Lincoln SA200 Welder

BFR · 2006-03-24T01:12:45+00:00

I have a 1937 model Lincoln SA200 welder that never had a starter. Ihave heard old welders say that they used start those on the pipelineby getting one started and then using it to start the others byconnecting the welding leads from the running machine to the leads onthe machine they wanted to start whereupon the generator would bemotorized and the engine would start. Is this possible and could Iconnect several (say 3) 12 volt batteries in series to the weldingleads and start my welder that way?

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BFR 20 years ago

Bruce, those are good suggestions. The tank doesn't actually bolt together, it's welded. When I say it's a clamshell type I meant that it was made of an upper and lower half, pretty much identical, with mating flanges that were welded where the edges join. I separated them by simply grinding off enough of the outside edge of the flanges to get rid of the weld and, voila, the two halves came apart. After cleaning the insides, I welded them back together the same way they were before. I could follow that same procedure over and over again until there was no more flange, I suppose, but the flanges mated for close to 3/4's of an inch so there's plenty of meat there. I think I may just follow your suggestion to mothball the tank (I can't hot dip it for two reasons, (1) It's pretty thin sheet metal and I'm afraid it would warp, and (2) Welding it back together after it was hotdipped is problematic at best.)

I have gone to great pains to preserve the originality of the machine because I bought it from the original purchaser who bought it new in

1937, kept it in indoors and in great shape until 1995 when he retired and sold it to me. Everything was there - original paint, decals, etc. and most importantly, the side panels - he even pulled the original manual and sales brochure out of the file cabinet in his office. Imagine that he actually had three very similar machines for sale when he retired, I just bought what I thought was the best one, but they were quite similar.

Your suggestion to hot dip the tank was interesting - I've always wondered whether the zinc would be fuel impervious or would flake off eventually.

Thanks.

Bruce

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RoyJ 20 years ago

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BFR 10 years ago

replying to Bruce L. Bergman, BFR wrote: Many years later, here's an update. Two 12v car batteries wired in series and hooked to the welder terminals (pos to pos, neg to neg) easily motorizes the generator with the engine either hot or cold and it starts right up. I just use a push button solenoid so, when the engine fires, I let go of the button and the batteries are disconnected. To recharge the batteries, I installed a one-wire

24 volt alternator on the engine. In retrospect, the alternator is a waste of money as the batteries will start the engine many times before they are discharged, and could easily be kept charged with a small solar charger or a 110 v ac trickle type "maintenance" charger used to keep collection car batteries charged. Also, although it was costly, I ended up taking the clamshell fuel tank apart by grinding off the weld that joined the flanges on each half of the tank; cleaned it down to bare metal with a wire brush, welded the two halves back together and sent the tank off to a place in New England somewhere that hot-dipped it in tin (not zinc). Zinc (galvanizing) will not withstand ethanol but tin will.

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Ignoramus5379 10 years ago

Thanks for an AWESOME update, happy for you, really like this starting method! The alternator is definitely not a waste of money.

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BFR 10 years ago

replying to Thomas Kendrick, BFR wrote: Yep, starts easy - as long as the carb is pretty much in perfect tune, you don't flood it - meaning the cable pull choke is used perfectly, and the stars all align. Otherwise, unless you're between the ages of 18 and 28 and fit, your arm will wear out before it starts. Before I wired mine to start by motorizing the welding generator, I had a protocol to hand crank it - something like this: 1. switch off and choked halfway, 2. crank through two or three revolutions, no more, 3. turn on switch and push choke off, 4. hold mouth correctly, 5. crank. If the carb was just right, it would start when the first plug fired.

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