These are the Recommended tools Needed to Troubleshoot Your SA200/SA250
These are the recommended tools you will need to troubleshoot, repair, and maintain your SA200
If you do your own maintenance, you need certain tools that you never think about until you are knoww deep in a project and
you have to stop because you need something. Everything you need is available on Amazon. Click on the image, and it will take you to your Amazon page. If you order withthis link, I get a small commission, we all have to eat, and it costs you nothing!
The Tools You Need to Troubleshoot Your Engine and Welder
1. Test Light
I recommend an "old school" test light with an incandescent bulb. The human eye is very sensitive to light. In WW2, the Navy discovered that on a moonless night, the light of a burning cigarette could be seen for 50 miles!
This is a professional tool; it comes with a "wire piercing" tool.​ Do you have a bad connection or a dead wire?
2. Test Leads
These leads are affordable, 1 meter long, and are easy to attach with gloved hands. They come in a pack of 5. Somehow, you never have enough when you are troubleshooting anything.
3. Somewhere in life, you will need a Volt? Ohm meter. There are cheap meters (give-away) and better cheap meters. This unit has the features you need: a backlit display (very important at night) and a rubber case. It's going to be dropped in the real world. They advertise a 3-year warranty, but I don't know how it works or if it works. It is cheap enough that losing or junking it is no great loss.
4. Corrison is the number one electrical problem with SA200 welders. It is almost impossible to stop, but you can keep it under control. The first step is to clean it off. I have found these special brushes to be the easiest to use. They are cheap and come 9 to a pack. You can give one to your buddy and
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5. The truth about wrenches and sockets is that if you can't find that socket, you don't have it.
You don't have time to look for every tool. This tool set is inexpensive and readily available on Amazon. What I like if the kit is the hard plastic case witha real hinge and metal clasps.
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6. The secret of the SA200 is that it is designed to weld at 1500 RPMs. Your OVC (open-circuit voltage) depends mainly on the engine's RPM under load. If the engine cannot keep up with the torque load, it will not weld correctly. It "won't stack", the arc is "too runny". All these symptoms can be caused by a weak engine, no matter how good it sounds! If you are going to have major engine work, plan for the machine to be down so you're not blindsided by a major repair.
The gold standard is consistent RPM under load. The RPM should stay around 1500 ± 3%.
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The unit suggested is inexpensive; it costs less than one hour of checkout time.
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7. The most frustrating situation in a welder's life is when he needs that socket, Phillips screwdriver (who did I loan it to?) It's at night, and everything is up to you! I am always working on something, and I carry this little tool kit everywhere. It's pricey, a good investment. I used to carry it in my back pocket until I found this pouch.
The Wera toolkit fits neatly in the pouch, with room for extras, and the "kangaroo" pouch accommodates a small multimeter.
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