If you haven’t heard, it’s official. The Pierce Company (FYI-the only company that manufactures governors for the Continental F-162 and F-163, is closing its doors!

Check out this link:

http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=62&ArticleID=58327

If you have a Hoof governor (long ago bought out by Pierce) or Pierce governor-take care if it. The only source of new governors and parts are what is on the distributor’s shelf.

Beware of anyone offering you’re a “Rebuilt Governor”-how can you rebuild anything if you cannot get parts?

What you have is all you’ve got-TAKE CARE OF THAT GOVERNOR!

We bought the last new governors for the SA-200, SA-250, and the Miller welders with the Continental engines, but there is a problem. Our last governors shipment; GD899A (Lincoln P/N: M9130 for the SA200 magneto machines) and the GD908A for the distributor machines have a serious problem.

They have a manufacturing defect, and this defect has been around for over a year that we know of. The problem is simple as noted in the image below. The metal speed control lever (we call it the “bellcrank”) has too much lateral play. If the bolt comes loose, and it can, the speed adjustment screw slips behind the bellcrank, as shown in the image.

High Speed Adjusting Screw Behind Bellcrank-Will Destroy Governor Housing!

This puts excess pressure on the aluminum “ear” that is drilled and threaded for the high speed adjustment screw. This excessive pressure breaks off the drilled “ear”.

This image is the results of this: Note: the tiny area that the high speed screw contacts!

Our first returned governor was returned to Pierce (Weldmart-warranted the governor on the spot!). Pierce denied the warranty. They claimed that the customer has drilled an angled hole through the aluminum-weakening it. When we countered that ALL THEIR GOVERNORS HAD A DRILLED HOLE-TO HOLD A SECURITY WIRE! We “ate the governor”-what could we do?

All governors that come to Weldmart, in a box or on a machine, are inspected for this defect. We repair them as shown below:

• The bellcrank is removed from the governor and extra metal is welded on the side of the lever.

• We have found that it is very easy (if you the right mig welder) to build up the edge of bellcrank with 0.025 wire (E70S6-025). It’s not pretty, but the results are worth everything!
• After the build up is complete the area must be shaped with a bench grinder and/or a file.

• The repaired bellcrank is now ready for installation on your governor.

IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR GOVERNOR LAST: A LIFETIME-MAYBE!

The mechanical governor is a simple reliable mechanical device. They work well, but when they fail, the results can be catastrophe!

The biggest enemy of the governor is lack of clean motor oil. The engine keeps adding oil to the governor to remove what leaks back into the engine. When you install a governor you need to add ½ cup of new clean motor oil. If the gaskets show signs of leaking-replace them as soon as possible.

The worse defect of the Continental engines found on Lincoln SA200 & SA250 welders comes from the oil bath air cleaner. The oil bath air cleaner allows dirt to get in the motor oil, that dirt eats the front engine seal and rear the main seals. It is fatal to the mechanical governor. Think about it; what can you buy today with an oil-bath air cleaner? When the SA200 came on the market in 1939-an oil-bath air cleaner was all that was available Upgrade your air cleaner-it’s the best investment you can make to extend the life of your Continental engine!

When you have been working on welding equipment for over 40 years, you would believe you had seen it all—WRONG! Even my Deutz mechanic (30 years experience with Deutz) had never seen this happen!

Our new customer brings in a Lincoln Classic 2 (SA-250-F3L1011) Code number 10071 with 10431 hours on the hourmeter. This machine has been worked very hard and been a profitable investment for the customer! We have had a run of these machines with the Deutz F3L1011 engines lately and are very familiar with them.

We repaired the exciter problem-the machine runs and welds! The next day the customer is on his way to pickup this machine. Before he arrives we always run the units; just to do a final check out. We don’t want any embarrassing moments in front of a new (or old!) customer.

We start the engine up and it runs for about 10 seconds when a tremendous puff of white smoke and oil blows out the exhaust. The oil dip stick blow out of the block-followed by a stream of motor oil and the engine starts to “run-away”! Lucky for us (and the customer) we had not put the hood on yet. As soon as it started to run away-I hit the ignition switch-the Muther kept right on running! I had to put my hand over the air filter intake to shut off it’s air, only then did it finally stop running!

We checked the oil level and the crankcase was full of oil! What the hell? We had run the machine the day before and all was just well. Put the unit on our forklift to drain the excess oil and noticed the oil is very thin-it was full of diesel fuel!

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY!

The Deutz F3L1011 uses a mechanical “lift-pump” to prime the injectors. Both Lincoln Electric and Miller Electric use the Deutz F3L10011 engine, they both have a gravity-flow fuel system. The lift pump is used to prime the fuel system if needed and to assure that the injector pump has a steady and sufficient flow of fuel.

