TR250HF issue with power cord

[yginesta]

I have tried looking for some info everywhere on this and I finally came up with the manual for this ancient old lady.

I have this machine at my house and i don't have a power cable hooked up to it. When i bought it there was no power cord. The machine was purchased at heavy machinery auction and it was sold as turns and welds, but it did not have a power cord because i was told that it was hooked in a government building and when they sell the machines they disconnect the wires from the inside of the machine.

I was also told that if I didnt know what the correct wires were to not mess with it because it would become a fire ball. I need to see if anyone can show me a pic of where the wires are hooked up to and also which wire is which so i dont place a wire in the wrong place.

I also have a setting for 200, 230 and 460. I have a 220 line at my house. What setting should i place it at?

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide me with.

[papaharley03]

You would use the 230 volt setting. Can you provide a link to the manual? You should have something labeled L1 and L2. Those will be your two legs of 220. The third wire would be ground. Look for a ground stud attached to the chassis with the standard symbol for ground stamped or labeled nearby.

If you are uncomfortable with doing this type of wiring, let someone else do it. An error could be fatal to you and your welder.

Papa

[yginesta]

Here is the only wiring diag i found in the manual. I cant attach it because the forum doesn't allow it because it is too big. I am comfortable as long as i know which wire is which.

The picture confuses me because the 2 cables I think are the ones i use go to a fused disconnect switch.

The ground should be green, but the rest of the wires are unclear.




The input connections box


Thanks in advance,

[papaharley03]

The instructions spell it out, but you need to connect the white and black wires to the two lugs shown in your last picture. It doesn't matter which way you connect the black and white wires from the power cord, as long as you have one attached to each terminal on the contactor. Pay attention to step 11 that refers to having the proper internal set up for the line voltage you are putting in. As I stated above, you would use the 230 volt setting.

That black box is a contactor that is inline with the main power switch. It is used by the spot timer.

Papa

[yginesta]

Ok, sounds good. So I can take my power cord that i picked up at home depot and hook the white and black wires to the contactor and then attach my ground. Then make sure the Voltage setting is set to be on 230 and I am good to go?

Also what does the message stating that they go to a fused disconnect switch mean?

[prop-doctor]

fused disco switch = ( old barrel type fuse or screw in fuse) now days a breaker

[yginesta]

fused disco switch = ( old barrel type fuse or screw in fuse) now days a breaker

So according to my pictures. Are the white and black wire going to the outside of the machine to a power source or are they going into that circuit breaker inside the machine?

[papaharley03]

So according to my pictures. Are the white and black wire going to the outside of the machine to a power source or are they going into that circuit breaker inside the machine?

They are referring to hard wiring the unit to the wall via a disconnect panel. If you have a receptacle already on the wall, then you will attach a plug to your cable. The wires are going inside on the contactor as I stated above. The other end of the cable will attach to wall plug or hard wired disconnect panel.

Papa

[yginesta]

They are referring to hard wiring the unit to the wall via a disconnect panel. If you have a receptacle already on the wall, then you will attach a plug to your cable. The wires are going inside on the contactor as I stated above. The other end of the cable will attach to wall plug or hard wired disconnect panel.

Papa

That is exactly right. I have a wall mounted plug where the unit will just plug into. So all i have to figure out is when I buy the plug head that goes on the wall which is pos and negative and then hook up the ground and I am done?

[papaharley03]

So all i have to figure out is when I buy the plug head that goes on the wall which is pos and negative and then hook up the ground and I am done?

it's AC, there is no positive and negative. The white has 110 and the black has 110, both with respect to ground. Add the the two line voltages and you get 220 between the black and white wires. It's that simple.

[prop-doctor]

in a nut shell ------ its..... hot + (L1-black) hot + (L2-white) then green (- ground {chassis)
no neutral or negitive in 220-230 volt --- hot ,hot, ground

[yginesta]

Oh wow simple enough then uh. LOL

I will give this a try later on today and see if she fires up. I also have to hook up the water cooler tank to the front of the machine. Once all that is working I will go lease a argon tank and hopefully mess around with some stainless steel.

Thanks guys. I will keep you posted on the outcome.

[yginesta]

So the machine powers up perfectly and sounds good. I had to take the cover off my water cooling unit as there was some water on the bottom that I am going to clean up and run it to make sure there are no leaks before spending some time welding.

I do have a couple of questions when hooking up the water cooling unit to the welder.

My torch has a line coming from the welder ( the gas line out ) and also the 2 water lines. There is also a piece of steel that mounts the the machine.

Well of the other side of the machine there is another block that looks like something can be mounted to it. Am i missing something or is this normal?

Below are a couple of pics

[zapster]

Yup that is what it looks like..

The water in...
You need a water source either a cooler or street water/Garden hose set up...

Water in the machine..
Water out into the torch and then from the torch a water out hose connects to the bug lug you have already there and that water either goes back into the cooler if you have one or out into the garden if running street water..

Gas in is from your tank and gas out goes to the torch gas in hose..
Simple enough?

...zap!

[yginesta]

Yup that is what it looks like..

The water in...
You need a water source either a cooler or street water/Garden hose set up...

Water in the machine..
Water out into the torch and then from the torch a water out hose connects to the bug lug you have already there and that water either goes back into the cooler if you have one or out into the garden if running street water..

Gas in is from your tank and gas out goes to the torch gas in hose..
Simple enough?

...zap!

I dont get the whole garden water hose idea. Right now the only thing coming out of the machine is the Gas out. The water hose with the electrode lug goes from the torch to the water cooler and the other water hose goes directly from the torch to the water cooler.

