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Got a synchrowave 350 from a trade

West-7

Aluminum
Joined
May 24, 2019
I traded a old junk 6" atlas lathe for a synchrowave 350

How did I do?

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I was surprised that it's single phase
 
You did good. That is if you like the heavy stuff. Now a rolling base needs to be fitted.

The design uses bolts/nuts to secure torch connections inside the lower panel. The connections on the newer machines use DIN push and turn connectors. So what.

Find out if you have any options on the front panel. "Spot Time", "Final Slope", etc. From the picture it looks like a few options are missing. Again, so what.
 
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Picked up the exact same machine for $750 at an auction two years ago. I had a very old Lincoln ideal arc. sold it for $500.

Thought I died and went to heaven, my welds got that much better.

My son has one of the brand new miller inverter wleders. I tried it and didn't think it welded a bit better. Now it does weigh less than 1/4 of my blue box.

its real easy - if its a blue box, its a good welder.
 
But they do get old and tired. My 250 - bought new in '91 - has had one component failure - just a selector switch:D
That's typical for Miller. My friend has a Miller 200 MIG welder that's been used frequently at his machine shop for the more than 30 years he's owned it. Nothing needed but the usual consumables and one new Bernard gun. Most Lincolns are pretty much as reliable as well.
 
My son has one of the brand new miller inverter wleders. I tried it and didn't think it welded a bit better. Now it does weigh less than 1/4 of my blue box.

its real easy - if its a blue box, its a good welder.

The lighter weight inverters weigh less yes. Easier to walk away with too.
 
You did very good, can't be that old with the digital readouts. I have a 500s much older than yours and love it for welding the bigger stuff. Did it come with a torch and pedal?
 
I bought one of those a few years ago for $300 plus $385 shipping from HGR. It showed up to my shop and actually worked great! Very happy with the 350 and welded a lot of aluminum with it. Heavy machine but welds sweet! You did good on that one.
 
I remember a person talking to me about his 350. He said he bought it primarily for the low end, 5 amps.
He compared a 250 with a 350 and his opinion was that the 350 arc was a little more stable.
My opinion is that a 250 is just as good as a 350.
 
You did very good, can't be that old with the digital readouts. I have a 500s much older than yours and love it for welding the bigger stuff. Did it come with a torch and pedal?

Unfortunately no it didn't come with a torch and pedal.

Anybody have any suggestions for torch and pedal? Should I just stick with the miller stuff?
 
Unfortunately no it didn't come with a torch and pedal.

Anybody have any suggestions for torch and pedal? Should I just stick with the miller stuff?

A water cooled torch requires a connection to a cooler. The guy I mentioned before made his own cooler. It was a box with a small water pump. I didn't care for it.

Miller made a 350 LX model that had a cooler inside the main box. The water reservoir was a plastic bottle. There were some problems with the water pump keeping enough flow with a few units in hot places like Florida. The issues only occurred when welding stuff like 1" at the very high end. Miller sent out external replacement cookers. I don't if that eventually caused the LX to be discontinued.

These days the cooler is external and sits underneath the main box.

I would stick with a Miller foot pedal than something like this:
TIG Welder Foot Pedal For TIG Welding Machines Power Control / Welding Equipment | eBay

The torch I use is a WeldTec. With CK you can get a rotating head. Then you will need a 50' long sheath to cover your torch gas and water hoses.

The Miller runner package allows you to have two gas bottles in the back.
 
So this machine has the writing and punch outs on the panel for pulse.

Can I add this to the machine?
 
Don't forget that you live in a cold climate and will need antifreeze if you get a tig cooler. I have always used the Miller coolant which is quite expensive. I have heard of others using automotive antifreeze with different levels of success. If you have questions call Miller tech support, they have always been helpful.
 
Don't forget that you live in a cold climate and will need antifreeze if you get a tig cooler. I have always used the Miller coolant which is quite expensive. I have heard of others using automotive antifreeze with different levels of success. If you have questions call Miller tech support, they have always been helpful.

Apparently,the use of automotive coolant in a TIG welder cooling unit is a sore spot with the manufacturers and welding machine owners. Internet wars have been fought over the use of various items that are unusual or less expensive than the "right stuff".

I use distilled water with a cup of Lysol to keep the bugs out. It's fine where I am since it never gets below 40 deg. F. in my shop area. In the past I've used the Miller Coolant but it's way too expensive for my taste.

I've also used Dex-Cool auto coolant about 25% with distilled water with no apparent harm.
 
Apparently,the use of automotive coolant in a TIG welder cooling unit is a sore spot with the manufacturers and welding machine owners. Internet wars have been fought over the use of various items that are unusual or less expensive than the "right stuff".

I use distilled water with a cup of Lysol to keep the bugs out. It's fine where I am since it never gets below 40 deg. F. in my shop area. In the past I've used the Miller Coolant but it's way too expensive for my taste.

I've also used Dex-Cool auto coolant about 25% with distilled water with no apparent harm.

Thanks, that is good to know. I have heard people say it didn't weld as good with auto antifreeze so I just bought the Miller product. I will be changing it this fall. As far as foot pedals I never liked the factory Miller unit. It is taller and my knee would be sore after a short time. The SSC is like the factory Lincoln pedal which I prefer.
 
Thanks, that is good to know. I have heard people say it didn't weld as good with auto antifreeze so I just bought the Miller product. I will be changing it this fall. As far as foot pedals I never liked the factory Miller unit. It is taller and my knee would be sore after a short time. The SSC is like the factory Lincoln pedal which I prefer.

I've never noticed any difficulty with welding regardless of what I used. When I bought my first TIG welder a long time ago, it came with a home built cooler which I still have. The previous owner had been using soluble oil in the cooler which worked fine but permitted the formation of lumps of nasty stuff in the tank. Even though it welded OK, I got rid of it and went to distilled water and Lysol.

With a machine as large as a 350, as mentioned above, you will want to make sure that you have a cooler on it. Also, you will need enough electricity to power it. I have 100 amps available for welding in my area but some machines would require more.

Good luck!
 








 
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