Questions about used welders (rather long post)...

[redbeard]

Hello I am a new member here who has been reading some of the posts and figured this would be a good place to learn from. I have done a fair amount of welding in the past, but it was several years ago. Recently I acquired some used welding equipment to better round out my home shop and would like to learn a bit more about these items.

The first item purchased was a Miller XMT-304 stick/tig welder at a garage sale and I am curious what others experiences are with this unit. So far I have been very happy with its performance as a stick welder but have not done much tig with it yet. As an aside, I picked up quite a lot of older stick electrodes from various sources, mostly 6011, and want to know if it is ok to strip the coating off and use them for tig work?

The next item is a Miller MP-30E mig power unit with a Tweco #4 gun and Airco Universal II wire feeder. This is a real heavy older unit from a local community college which is supposed to work fine according to the instructor, but I will not be able to hook it up properly 'til spring. Same question about pro and con experiences with this unit.

The most important question though, would be regarding the Airco wire feeder unit. It seems to be working fine when I hooked up temp electric to it, but there was no manual with it and nothing I could find on the net. Are any parts available for it? Is there a place where manuals can be purchased?

[Hobart Expert Rock]

REDBEARD...........XMT304 GOOD UNIT, INVERTER STYLE, WITH THE PROPER SET UP WILL MIG WELD IN DC............. YOU'LL BE HAPPY WITH THIS ONE..........I'LL BE SUSPRISED IF SOMEONE DOESN'T TRY AND BUY IT FROM YOU///////////////.............

DO NOT USE THE STICK ELECTRODES FOR TUNGESTON, SORRY YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE TUNGESTON'S FROM YOUR LOCAL GAS SUPPLIER.........AND USE FILLER ROD.........

AIRCO FEEDER........SOME AIRCO EQUIPMENT WAS MANUFACTURED MY MILLER ELECTRIC........ YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE A SERIAL NUIMBER FOR ME TO KNOW THOUGH....... IF IT IS NOT TO OLD WE CAN POSSABLY GET A MANUAL

MP-30E........DEFINATELY OLD..........300 AMP/35 VOLTS 3 PHASE MACHINE ONLY. NEED TO KNOW HOW OLD SUPPLY SERIAL NUMBER.........SOME UNITS WERE 208/230/460 AND SOME WERE 230/460/575............. LET ME KNOW.......................ROCK[email protected]

[Hobart Expert Rock]

REDBEARD ..............I FORGOT TO SAY WELCOME ABOARD..........AND WHAT ELSE DID THEY HAVE AT THAT GARAGE SALE.........OLD HARLEY PERHAPS.....................?........ROCK
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[cope]

Airco wire feed

Another source for info and/or manual would be Arc Products.

800-770-0063

Ask for ginger in customer service or Ian in tech service. Great people.

[redbeard]

Wow, that was fast, thanks for the replies.

Rock, I am sorry if I was unclear but I did not intend to use 6011 rod instead of the tungsten, but possibly as filler with the coating removed.

The MP-30E came with a manual dated 1977 which lists it as being 208/230/460, but I will check the serial # against it to make sure it is the proper manual.

The Airco Universal II info just happens to be in front of me, it is: serial #WG808048 / model: AHF-V6.

At the garage sale there was also a ThermalArc stick/tig unit, don't remember the model #, but it was an ultralight unit with a shoulder strap. The guy also included a bunch of tungstens, cups, collets, backs, etc. with the welder. I had been looking for a decent tig unit for a few years and picked up the XMT for what I thought to be a very fair price.

The MP-30E was from an auction of surplus items at the local community college. Not too many people were interested in 3 phase machines so they went fairly reasonable also. Picked up the 30E with accessories for $165 and could have had a Hobart similarly set up for $150, also picked up a nice older surface grinder for $5. Sometimes it is handy to have 3 phase from the pole in my home shop.

Cope, thanks for the info on Arc Products, will look for a website for them before calling.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

REDBEARD...........NO PROBLEM I TRIED TO COVER MY BASES ON THE WELDING ROD'S BY TELLING YOU TO PICK UP SOME FILLER ROD..............................HAVE HYOU USED ANY OF THOSE WELDING RODS YET......... SHELF LIFE ON THOSE RODS WHEN OPENED IS CHANCIE..........WON'T LAST REAL LONG THEY DRAW MOISTURE.....YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DRY THEM OUT IN AN OVEN....YOUR CALL THERE....................THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY GOOD PRICES ON STUFF.......................BE SAFE...............ROCK
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[Mike Sherman]

Would you like to sell the XMT?? The XMT is in my opinion the single best machine manufactured at this time. How much did you pay for it? If you are just playing around and want to practice tig welding, the 6011 with the flux removed will work. I have done it with Ni-rod in a pinch. Just sand it off so all of the flux is gone. You may find it is a little big for small stuff, but you will still be able to use it.

