SA200 questions...

[slamdvw]

I have access to an OLD SA200 engine drive... A friend of mine bought it, nice machine. But now to the questions... Side Covers? It has one on it already,... are they necessary, functional, or just decoration? The engine fan blows OUT, away from the machine.

Washing? This poor thing is a grease ball. Namely along the backside of the engine, where the fan of the generator is. Can these be powerwashed ( carwash ) or is water in the generator a bad idea ( stupid question, I know).

The machine starts and runs awesome, seems to be in good shape ( next day or so, gonna pull the brush covers and check them ), and would like to keep it that way.

Thanks

[BobC]

The side covers are primarily for safety. Fans, belts and other moving parts should be covered. It’s my understanding that they also direct cooling air past the welding generator. Keeping the generator cool can improve the stability of the weld output.

If you do power wash it, I would protect all of the electrical systems, especially the magneto and weld generator. If water does get in, I would set the machine out in the sun for a few days to dry completely before running it.

When you check the brushes, use some low-pressure air to blow the carbon dust out of the armature and stator coils. Conductive dust can build-up in the windings and eventually cause problems.

Good luck,

[RobertDoubrava]

I tried leaving the doors on my SAE300 while running it and it actually started overheating, so I always remove 'em when I run the machine. I remove both doors on the engine side, and the door that covers the gas tank shutoff and vacuum idler bellows so I can open/close the vacuum valve to idle it up when I need to weld.(the idler don't work, has a bad mercury switch)

[hobohilton]

I routinely high pressure wash the machines I bring home. Rather than get water into the generator and exciter.... I blow these out with compressed air. I try to start the machine immediately after washing. This will bring everything up to temperature, assure there is no water in the exhaust manifold and that it will weld.