Issue with inverter welder
Discussion
Hi all,
I've been given an inverter welder that needs looking at. It's been running fine up until last week where after about 30 minutes use it just died, like someone switched the power off. The plug fuse is good; when I switch it on I get no 'power on' LED and I can hear a faint ticking sound from within.
Seems like electronics to me which I'm no good with! Can anyone advise on whether this would be a simple fix (diode/capacitor etc.) or if it's not worth fixing? Seems a shame to throw it away as it's still in good condition and usefully portable...
It's a Domtool Inverter Welder 2.5
Cheers,
Chris
I've been given an inverter welder that needs looking at. It's been running fine up until last week where after about 30 minutes use it just died, like someone switched the power off. The plug fuse is good; when I switch it on I get no 'power on' LED and I can hear a faint ticking sound from within.
Seems like electronics to me which I'm no good with! Can anyone advise on whether this would be a simple fix (diode/capacitor etc.) or if it's not worth fixing? Seems a shame to throw it away as it's still in good condition and usefully portable...
It's a Domtool Inverter Welder 2.5
Cheers,
Chris
Have you tried it again since?
These invertor welders are good for hobbyist, but no good for long durations of welding. They often have thermal cutouts which cut in after a certain time to protect the coil from over heating.
The good ol' days of Oxford Welders and the like have the coil in an oil bath, and as was demonstrated to me, doesn't sweat a thing running a 1/4 rod all day long.
Have a look round the thing for a thermal cut out switch, you may manually have to reset the thing once it allows you to. The manual should also give you a rough guide of welding time vs amperage and rod size. Go over the duty cycle of the switch and you'll be waiting for it to cool off again.
Hope this helps!
These invertor welders are good for hobbyist, but no good for long durations of welding. They often have thermal cutouts which cut in after a certain time to protect the coil from over heating.
The good ol' days of Oxford Welders and the like have the coil in an oil bath, and as was demonstrated to me, doesn't sweat a thing running a 1/4 rod all day long.
Have a look round the thing for a thermal cut out switch, you may manually have to reset the thing once it allows you to. The manual should also give you a rough guide of welding time vs amperage and rod size. Go over the duty cycle of the switch and you'll be waiting for it to cool off again.
Hope this helps!
Thanks all! It's not been used for any seriously meaty stuff as far as I know. The only thing I've noticed with it is that the cooling fan at the back is not coming on when I turn the unit on. Could there be some kind of protection circuitry that won't allow the system to start up if the fan doesn't work? It's a simple 12V fan much like you see inside a computer. I've got another one so I might try swapping it over and seeing if that cures it.
It was only a second hand welder purchased off Gumtree for £20 so it's not worth spending a huge amount of effort on. Having had a look through some welding forums on these type of welders generally, they seem to be a bit of a pain to fault find. You need the right bits of kit, ocilloscopes, dummy loads etc., and a lot of the time the manufacturers don't provide detailed enough circuit diagrams so you just end up having to replace the entire board.
Cheers
It was only a second hand welder purchased off Gumtree for £20 so it's not worth spending a huge amount of effort on. Having had a look through some welding forums on these type of welders generally, they seem to be a bit of a pain to fault find. You need the right bits of kit, ocilloscopes, dummy loads etc., and a lot of the time the manufacturers don't provide detailed enough circuit diagrams so you just end up having to replace the entire board.
Cheers
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