[Guest]

The best way I have found to remove the flux is to use a twisted wire wheel on a bench grinder...and it goes faster if you smack it with a hammer first.

[redbeard]

Great responses, thank you all

Rock, I have indeed used some of the rods, as long as you are not too particular about the welds they sort of work OK. They are awful old though, that is why I have been thinking of using them for filler rod with the coating removed. It comes off pretty easy if you hit it with a hammer first, then scrape it gently. I have not wanted to use a wire brush or anything to avoid putting too much material in the air.

Aweaver, I am near Grayling but do have a friend who is a freelance welder down in the Jackson/Battle Creek area. He is not too comfortable with the computer yet, but he is a ham so getting more comfortable. I'm going to tell him about this site. Another friend does welder repairing in Jackson also, he helped a bit with some information, but has not found anything about the Airco wire feeder so far.

Mike, Sorry, but it took too long to find a decent tig unit to turn around and sell it. So far it has been mainly used for stick welding and it is simply amazing so far compared to my old Craftsman buzzbox. My hobbies include playing around in a small home machine shop, working on general mechanical repairs and antique military vehicles. I paid $300 for the XMT w/ accessories, to get it up and running with the purchase of a medium size argon bottle it cost less than $500.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

REDBEARD.............THAT DOES NO APPEAR TO BE A MILLER SERIAL NUMBER ON THE FEEDER..............THAT IS AN AIRCO FEEDER..... TWECO IS A GOOD GUN..........CURRENTLY OWNED BY THERMAL ARC I BELIEVE..........MAN WHAT A DEAL ON THE XMT....... ENJOY IT, IT IS A VERY NICE UNIT...........................HAVE SOME FUN NOW..............ROCK.
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[Hobart Expert Rock]

AWEAVER...........THIS I LIKE A MUTUAL LEARNING SESSION AND A GET TOGETHER FOR INTERESTED PARTY'S........VERY GOOD.... DID YOU EVER DO COMMUNITY PROJECTS SAY SOMTHING YOU ALL 3 HAD A HAND IN..........................
OTHER INTERESTED PARTY'S IN OTHER STATES COULD GET TOGETHER AND DO THE SAME.................
HEY WHAT DOES EVERYONE ELSE THINK??????????????/........ROCK
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[deere_x475guy]

Rock, that sounds like fun. Aaron, I am planning on having heat next year so we won't miss so much of the winter. How is your decission on the tig machine going. I am still trying to figure out what I want for a plasma cutter (budget crunch haha...)


Bob

[redbeard]

Aweaver - My friend the welder is not online last I knew because of computer failure. The welding repair guy doesn't usually deal with the computer much, instead lets his wife do most of that. You may be familiar with his company though, Simpkin's Electric in Jackson, he is a Miller authorized repair facility. With any luck I will see them this weekend at a military vehicle club meeting.

Rock- Thanks for looking into the wire feeder #, I am completely new to mig welding, having used mostly oxy/acet, stick & tig to date. Are the normally replaced items on these, like rollers and such, made to any sort of industry standard which can be easily cross-referenced?

Bob - I like the sound of heat in the shop right now! By next winter my new shop should be finished so that winter will not be such a pain. We were just getting around to exterior siding and closing in the eaves when the weather stopped things last month. It will have radiant floor heat which I am really looking forward to.

[Mike Sherman]

It is hard to beat an XMT for $300.00 I paid about $3000.00 for mine with accessories. I usually buy most of my welders new, but two years ago I picked up a Lincoln Invertec V300 Pro with LN-7 wire feeder, 150' ground cable, 150' stinger, regulator, and a nice pneumatic wheeled cart to pull it around on. I paid $350.00 for it. Have fun with it, it should last you a lifetime.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

REDBEARD..............AIRCO FEEDER AS WITH MOST FEEDERS THERE IS NOT A INDUSTRY STANDARD HERE.................SORRY..........ROCK
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