply to
kbeitz

Off the top of my head

Not being able to maintain the proper open circuit or welding voltage for one

Leakage through a failed capacitor for another.

you need a certain amount of voltage to strike and maintain an arc and some electrodes need a lot more voltage than others to strike that arc. if the appropriate voltage is only present at a brief time the arc cant maintain

Hope that helps explain a bit?

Brent Ottawa Canada

Reply to
Brent

I tried looking up the unit at lincoln

formatting link
I came up with is a smaller unit
formatting link
There should be a 4 digit type code on the nameplate, use that at the lincoln site to get the proper manual. The manual has the procedure for flashing the armature.

snipped-for-privacy@lockhaven> I just bought an old Lincoln Model Ac 150/4.5 as gas welder... I was

Reply to
RoyJ

lincoln

formatting link
Closest I came up with is a smaller unit
formatting link

Thanks.... That really helped alot....It said under trouble shooting that bad cap. would put out low low voltage... But I seen nothing about flashing the armature...

Reply to
kbeitz

lincoln

formatting link
>Closest I came up with is a smaller unit
formatting link
>

Reply to
RoyJ

Capacitors die in several ways.

  1. They open up - acting like a fuse...
  2. They short. - act like a shunt and turns off something not bias it to a voltage.
  3. They catch on fire. Most don't, some do. I doubt they use that kind in any welder. PC's and TV's and ... yes. Remember the PC's burning up ?

Mart> >>

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

Welder working fine... It was the bridge rectifier... The flashing diode and coils was OK... Thanks for the help... I'm happy... I bought this welder for $80.00 and it has a 10hp kohler engine and it works fine...

Reply to
kbeitz

Great Score!! Bravo!!

And good troubleshooting!

Gunner

This Message is guaranteed environmentally friendly Manufactured with 10% post consumer ASCII Meets all EPA regulations for clean air Using only naturally occuring fibers Use the Message with confidance. (Some settling may occure in transit.) (Best if Used before May 13, 2009)

Reply to
Gunner

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.