Auto fan shutoff sensor?

[Timberwolf]

haha kiss is a good principle. However have you opened one of these things up? They did an outstanding job of not keeping it simple and making it all work flawlessly. I just feel sorry for the guys who hate these things and have never tried one of the machines. Betcha if I painted my cases blue and put miller stickers on em no one would even give it a second thought. Just say its some crazy aerowave machine that people don't know crap about and they would be amazed by the capabilities of my "Miller". anyways I'm done rambling....I got all the stuff for the compressor project today so I'll get pics up when I get it done tomorrow

[Grizzly1944]

Yes I have opened the EX up. It kind of looks like Cmdr. Data's brain. To make a short circuit in order to melt metal together is just PFM. As you know, if you run anything electrical, heat is your biggest enemy. It's best not to let entropy occur within the lean green machine and fry it's brains out. Don't even let it have the opportunity to do so. Otherwise Mr. Ohm will call up Mr. Murphy and Christmas is cancelled.

Anyways, have a good one.

Don

[geezer]

Yes I have opened the EX up. It kind of looks like Cmdr. Data's brain. To make a short circuit in order to melt metal together is just PFM. As you know, if you run anything electrical, heat is your biggest enemy. It's best not to let entropy occur within the lean green machine and fry it's brains out. Don't even let it have the opportunity to do so. Otherwise Mr. Ohm will call up Mr. Murphy and Christmas is cancelled.

Anyways, have a good one.

Don

You got that right, young wizards put it together and only young wizards can fix it, I will do what I usually do in such cases, stand there with my wallet in my hand while they work on it,

[coonass]

I was reading this and thinking couldn't u replace the whole fan assembly with a quieter squirrel cage blower they move alot of air with tolerable noise

[ASE_MasterTech]

It's best not to let entropy occur within the lean green machine and fry it's brains out. Don't even let it have the opportunity to do so. Otherwise Mr. Ohm will call up Mr. Murphy and Christmas is cancelled.Don

Entropy will ALWAYS occur.. You cannot prevent it, at least according to the 'Second Law of Thermodynamics'.
However, if you have found a way to avoid entropy, please advise, so that we may build a perpetual motion machine & enjoy endless free energy...

[blasphemy000]

I just kinda skimmed over this so sorry if I missed something important. I don't think tearing into your welder and changing the way the fan works is a good idea. And I've heard a lot of complaints about how Miller's "Fan On Demand" thing works. A lot of people hate that feature.

The fan for the torch cooler would be a good idea. I'm in the process of building a homemade torch cooler setup and I placed a temperature probe in the return line from the torch. If the water in the "hot line" goes above a set point(I haven't decided where would be best as I don't have my welder yet.), the fan that blows through the heat exchanger will kick on and run until the temp drops below another set point. On the other hand though even when the temperature is low enough that the fan isn't running, the pump itself is still circulating water through the torch, heat exchanger, and tank. I was thinking of wiring up a circuit that will kick the circulation pump on when I strike an arc, then after I extinguish the arc it will keep circulating until the temp drops enough to shut the fan off then the pump will shut off as well. Kinda like a "Torch Cooler on Demand." This would be the basic logic for how it would work. Very simple stuff.

Basically:
if ("Welding = True" & "Hot Line Temp > Fan Running Set Point") Then
Run both pump and fan.
if ("Welding = True" & "Hot Line Temp < Fan Running Set Point") Then
Run Pump but not fan.
if ("Welding = False" & "Hot Line Temp > Fan Running Set Point") Then
Keep fan and pump running.
if ("Welding = False" & "Hot Line Temp < Fan Running Set Point") Then
Shut down cooler fan and pump.

It shouldn't be too hard of a setup to make, I'd just need a small current sensor to put around the torch lead on the welder as that should give me a good enough signal as to whether I'm welding or not, and I could probably handle all the logic with some simple latches and gates, no need for a Micro Processor.

[Grizzly1944]

Blasphemy,

For a cooler, a thermostatic fan switch isn't required. I converted an old computer power supply for the twelve volts required to run a HF pump and a computer case fan. I used a heater core from a Crown Victoria and a 2 1/2 gallon plastic gas can for a tank.
The pump is a bit loud, but when I hear silence, something is wrong and I stop to fix it.

The water flows from the tank, through the pump, through the heater core, through the torch, and back to the tank.