The mechanical lift pump diaphragm had developed a hole and diesel fuel had siphoned into the crankcase from the tank and through the fuel filter. You must remember that this engine has over 10000 hours on it, it is due for an overhaul. When the engine started, it built up pressure in the crankcase-blowing the dipstick out and forcing fuel up the side of the cylinder where it was burned. When I shut off the ignition switch-nothing happened; it just kept running FASTER AND FASTER! The only way to stop it was to cut off its air supply.

Always remember: before you start any engine-always check the oil first!
• Is the oil level sufficient? If not add oil. Smell the oil, if it smells like gasoline (petrol) or diesel-stop and have it checked out.
• If the oil looks like it has milk in it-you have water in the crankcase-don’t run it until you know why. It may just be condensation or worse.
• Always look, feel, and smell the oil-just in case!

1. Your replacement pump should have the pulley all ready installed. If you need to remove and reinstall your pulley refer to this link for instructions.

SINGLE GROOVE PULLEY INSTALLED

2. A new pump should come with the back plate and the bypass hose nipple loose-not installed. We recommend that the water pump back plate be installed first. Paint both sided of the paper gasket with Permatex®, hang it up, and let it get “tacky”. We recommend that a light coat of sealer be applied to the water pump and the backing plate. Make sure there is no dirt, debris, or anything that would interfere with gasket sealing. The area in blue is where the sealer should be painted.

PERMATEX AVAITION GASKET SEALER

PERMATEX “FORM-A GASKET” “BLUE” IS SEALING AREA

3. Lay the gasket on the pump and then install the backing plate. Snug the mounting bolts (10-15 pounds of torque is all you need).

4. Install the by-pass hose nipple. Use “Teflon” tape or a Teflon based thread sealer to coat the treads. Tighten the nipple with pliers.

REMOVING THE WATER PUMP FROM THE WELDER
(You do not have to remove the radiator or fan to change the pump)
5. Drain the engine and radiator. There is no clean way to accomplish this with the SA-200. We recommend that the unit be raised up and a large bucket (five gallons) be placed under the right side (facing the radiator) of the radiator. Loosen the lower hose clamp and let the coolant drain. You may or may not be able to open the radiator pet-cock valve. If the fluid is clean-no oil or debris, it can be reused.

6. After the fluid is completely drained, remove the upper, lower, and by-pass hoses. You do this for two reasons; first to inspect the hoses and second to get them out of the way. You will be working in tight quarters-don’t make it any harder than you have to.

7. Remove the alternator adjusting arm and fan belt-replace any item if you question their condition.

TIP: If you are careful you can remove the pump without removing the fan blade-a very awkward painful procedure-be careful of your knuckles. When we do this in our shop we always have two people available-one on each side of the machine to guide the assembly out without damaging the radiator.

8. There are three mounting bolts that hold the pump onto the engine block-they require a 9/16” wrench to remove. They should be torques down to 50 foot pounds of torque. They will be tight, we recommend that you use a long handle box end wrench-tap it with a hammer to break them loose.

9. With the pump removed it is now time to clean off the original pump to block gasket. The orginal gasket must be completely removed! We use a scraper with a “sharp” edge. The block is cast iron-you won’t hurt it. You should be able to run your fingers over the area and feel nothing but a smooth surface.

10. Paint both sided of the paper gasket (shown in Blue) with Permatex®, hang it up, and let it get “tacky”. We recommend that a light coat of sealer be applied to the water pump and the backing plate. Make sure there is no dirt, debris, or anything that would interfere with gasket sealing.

11. Before installing the new water pump you should clean (with a wire brush or wire wheel) the threads (and heads) of all the bolts you have removed. If there is damage to the bolts and washers-repalce them-don’t take a chance! You should be able to screw the bolts in by hand. If there is any problem-clean the bolt holes with the proper tap (3/8” x 16).

TIP: BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE WATER PUMP MOUNTING BOLTS-COAT THEM WITH A VERY LIGHT COAT OF PERMATEX-IT ACTS AS A LUBRICANT AND WILL PRECENT THE BOLT FROM RUSTING!

12. Remove the fan blasé from the old pump. Clean it with a wire brush and inspect for rust pits, loose rivets, cracks in the blades, and any damage to the blades. A coat of paint could not hurt!

TIP: IF YOU ARE PAINTING THE FAN BLADE PAINT A ½” STRIP ON THE END OF THE BLADE WITH RED, YELLOW, OR WHITE PAINT-IT WILL CATCH YOUR EYE AND REMIND YOU OF THE DANGER OF A SPINNING BLADE!

The orginal SA-200 had a four blade fan it has been replaced by a six blade pusher (L2649), available from Weldmart. If you decide to replace your old blade-upgrade to the six blade version.

