# PowCon 300 SS   Welder Gloat



## Ulma Doctor

i was surfin craigslist yesterday and found this little beauty...




it's a PowCon 300 SS Heavy Duty DC Inverter welder.
i snatched it up for the ridiculously low price of $300.
these are extremely tough building trades quality inverters that will take a pounding all day long at high load and won't quit on you. iv'e welded extensively with powcons when i was an iron worker apprentice. i have used these units on structural as well as deck work. i'm totally stoked and got it for a song!!!


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## Ray C

Help me out here... What process does it support?

Ray


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## OldMachinist

DC stick machine but can also do scratch Tig, carbon arc gouging and stud welding.
300 amps on 3 phase and 200 amps on single phase.

You can download the manual here 
http://www.arconweld.com/Powcon_Operator_Manuals/300SS/300SS.pdf


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## Ulma Doctor

this unit can be used for stick welding up to 300 amps DC.  at 300 amps it has a 60% duty cycle on three phase. when configured in the single phase mode it will weld 200 amps with a 60% duty cycle. it consumes 41 amps on single phase and 32 amps on 3 phase power.
other PowCon units can support, mig, tig, and stick from the same unit, but you most likely wont find them for $300...lol

i haven't gouged with one..
i'm gonna have to give it a shot thanks Don!!!


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## sniggler

Does it have both Constant Voltage (cv mig or flux core) and Constant Current (stick)?


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## Ulma Doctor

this unit is constant current.
 other versions have a switch that you twist to change between processes.


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## sniggler

Can you switch polarity on that unit?


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## Ulma Doctor

i guess i should have posted a picture of the front of the unit.

yes, you just switch positive and negative leads. 
it has female terminals, common twist lock welding(tweeco) connections in the rear panel.
they run equally well DC+ or DC-
they aren't indestructible, but darn near.


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## Old Iron

Looks like a nice unit, I've never used one but it should do the job.

Paul


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## Ulma Doctor

now all i need is some good heavy cables and put her back in service:biggrin:.
i'm looking for some 1/0 cables if anyone has used or a cheap source it would be appreciated!!
thanks!!

- - - Updated - - -



Old Iron said:


> Looks like a nice unit, I've never used one but it should do the job.
> 
> Paul



thank you Paul,
they are fantastic units and a real pleasure to work with. 
they have ability to control the current from a remote switch, you plug into the back of the unit. 
saves a lot of time running back and forth to the unit. if your heat isn't right turn the remote dial, 
baddabing!!! corrections are instantaneous.
it's really a great feature if you got 150ft of cable out.


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## Ulma Doctor

i took a picture of the front of the unit for posterity...



the remote amperage control wire plugs in on the port across from the power cord, the on/off switch is above the power cord. the welding leads are plugged into the ports in the bottom of the unit, reversing the DC polarity is accomplished by reversing leads. 

thanks for looking!


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## Rbeckett

Whats the base weight on it?  I thought they had a really good weight to available power range too.  They are like 50 Lbs for the 300's or something like that, right?

Bob


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## Ulma Doctor

Yes Bob,
they are feather light 50 lbs would be about right!
 the inverter is well protected in a heavy duty fiberglass enclosure.
iv'e seen them get kicked around and beaten up, they are sturdy workhorses.)


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## Rbeckett

Inverter technology has come so far since they first started building welders that way.  The Powcons are very robust and well engineered.  And do a great job stick and scratch tig welding on steel.  The DC+/- capability is a great thing to have when you need the change.  Dense plugs are great too.  I had a friend who had about 300 feet of stinger cable and could just keep adding 50 foot sections till he reached the weld.  Made putting it away much easier too, coil up a section and hang it on the peg, move to the next... Too easy and too neat.  That was a great price on the power supply too.  Check out a local electrical supply or local airgas dealer.  Trying to ship a bunch of heavy cable isn't going to be cheap and any money you save on good pricing will get eaten up on freight.  Cyberweld or Welding supplies at Indiana Oxygen are both internet suppliers and may have a cheaper freight program that might help too.  Good luck and have fun with the new machine..

Bob


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## sniggler

The reason i had the polarity question was a few year back a company i was welding for had a bunch of older lincoln inverters which had kind of a weird setup. They had a regular tweco female for the positive lead and a ground lead with clamp connected to a terminal bolt on the back side of the inverter.

We were running lincoln 5/64 nr-305 (dc+) out of LN-25 feeders for the in position welds and 5/64 nr-212 (dc-) for the out of position work. So to run the straight polarity i rigged the lead off the back of the feeder and the ground into the port. It just plain would not weld straight it was a dedicated reverse polarity unit.

We had 350 and 450 miller inverters and of they run - or + so we just adjusted the job was really spread out so it was a pain. I felt like a fool cause i said don't worry we will just rig them to run dc+. I just wonder if anyone has run into the units i never quite understood why what i did failed other than they were clearly set up dc+ by lincoln and if they were meant to be use dc- then they would have had both + and - ports on the front.

the job was pretty cool *National Synchrotron Light Source II*

http://www.bnl.gov/ps/images/NSLS2-D4851011-620px.jpg

And i am jealous of your inverter what a nice thing to have.


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## jamie76x

These are nice welders for using out of the shop or for basic stick welding in the shop. You can run revers if you ever need to, but there are no other bells and whistles to it. $300 or less is a good score.


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## Shade

Ohhhh I am getting flashbacks....

We had several of those on my Destroyer.  They are good stick machines.  
But do not get salt water in them...  They do not like it, and blow up like
the Fourth of July!  I did get to scream at the poor bastard who took it 
topside!  I heard he took it up was headed there to stop him, I was seconds 
late.  Salt spray and 3 phase power, not a good combination...

The EM's said all the IGBT's were fried, we tossed it over the side, I threated
the idiot Fireman we should tie it to his leg first!!!

I also suggest to take the cover off and blow out the dust, inverter do not
like to be dirty.


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