There isn't much need for such a switch unless you prefer to make things more complicated than they need to be.

Best Regards!

[acourtjester]

Sometimes the adage just because you can does not mean you should.
Running you cooler just when you are welding will not cover residual heat that is left in the torch. You could end up with enough heat to boil the water in the torch between welding times.
Also running the cooler with on demand fan could allow the water to slowly increase in temperature and reduce the effectiveness of the cooler. In warmer climates this could be a real problem.
Are you tilting at windmills Don Quixote???

Timberwolf look into a franzinator for you water problem
http://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/...ead.php?t=8004

[blasphemy000]

I know none of it is needed. I just like to build things with electronics. As for residual heat in the torch, I had that covered. I said after you stop welding if the temp is over a set point the pump/fan will continue to run until things are cooled off, only then will it shut off.

[Trip59]

I read through this whole thread, and not to sound flippant, but it seems the optimal solution to me is to buy a bigger stereo.

If I'm in my shop, there is noise, from the gable vent, the 20" shop fan, and the lathe/drill/grinder/compressor/welder/whatever is on at the moment, etc. I just crank up the stereo and carry on. I have enough quiet all week punctuated by only the clicking of the keyboard.

That said, when welding, I leave the power on until I need to change or adjust something (for personal safety and to not blow a circuit) or until I'm done. Seems to me, the fan can't run too long and the more it runs, the quicker you can hit the next cycle and the longer the next cycle will be (up to the max) as it will have been cooling during the break.

[performance]

The advent of fan on demand is marketing based, and certainly not centered around increasing the life of the unit. Although there are plenty of rhetoric about it keeping components cleaner inside for longer life, the reality is that most of the inverters especially name brand companies utilize "wind tunnel" designs that pretty much eliminates the problem as it is. The noise is a minor issue as anyone that is a true welder contends with much more than that noise in a real welding shop. The hobbyist may be annoyed by the noise of the fan, but it is generally overcome with time. The fan noise generated is much less than the cooling fan running continuously in the corner of the shop all day.

[Ray]

[QUOTE=Trip59;15648]I read through this whole thread, and not to sound flippant, but it seems the optimal solution to me is to buy a bigger stereo.




Well I have never even considered the fan noise. my old CHwelder's fan is so quite I have to check to see if it's working. I like the fact you can tell it's running, LOL.
Watching Jody’s latest video he complains about the noise the miller makes when the fan kicks in. I think I’d rather have a constant noise rather than have it change the way it sounds in the middle of welding. I think I’d have a tendency to look at it to see what was up.





welding is usually preceded and post-ceded (? I doubt that’sa word) by a bunch of grinding around here, so the welder sound is minor in comparisonand usually kind if a relief.

[Tinker]

Just got my 200 DX and have a quick question about the fan. When I've finished using the welder I'm guessing I should wait some time before actually turning it off? My assumption is that the rear breaker/switch cuts all the power to the machine including the fan so I need to leave it on for a while while the internals cool down?

If so are there any rules of thumb for the cooling off period that is recommended by Everlast?

Thanks, Gary

[performance]

Tinker, if you follow the duty cycle recommendations of 60% you can kind of gauge your use and allow the appropriate cool down from there. NEVER shut down an overheated unit until the overheat light clears, and then I'd wait for a couple more minutes after that.

[Andy]

Mark, The light on the PP 256 has come on a couple times. I've waited 15 minutes or so, but it never clears. Power cycling clears it. I was operating at about 100A. Should I have to power cycle to clear it?

Thanks,

Andy

[67cudafb]

I am with Trip between the air compresser and all the large fans running in the shop don't even notice fan in the welder, crank up the rock n roll.

[performance]

Depends, if it was red, likely it is an over/under current/voltage situation on the supply.

[Ray]

yes the power has to be cycled to clear the OC light. it will not go off by it's self after the Duty Cycle has been exceded.

[Andy]

Depends, if it was red, likely it is an over/under current/voltage situation on the supply.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure it was yellow. I'll note the color next time.

[Andy]

yes the power has to be cycled to clear the OC light. it will not go off by it's self after the Duty Cycle has been exceded.

Ray,

Any rules of thumb for how long I should wait after power cycling before continuing to weld or turning the unit off when I'm done? I was surprised that it tripped to begin with, as I was going operating at about 100 amps. The case lists the 100% duty cycle level as 160A.

Thanks, Andy