INSTALLLING THE NEW WATER PUMP ON THE WELDER

13. We recopmmend that the pump be installed without the fan blade. If you must try to install you new pump with the blade attached, click on this link to order a new radiator: http://www.weldmart.com/store/
14. Place the gasket on the back of the water pump and hold it in position by inserting two mounting bolts thru the pump body and gasket.
15. Position the pump on the engine block and start one bolt by hand, screw it in about ¼” and then start the second bolt about ¼”, then start third bolt. There are three bolts (3/8” x 16) bolt that attached. Make sure they all screw in easily. Torque the bolts to 40-50 pounds.
16. Install the fan blade; tighten the bolts tight enough to compress the lock washers.

TIP: Torque spec: 3/8-16 & 3/8-24 — 40-50 ft-lbs & 7/16-14 — 55-65 ft-lbs & 7/16-20 — 70-80 ft-lbs

17. Before you install the hoses inspect them for splits, tears, or cracks-replace them if there is any doubt.

TIP: COAT THE INSIDE OF THE HOSES (WITH THE  SAME PERMATEX YOU USED ON THE SEALING THE PUMP) BEFORE YOU INSTALL THEM. THIS WILL HELP THEM SLID ON, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SEALING PROPERTIES, AND MAKE THEM EAST TO REMOVE FOR REPLACEMENT OR SERVICE.

18. Fill the system with water only and start the engine. Let it run for fifteen minutes. Check for leaks-fix any you find.
19. If there are no leaks; drain the system. Add five to six quarts of anti-freeze and fill with water. The system holds 10 & ½ quarts of coolant.

We run into these engines on Miller Electric Roughneck welder and the Miller Bluestar 2-E welder. Miller doesn’t have a clue about these engines and they have been discontinued by Tecumseh. Unless your Tecumseh dealer has old parts on the shelf-you’re out of luck.

Weldmart offers the complete retrofit upgrade ignition kit for these engines. We stock our kit P/N: WM-0011 for the Miller Bluestar 2-E and the Miller Roughneck with the Tecumseh OHV 140 engine. If you need one for any other application except the Miller welder, please call us @ 1-800-460-6474

I have a discussion with a distributor in Louisiana who has sold a lot of these 145’s. As he says is will short-arc stainless steel (308L or 316L) as good as these $5000.00 Miller inverters. WHAT??? How could a cheap inverter have the same weld quality as an expensive inverter? I don’t have a clue, but this unit is a little welding Muther!

When you compare the MigSonic to the “Big-Boys” the numbers are eye opener’s to say the least. Check out this chart:

 WELDKING MIG SONIC 145 COMPARED TO LINCOLN AND MILLER MIG MACHINES

The Mig Sonic 145 mig welding system is a technological breakthrough in small composite welding machines. This unit uses inverter technologies to produce a light weight, inexpensive mig system (power supply and mig wire feeder) in one portable package, The unit incorporated dual voltage input (120 or 240 volts ac), you plug it in and it senses the different voltages and makes the correct internal connection. The unit incorporates an industrial (metal-not plastic) wire feed system with a direct connect “Miller” style 160 amp mig gun.

With a synergic design the wire speed and the voltage settings are linked-you see this when you weld on very thin (24 to 26 gage) metal. Welding with stainless steel, aluminum bronze, aluminum, or silicone bronze is a new sensation. If you are welding thin (20 to 26 gauge) with TIG, you should consider the MIG Sonic 145.

This machine is an excellent choice for the welder with a Miller “Bobcat” or Lincoln “Ranger” with a 5 KW (or more) power plant you can get the output from the MIG Sonic. For construction you can use self-shielded (gasless) wires for construction in windy conditions

The MIG Sonic 145 is spool gun ready, at Weldmart we offer the AEC-200, Revolution, and Phoenix direct connect spool guns with lead lengths up to 100 feet.

So you need to buy another machine in your fabrication shop and let’s face it: Money is tight! You’re running 0.035 wire in CO2 or C-25 gas. In the real world you burning about 130 to 150 amp, with an “arc-on” time of 25 to 30% (if you are lucky!). Do you really need a 250 amp mig? Maybe, or MAYBE NOT!

Look at the Millermatic 212-it will put out 160 amps/ 60% duty cycle.  That should do a good job-has plenty of pull to burn 035 wire. Now this unit lists for $2052.00-that will dent cash flow.

Take a look at the MigSonic 145 as an alternate. With 145 amps/60% duty cycle, it will do the job and has the same 3 year warranty. With a price of $650.00-you can buy three for the price of one Miller 212! Even if you add a 15’ gun, you are many Peso’s ahead of the competition.

WeldKing MigSonic in operation. With Weldmart Ergo 25 (15′) mig gun.

Production welds made with the MigSonic machine shown in the image above.

Welded tab mount welded with the MigSonic 145!

