# Scrapping an old Airco (Miller) Bumblebee welder



## stevewatr (Dec 24, 2014)

Hello everyone,
A few months back I spotted a big transformer welder on Flebay. Due to it's size and weight, the seller only offered local pickup. So the local pickup, age of the machine, outdated technology, and the fact that it was three phase all pointed to a very undesirable machine…………….so of course I bought it.


At first glance it looked a lot like my Airco Heliwelder, so I thought I might be able to use it as a spare parts source. My other thought was there must be some decent copper scrap value there, since we are talking about a welder that tips the scales at over 500 pounds. But what sealed the deal for me, was what I spotted in some of the other photos that was not mentioned in the description, mainly what looked to be a decent amount of leads coiled up, hanging on the corner, and on top was an Airco branded (grey instead of blue) RFCS-23 ?? Miller foot pedal. I already knew my 330/a/b/p Heliwelder was a Miller clone, and it came with a Miller pedal, so I figured a spare pedal might be nice to have. I shot off a quick message to the seller, and he confirmed that everything in the photos "goes with the welder". I submitted a $100 offer, assured him I'd pay cash on pickup (saving him the Paypal fees), and we had a deal. I drove about an hour to get there, and these guys already had the machine palleted, and ready to go. They had a forklift on site, and that made load up a snap, other than the tight squeeze between my Dodge Dakotas little wheel wells (why I did not take he 1 ton I still do not know). As they lowered it on the truck, and I watched the space between the top of my tire and the rear fender shrink, I was grinning from ear to ear, because I had confirmed it was a 23 foot pedal, and that there was a water cooled tig torch, and about 50 feet of welding cable on the stinger.


I shot a series of videos about 9 videos, average length of 15 minutes each, documenting the tear down, and scrapping of this Airco "Bumblebee"  "Crater filler" 200 amp DC only welder. If you'd be interested in seeing the inside of one of these old welders, I am putting them into a playlist, and included the link below. I also talk a little about the individual components, like the notoriously leaky HF caps, and the spark gaps. I have a working knowledge of electronics, but am by no means an expert on these welders, so forgive some of the "noob" assumptions I make in the videos, often correcting myself only minutes later, like when I thought the HF coupling transformer was a giant air cooled inductor. As of this writing, I have 5 videos on the playlist, and am currently finishing editing uploading the others.


Hope you enjoy the videos. Comments, and "likes" are welcome.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV1RW-p5BeokJk_N311eTrmoFf2oWXxlU


Regards,
Steve W.


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