Lincoln Idealarc TIG 300 / 300

[HT2-4956]

Went and helped one of the local farmers last Sunday to help get this machine running and give him a little training on using it to weld aluminum. Been a while since I've got to use a machine of this vintage. He originally told me that he thought there was something wrong with the high frequency generator on it because he couldn't get it to weld. And he'd had that apart to clean and re set the gaps.

Turned out it was just operator error on his part. In hind sight it was probably a good thing he couldn't get it to weld because he didn't have the brand new wp-20 he'd bought for it plumbed in correctly to the cooling system. Plus the coolant tank only had about an inch of old nasty coolant in it and the screen filter on the Procon pump was seriously clogged. Odds are if he could have got it to weld and did any amount of welding with it he'd have just smoked the power lead.

Any ways, after getting the problems with the cooling system corrected I fired up on a piece of 1/8" scrap and with out any problem put down a nice looking 6" test bead. While it's not a Syncrowave (which is mostly what I'm use to tig welding aluminum with) I thought it welded pretty good. If it were mine I could see being able to make some money with it fixing aluminum stuff for people. He was pretty tickled to find out there was no problems with and that it was capable of making good welds.

[Daniel-B]

These are good oldies, you get over 300 amps for around $ 1200.00 to $ 1500.00 including water cooling, hf.
I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one.

[HT2-4956]

The story I got was that he picked up the machine from a rural high school shop that was being shut down. Don't know what he paid for it. It appears to me to be in good shape and never really used very much. It's definetly been kept in a nice environment. The little bit I could see up into it thru where the access cover plate was off over the hf spark generator looked really clean and dust free. I've recommended though that it would be a good idea to get the cover panels off so we could get a real good look at it's insides. Just on GP I think it would be a good idea to give it a blowing out and go over the major connections to be sure ever thing is snugged up tight.

Couple of things about it that sort of bother me....just being plug in makes it give off a pretty substantial hum. The fact that the on / off switch is just a lite duty toggle switch tells me there's got to be an electrical / mechanical contactor in there that it wouldn't hurt to check. And the current / polarity switch feels a little gritty and harder to move than it should be. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to clean some contact surfaces and get some lubricant on the mechanism. Speaking of which, I could use some advice on what to use for lube on that. Is there some kind of special silicon based electrical contact lube or would a spritz of WD-40 be OK to use?

The other thing I noticed is that I did have to hold the tungsten real close to get the arc to jump so maybe the high frequency isn't adjusted as well as it could be. Seemed kind of weak in that regard compared to most of the other machines I've used. Once it jumped though and the arc established it did maintain a smooth arc. So there's enough high frequency there for that.

I've already located and downloaded the manual for it but if any one else has any thing to add about it's maintenance or use I'm all ears.

If any one knows how to find out when it was made I'd like to know. It's Serial # is AC-560587. There's also a "Code #" which is 8609.

Will probably stop back by there this afternoon to see how much progress he's made with his practicing and give another welding lesson if needed.

[Pavinsteelman]

The machine is a TM set up with tig the same as a Miller A/BP will last forever,blow out lube and use. Down load manual off Lincoln web site.

[bent]

Couple of things about it that sort of bother me....just being plug in makes it give off a pretty substantial hum. The fact that the on / off switch is just a lite duty toggle switch tells me there's got to be an electrical / mechanical contactor in there that it wouldn't hurt to check.

IIRC that machine is rated 106A input 240V. Wired properly, that would require a plug worth almost as much as the welder. If the plug isn't sufficiently rated, it should be wired direct with split bolts, not wire nuts.

[hillbillyfab]

I really like my Tig 300. Mines a little bit older than the one you posted. I can tell by the plug in for the remote/foot pedal on the face. MY ole girl has done everything I've asked of her sofar. She's the back bone of my shop.