Anybody intimately familar with a Miller Syncrowave 300?

Hey Vernon, you are having fun with this machinery.

You will need at least a 100 amp breaker to run it. You will not be able to use full power, but it will work.

We had 3 Syncro 300's at South Seattle, and I liked them when they were happy. The pulsers can be a bit squirrely and because the pulser is integral to the voltage control circuits it can make the machine problematic to use.

It is all about age. As long as the high frequency capacitors are happy, and the spark gap is clean, they work very well.

Most of the repair parts are still available. The foot pedal uses a 5 pin connector, but it has the same resistance as modern Miller foot pedals (1Kohm) that use a 14 pin connector.

I would open up all the panels and check all the wires to make sure they are still viable without cracks in the insulation or loose connections. Blow out any dust.

Thanks, Ernie. Are high frequency caps an available item? If so, are they a big ticket? V

Iggy. To quote Sara Palin: "You betcha". I've always loved tools and machinery. Otherwise, why would I be hanging out in here with all the other tool and machinery junkies??? V

Ernie,

I'm actually sitting on a couple of Syncrowave 500s. I bought one on ebay some years ago. Soon afterward, I found an even better deal on an even better machine with more features. The manuals on those machines stated that they consumed 204 amps at full output. However, recently, upon reviewing the documentation I saw another reference to "fully unbalanced" tig settings for "maximum penetration". Under this setting the machines pull substantially more than 200 amps. Furthermore, I noticed for the first time, that they require a 300 amp breaker.

Since I only have a 200 amp, single phase service, this is obviously a problem. That's why I bought the Syncrowave 300. According to the same documentation it requires a 225 amp breaker. I assume this means that I could hook the welder up to the 200 amp mains and weld at nearly full amperage. Not that I would reasonably expect to ever need to do so.

Is the above consistent with your experience and thinking? Thanks, Vernon.

The caps are still available. They cost about $50 each and I think there are 4 of them.

Sounds about right. Al the BIG welders I have used were running on 460 volt single or 3 phase.