ESAB help

question about foot pedal 10k pot. what i need to know is, is max current when the pot looks like 10k ("open circuit") or "0" ohms (its more like

1.1ohm on low side)? i ask because i want to turn my torch thumb control into just a on/off switch but when on it needs to be max current. i use the "2T" cycle alot for DC tig, and pedal is hard to use when welding in odd positions.

i used to have another torch switch (on/off only), but it was lost during a ESAB swap-out of my unit and they sent me the thumb control switch with pot in it.

is it save to assume that at 10k the tig unit thinks it's a open circuit, so in essence i dont need to even use a resistor in order to get max set current when switched on?

thanks

Reply to
Kryptoknight
Loading thread data ...

Just use the A-B contactor wires only in the amphenol male end only. I cut up a hand amp control that came with my brand new $450.00 AC/DC 161. I just added a button instead. That machine was originally built for a button only and it was Esab in South Carolina that spec. the foot control for those units. That is one of reasons they had all sorts of problems. I was kind of surprised the unit welded very nice, with the button only. There is a jumper in the amphenol end that might have to be clipped (Maybe) but if you only use the A-B pins then the 2 and 4 T will work from a button. The amps will be set on the machine.

I set up a few of my Esab Tigs for a button.

Scott

formatting link

Reply to
svande48

thats what i thought. how do you mean "$450"? did you get a deal on it? i notice in your link of 161 pic you have what looks like 2 wires coming out of the amphenol connector, where does the other one go?

i also notice in the pic that you have the white wire secured to the ground lead via tie wraps. after my last issue of arc through i no longer run wires tied tightly to the torch lead (unless i have wire that has extra outer shield). where does other end of that white wire go?

thanks

snipped-for-privacy@msn.com wrote:

Reply to
kryptoknight

It just was some two conductor wire from the boat supply house. Something is wrong if the hi freq (cap start) can jump that far. I generaly use what I have on hand and never had a issue with any unit using using that wire. Of course I mostly have Thermal tigs anyway. :) I traded the 160I made in Sweden for a 120/230 volt Thermal TS 160. Those Esab tigs are trouble free, but I perfer the Thermals out of Japan. I can use a button and use the repeat mode with the four step for control of the weld puddle. They are slick and way beyond any standard button 2 or for 4 step setup.

My friend runs a local Airgas and really got tried of sending the

161 back for warranty. He had one that was just laying on it's side in the corner. I asked him what was up with that machine?

He went on a rant about all the arc starting issues with that machine and said if you want it you can have it for $450.00 as a stick machine.

I took it home and got rid of the hand amptrol and used my extra foot control on it instead. I also put in a sharpened 1/16 tungsten and and it cleaned the arc start issues up. It's just not in the same league as the Thermal on arc starts. The Thermal is the best of the best in that area, but if you keep a sharp point on the Esab and a smaller tunsten it works fine.

So I had a friend that was looking at scratch start dc tig for around that cost, so I sold him the esab for the same as I bought it for. I have a Thermal TSW 300 and had no real use for the Esab machine anyway. I was kind of shocked how nice the little Italian Esab worked. I was pretty sure I would not like it but it does have a tiny etch zone on aluminum. It also did not have any more start issues. I put a button on it before I sold it.

Reply to
svande48

yeah, my 161 was a 1st run unit. hi-freq voltage was skipping through and getting into the switch wire, which fed back inside the unit frying something. ESAB found the issue, added a low-pass filter, and gave me a brand new unit.

i'd say the 161 is above average for a ac/dc tig/stick inverter unit.

thanks

snipped-for-privacy@msn.com wrote:

Reply to
kryptoknight

do you know if the pins G & D (which are jumped together) are ground? or is the other side (pin E) the ground.

Reply to
Kryptoknight

That one I cannot answer, because I was only looking for the contactor pins by trial and error. :)

Scott

Reply to
svande48

Krypto,

I don't really understand your question.

I've recently built a handcontrol (using a 10k pot and an on/off switch) and intend to build a footcontrol as well.

The machine is an Esab AristoTIG DTD 250AC/DC with a 10pole (!!) Burndy connector.

J&K are on/off (push=on; push again =off etc.)

F&G&H are the potmeter connections.

I have .pdf documentation for both footh-control and manual control, for the various systems. IIRC, the footcontrols use both a 2k5 pot for coarse setting, and a 10k pot for fine (foot)control.

If you want to have a copy of these files, mail me. They're for the FS002 and some handheld controls, also for the newer (CAN) bus.

Max. current is not an issue; it's a pretty high-impedance input (10k pot) from the wiper.

Peter.

Reply to
peter_dingemans

i have the PDF (schematic) for my foot-control, which is a FC-5C foot control, this is the pedal that is used on a 161.

E G are the ends of pot, F is the pot wipe, D & G are jumped together, A B are the switch pins.

just because i know how the pins are connected to the control does not mean i know how the inside of the unit works. as example, the jumped pins (D & G) i believe are ground pins, but it's conceivable that the unit itself "knows" that a "foot pedal" is connected when internally D & G are shorted together.

i did find that pin H is connected to the outer shield of the control wire. i can only assume that pin H internally must be connected to earth ground, but i'll try to verify that today.

i know that for the switch i only need the 2 pins (if my memory serves me correctly my older button control amp connector only had 2 pins in it). so i'll probably just use pins A & B and break off D or G.

Reply to
Kryptoknight

I think if you just want to use the on/off switch, you can simply disconnect the wiper of the potmeter, or all three wires if you like.

I did experiment with turning on my welding machine via contacts J&K, and it worked fine. It was only later that I added the potmeter, which also worked fine.

BTW, it uses a 12 pole Burndy connector, not a 10-pole. I guess I got mistaken because most other welding machines seem to use 14-pole (Amphenol) connectors.

Anyway, the simplest way may be just to try for yourself; disconnect the wiper and turn machine on/off with the remote. If it operates ok, fine, if it doesn't, remove jumper D&G.

Or you might try asking a service tech. from ESAB. I've found my (Dutch) service tech's very helpful over the phone, giving all the information I could need.

Good luck,

Peter (who's still looking for a foot-control, even from another brand, before he tries his hand at building one from scratch...)

Reply to
peter_dingemans

Krypto,

Had a look at the schematic for the FC-5 (B) version. At first I thought D/G might be a gnd/shield connection, but that is taken care of by H. So I think that D&G connected together indicate to the machine to use the remote potmeter for current, instead of the one on the machine.

But I don't think it's much of an issue, if you only want to use the remote switch. If you loosen all wires, except shield (H) and the switch, I think it should work.

Good luck and let us know how it worked out for you.

Peter.

Reply to
peter_dingemans

thanks.

this amp connector is a molded type (well, the back end cannot be undone easily. i just broke out ping G and will just use the switch pins. i have a small NKK micro switch, i just need to get some PC board and solder the switch in, then i'll either ring it to the neck of the torch or i'll do some trickery with some JB weld or epoxy......

Reply to
Kryptoknight

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.