Idealarc 250 with wire feeder - Will it work?

[delaet20]

I am wondering if a suitcase wire feeder (miller s32p) will play nice using it with a Lincoln Idealarc 250 (no sure the code, but it is an old school tomb stone with the big crank dial. I know it is cc not cv, but I am going to be running a 71t .045 wire. I am just looking to avoid running an engine drive if it will give me good results. I am moving indoors for the winter. We have 2 migs in the shop, but they are always being used. No one will bother me for the Idealarc, since I am the only one that sticks on a regular basis. My other choice is a sa200 red face, but that requires chasing someone to the store to fill gas jugs every couple of days. Plus why put the wear and tear on my 200, when I can use their machine.

[DSW]

It will not work if the machine is AC. You'll fry the feeder.

If the machine is DC it will possibly work, and may do what you want. VS feeders do not run small wire short arc well on CC. The feeder simply can't make the adjustments fast enough to mimic CV. They will run large wire FC decent in spray however. That usually makes vertical and overhead a PITA. If you need to lay down a lot of material on heavy steel you may find this acceptable. If you are looking to do thinner steel, say under 1/4", I seriously doubt you will be happy with the results. You really need a CV power source to do that.

[delaet20]

It is ac/dc. I know I need to run dc. I am using a duel shield, and I am building buckets this winter. I use the feeder all the time, just not with this power source.

[snoeproe]

The CC 250 ac/dc Idealarc is not what I would be using to power a suitecase wire feeder. You want a CV powersuply for this ;)

[Scott Young]

if you are running dual shield, you will be better off than if you are running hardwire. We ran .045 esab 7100 ultra off a miller 250 ac/dc. It worked, but wasn't as ideal as running off of a cv unit.

[delaet20]

I have been running if the last 2 days, and it is working well. Thanks.

[Pavinsteelman]

Hi it should work fine on .045 mig or flux gas or selfshielded. .