Now it will not take a 12” spool-fix the problem, rig up a frame to set the unit on and mount a spool spindle behind the unit, drill an access hole in the back of the cabinet, feed the wire into the feed rolls-problem solved, fast and cheap!

Weldcraft 18 Style Tig Torch-Note the water passage in the head.

I quoted him a CK Trim-Line TL18 torch. A 350 amp-100% duty cycle. Note the difference in water passage size.

This application (high amperage AC tig welding) requires a tig torch with the ability to dissipate large amounts of excess heat. You need a torch with the largest water passages available. To obtain this larger cooling passage is manufacturing nightmare. It is time and material consuming and labor intensive. Only CK has perfected the manufacturing techniques.

The Weldcraft WP-18 is a copy of the original Linde HP-18, and everybody has copied the original torch-down to the original part numbers. Only CK has made sufficient improvements. Every tig welder should know the facts-now you do!

Miller made the mig gun and it was unique in the fact that it had an internal gas valve in the handle. This gas valve is very similar to one found in the Millermatic 30A spool gun. Why this idea was abandoned is a mystery.

The Miller 35 had no internal gas solenoid, so it was difficult and expensive to retrofit-until now.

Weldmart offers the only complete mig gun upgrade package. The kit is designed to installed by the end user.

What new engine driven machine can you purchse, today, that comes stock with a magneto ignition? The only thing that comes to mind is a chainsaw, lawnmower, or a weed-eater-and these units have electronic magnetos-no points and condenser!

FYI:

A magneto is an electro-mechanical that generates its own high voltage electricity and correctly directs it to the proper spark plug just in time to ignite the fuel/air mixture to produce proper combustion. It needs no external electrical power to operate.

 When the original SA200 came on the market in 1939, it did not have an electrical system-no battery or generator! It was like an old tractor-you had to hand crank start it!

When I was munchkin in the 1950’s ignition failure and constant ignition maintenance was a fact of life. Every six, seven, or eight thousand miles you took you vehicle to your local mechanic. He would replace your points, condenser, rotor, rotor cap, and clean your spark plugs-it was a part of life!

Ask yourself when was the last time you had an ignition failure in any vehicle you drive/ When was the last time you heard anyone say their vehicle had a ignition problem. For me it was 1974!

Why, you ask, did the magneto stay on the SA-200 until the last one rolled off the assembly line? The simple answer is the welders wanted to see a magneto on their machines! Lincoln had one code number that came with a Prestolite, points distributor (Model IBT-4706)-the welders would not buy them! Miller used the same Continental F-163 engine, with the Prestolite distributor in many of their most successful engine driven machines. They worked just fine!

The most common magneto found on the SA-200 was the Fairbanks-Morse FMX4B16. There were some American-Bosch-very good units, but so expensive! Neither unit is in production today, but parts should be available for years.

We suggest that our customer convert to out electronic ignition, when facing the prospect repairing or replacing their magneto’s. We use the Prestolite distributor with an electronic module installed, in our kits. We send the original points plate with the distributor upgrade kit. If the module ever fails-you pop out the module and install the points plate (a ten minute effort) the points are preset. Our kit is complete with distributor drive rod, cover plate to cover the magneto hole, and our system comes with low oil pressure, high temperature automatic engine shut down. Complete install instructions and a toll-free 800 number if you have any questions! You can’t go wrong

Gasket Paper

Installing a water pump and need a gasket?  No NAPA store in Podunk open on  Sunday?  Pizza and cereal boxes make excellent materials for water pump and thermostat gasket paper.  Just apply a little Permatex to each side of the cardboard and you can forget about buying rolls of gasket paper ever again

Spark plugs are one of the most misunderstood maintenance items on your welder. Read and learn!

Removing Plugs

First, clean out the dirt around the base of the plug with compressed air to avoid it falling into the combustion chamber. Remove the old plug carefully from a cool head with a steady continuous pressure. Be careful not to use too much force which could result in stripping of threads and/or breaking the top of the plug. Once out, inspect the plug for the condition of the installation and the color of the deposits. Wet, oil soaked plugs are a sign of excessive ring wear. Black fouled plugs are a sign of too rich of mixture (have the carburator or fuel injector system checked). The plugs should have a light gray color-a sign of correct fuel/air mixture. If the present plugs are going to be re-used, carefully clean the threads (with a wire brush or wire wheel), make sure the spark gap is correct, and apply a light coat of anti-seize.

Installing the Plugs

Use a wire type spark plug gap measuring tool. Check your owner’s manual for the recommended gap and then carefully thread in the new plugs by hand. Tighten with a torque wrench to the specs given below.

Once clean, re-gapped plugs are back in, check your wires. Rubber ignition wires will deteriorate after a couple of years from exposure to heat, oil, grease, and vibration. Weldmart ignition wires will last a lifetime Weldmart ignition wire carry a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. These wires will go a long way to enhancing engine longevity.