Airco Dip Pak ?

[BradTN]

I see these for sale on occasion and was wondering if they are any good. I would guess that they were from the '80"s (?) It looks like it has a "euro" gun to me. Is it tough getting parts for the welder and the gun ? I assume these can be run single and 3 phase with a jumper change. I did a search on here and Google, and found minimal results. What about value ? Also, funny name..."Dip Pak", anyone know what that's about ? Thanks.

[hobohilton]

Those are OK units. Just like all other welders. Either it welds or it doesn't. The only time you hear about them is when they don't fire up.

Some info for you on DIP-
Short Circuiting Arc/Dip Transfer.
When using lower arc voltages and currents, generally in the 16 - 26 volt and 60 - 180 ampere ranges, metal transfer takes place during short circuits between the electrode and the weld pool, giving a lower heat input. These follow a consistent sequence of alternate arcing and short circuiting causing the end of the electrode wire to dip into the weld. As the wire touches the weld pool there is a rise of current, the resistance of the wire causes heating and the end of the electrode melts. The wire necks due to a magnetic pinch effect and the molten metal flows into the pool. During this short circuit period the current delivered by the power source is much higher than during arcing - typically 1000 - 1500 amps. This creates high forces that have an explosive effect on the weld pool and spatter is considerable. To reduce this effect an inductance is connected in series with the power supply and the arc to reduce the rate of rise of current during the short circuit period.
The short circuit is cleared more slowly and gently, and the spatter is reduced to an acceptable level. Ideally the droplets are transferred in an almost irregular dip/arc cycle taking place about 50 - 200 times a second. Too little inductance gives rise to unstable arcing conditions, excessive spatter and lack of fusion defects.
The dip transfer mode is used for the welding of thin sheet and medium plate, and for all thicknesses when welding in the vertical or overhead positions.

[BradTN]

Originally Posted by hobohilton

...Short Circuiting Arc/Dip Transfer.

The dip transfer mode is used for the welding of thin sheet and medium plate, and for all thicknesses when welding in the vertical or overhead positions.

Hobo, thanks for the explanation on the "Dip" process. Interesting read.

Has anyone reading this owned one of these or maybe have used one before ? If so, what comments would you make about weld quality or etc. ?

[OPUS FERRO]

hobohilton has left the building ! Opus

[woi2ld]

hi brad , i got lucky and seen one few days ago at the top of the sales list. Cheap! I checked back a short bit later , ad was gone. If i jumped on every deal , shop would be stacked to the roof probly ;D So i saved a picture instead . This was a dip pak 250 with a third knob behind the torch liner ther.. Im wondering what the 'third' knob is for. I think i did a little reading and remember ESAB being involved

[Dan]

Originally Posted by woi2ld

hi brad , i got lucky and seen one few days ago at the top of the sales list. Cheap! I checked back a short bit later , ad was gone. If i jumped on every deal , shop would be stacked to the roof probly ;D So i saved a picture instead . This was a dip pak 250 with a third knob behind the torch liner ther.. Im wondering what the 'third' knob is for. I think i did a little reading and remember ESAB being involved

The lower knob is the coarse voltage selector. You have three selections; low, medium, and high. The upper large knob is fine voltage control. The fine control offers you 8 ranges to choose from. So in all the unit offers 24 voltage selections to choose from. Technically though there are only 22 different voltage selections, because taps Low/1 and Med/2 cover the same output range, as do taps Med/8 and High/1.

[RaptOut]

We have a airco dip pak like the one woi2ld linked to above on the farm and it has been a good welder for us. Parts are easy to order through our local gas supplier but most of the time they have to be ordered and not simply picked up like the more common millers.

it does spatter a good bit but I always attributed that more to the fact we only run CO2 on it. I wouldn't pay over 8-900 for one though before biting the bullet and getting a new MIG for 2k