Powcon 300SM

[Mek]

First time here,

Some one at work gave me a spool gun that they ran on a Powcon 300SM. I purchased a Powcon 300sm from a surpluser. It was wired and used on 230 volt 3 phase. After getting it home. I hooked it up 230 volt single phase. I did so after reading several Posts. The led and the fan runs strong but can get any current to weld with. I plugged the spool gun in and pulled the trigger. it spools the wire but no current. Would anyone have any trouble shooting advice?

Thanks,

Mek

[leightrepairs]

Did you connect the black and white wires and cap off the red wire? Did you verify the arrangement of the internal jumpers?

https://arconweld.com/custom/Powcon_...1C%20300SM.pdf

[CAVEMANN]

Welcome!

[Mek]

Thank you for responding Mike,

The welder came with a cord attached I just had to put a 50 amp plug on. At that process I cut the red wire short and just hooked the black and the white to the 2 legs. after reading the book it looked like it was wired for 230 volt which my shop is 240 volt single phase.

any ideas??

Thanks,

Mark

[shipyarddude]

I just aquired the same exact machine, PowCon 300sm, with the same question. The machine appears to be in Fantastic condition! Mine came without a plug as well and I'm trying to power it up to test it. The bus bars inside the machine are setup for, as best I can tell, for 230 volt. I'm wondering if I can power this machine, for stick use only, from a 5500 watt generac generator with a 4 prong 240 volt plug? If so, How do you wire it? I've read ALLOT of threads that describe dropping the Red wire, but if I do that, the input power will only be 120 volts because the Black and Red wires on my generator are HOT ,120 volts each. Also I'm concerned that the plug I'd have to use will be under rated, only 30 amps I believe. Am I over thinking this? I know these are amazing little machines! I used them aboard numerous Navy Vessels early in my career and I'm excited about it's potential but certainly want to damage it by my lack of knowledge. Any help would be Greatly appreciated!

[ccawgc]

Forget what you think you know about color of wires.
Building wiring and line cord color codes are a little different.
since the line power cords used here in USA only use four or five colors
Green is always ground. red and black are always hot. but white can be either
hot or a neutral. Most inverter welder here is USA are wired so black and white are always hot and the control power supply is connected to them. This is a standard single phase usage. the red wire is reserved for 3 phase operation.
somebody a long time ago thought it would a waste to use a 5 wire cord for three phase operation on a machine that did not use the neutral so the white wire would remain unconnected. The bean counters would consider it a waste of $$

[yZdrew170]

Hi all. This is my first time here and hoping you can help.
I just got a Powcon 300. I believe it is the SS model. That is what the face plate says. My machine has the high/low amp selector and the fine selector only. It also has a digital display with a toggle from amps to volts. I have not been able to find another 300 SS with this digital display and toggle. I have seen some SM but they have other features mine doesn’t. Any thoughts?
thanks for your help

[shipyarddude]

It would probably be helpful to post pictures of the machine you're asking about yZdrew. Like the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. Good Luck 🍀

[ronsii]

Hi all. This is my first time here and hoping you can help.
I just got a Powcon 300. I believe it is the SS model. That is what the face plate says. My machine has the high/low amp selector and the fine selector only. It also has a digital display with a toggle from amps to volts. I have not been able to find another 300 SS with this digital display and toggle. I have seen some SM but they have other features mine doesn’t. Any thoughts?
thanks for your help

Welcome to the WeldingWeb yZdrew what kind of help are you looking for??? I see plenty of 300ss machines out there... looks easy enough to operate, just set the hi/lo switch to the range you want and adjust the fine knob to the amps for welding... and burn away

[ccawgc]

The volt / amp meter is optional. Not needed for the welder to function correctly.
Plug it in and turn it on and it should start ticking. Ticking is what you want to hear until you strike an arc. The SS is a stick only welder. will not MIG weld.
What problems are you having if any?