Is this machine supposed to be included in the water cooling system?

[yginesta]

So i figured out I had to add a ground from the work terminal to the piece i was welding. I am getting a spark when I touch the electrode to the part, but when i hit the foot down nothing happpens and I hear a loud sound of air. This is trying to weld a bead on a piece of alliminum.

I have the welder set up on AC and I have the amp maxed out so I can control it with my foot. The tank shows pressure and when I open the valve there are no leaks. I also have it set for high frequency on continuous.

I am not sure what to look for. Oh also when the machine was on i leaned up against it and it shocked me. Didnt know if that mattered.

Thanks in advance,

[zapster]

First off..
If you don't have a watercooled torch you are wasting your time...

Second off...
Um....YA you need a ground..oh boy...

Third off...
Aluminum..

Is the machine on AC?
Is the hi freq switch ON? or on START?

Fourth off...
It shocked you?
EXACTLY what were you doing when it did?

Fifth off..
Why is there a gas out hose and not a gas IN?
How the hell do you have this set up?

You have alot to learn my friend..

And I really don't see you doing very much very fast at all...


...zap!

[yginesta]

First off..
If you don't have a watercooled torch you are wasting your time...

Second off...
Um....YA you need a ground..oh boy...

Third off...
Aluminum..

Is the machine on AC?
Is the hi freq switch ON? or on START?

Fourth off...
It shocked you?
EXACTLY what were you doing when it did?

Fifth off..
Why is there a gas out hose and not a gas IN?
How the hell do you have this set up?

You have alot to learn my friend..

And I really don't see you doing very much very fast at all...


...zap!

Dude you need to relax. I went out today and bought a tank after fixing the leak on my water cooler.

The in the way i have the machine setup and the things i have done I made sure were correctly. This machine is both AC, DC reversed and CD straight. A friend told me the settings i had to put it in for welding aluminum so i started with that.

The machine was set on AC, the post flow time to 10. I have a welding current knob that I was explained that when I put it on either of the 3 settings for amperes ( AC 5-55, 15-155, 45-310 ) it would let me select what specific amperes i wanted in that range, but the foot pedal would over ride this.

High frequency was turned to start and I also tried it on continuous. When I set it on continuous it made a different sound when I hit the foot pedal ( almost like a gas leak )

The high frequency intensity I had it set to 6 out of 10.

I have a knob for remote or local, tried both with same result.

I had a ground hooked up to the Work lug on the front left and the torch is hooked up to the electrode side.

I have the bottle opened all the way and the pressure set at 20. It is going into the Gas in and the gas out is going to the gauge.

The water hoses are hooked up from the water cooler to the torch.

The welder shocked me while it was on with the above settings.

I hope this helps you understand everything a little better. I am not an idiot and understand that this is my first time messing with a TIG!

[zapster]

Yeah sorry about that but when I read and then study pics..
I call'em as I read'em..

I had the exact same machine for 4 years and toasted it doing things it was really not put on this earth to do...

Get it set up and you will like it..
Just don't use it all day every day..

Still have spare polarity switches and stuff if you need it..

...zap!

[yginesta]

Yeah sorry about that but when I read and then study pics..
I call'em as I read'em..

I had the exact same machine for 4 years and toasted it doing things it was really not put on this earth to do...

Get it set up and you will like it..
Just don't use it all day every day..

Still have spare polarity switches and stuff if you need it..

...zap!

I figured you saw the pics and were confused. LOL

So what do you think could be the issue here. Could a poor ground cause me not to have the weld arc when i press the pedal when the tank is on?

[welds4d]

If the machine is shocking you when you touch the chassis, you probably have it wired up wrong, which could also explain the lack of welding current.

[yginesta]

If the machine is shocking you when you touch the chassis, you probably have it wired up wrong, which could also explain the lack of welding current.

The problem is where is the bad connection or error in wiring? Could this be due to a bad ground to the piece I am welding?

[welds4d]

The problem isn't likely in your work connection. It is either an error in wiring in the power cable connection, or possibly deeper in the machine itself. You obviously have some voltage in your machine chassis in order for it to shock you and that isn't normal (or safe). You may need to get an electrician to help you figure it out if you're not really strong in electrical DIY troubleshooting. If you have a meter, and are familiar how to use it safely, there are some really knowledgeable troubleshooters here that may be able to coach you.

[yginesta]

The problem isn't likely in your work connection. It is either an error in wiring in the power cable connection, or possibly deeper in the machine itself. You obviously have some voltage in your machine chassis in order for it to shock you and that isn't normal (or safe). You may need to get an electrician to help you figure it out if you're not really strong in electrical DIY troubleshooting. If you have a meter, and are familiar how to use it safely, there are some really knowledgeable troubleshooters here that may be able to coach you.

I have gone over the wiring diag so many times and everything check out. A friend said that sometimes it does shock you.

I went ahead and tried to weld a piece of steel from a muffler system. I didnt use any filler metal. I had the machine set to DC straight and the high frequency turned off.

I have a full cylinder of argon and i dont get any gas. The only way I can get the welding process started is by touching the metal with the tip of the tungston. Then back it out a little and make a nice little puddle. This however eats up the tip of the tungston and even with my inexperience in TIG welding i know that is wrong.

Could my gas valve on the machine be bad and is there a way to check it?

[welds4d]

Post a pic of the front panel with the knobs and switches set where you had them and we'll go from there... It sounds like you had the machine set for stick welding, and the gas won't flow like that. Don't give up, we'll get there...