Anyone here familiar with Airco arc welders? A guy locally has an older one for sale I'm thinking about checking out but I've never heard of that brand.

 

Depends on the model- If it's one of the old big cabinet tig machines, I'd jump all over that if I had 3ph power. They are generally excellent machines that have a very wide power range, and I have used one of those to nail two soda cans together. The only other machine I have been able to get to reliably perform at that low of an amperage was a big 500amp genuine Heliarc machine. My little dynasty just doesn't have the fine control to handle that.
Not to mention all the different settings- Hz, slope shape, peak and background voltages-
There's one on Ebay in Seattle, and I'm kinda glad I don't have the money for it, I don't have the space or power for it.

 

Airco is very good. They are superior industrial machines. They are also very large and heavy so it won't go jumping around your garage. The one I just did some heavy stick welding off of had a very nice fine tune output range set-up. I could really dial in what I needed to do which was 3/8 chain welded to 1-inch thick web I-beam.

Heavy is good with those welders by the way because they tend to be the ones with copper windings.

 

All AC/DC tigs, with the exception of VERY new inverter machines, are single phase, so that's not an issue. Who built the airco machines depends on when it was built. If you can post the model, I'll let you know. The old ones are re-labeled Millers, and most of the later ones are re-labeled ESABs. Either way, parts are still available for either. For a few years between the Miller and ESAB machines, they farmed it out to several different manufacturers including Westinghouse, Generac, and some that I am unsure of. Those machines, built in the late 70's to mid 80's should be avoided, as parts availability is not good. I don't think there are any machines being built these days under the Airco name, but I could be mistaken. I think they quit as a machine retailer in the BOC buyout. If there are any new ones, then they are ESABs. The old Miller built ones are some fine machines, and though heavy, will last practically forever.

 

I don't have a model number but if you go to my gallery you can see a picture of the unit.

 

Okay, looks like a Bumblebee 180. I had one in my garage for years. Miller built it, but it's old enough that I don't think I have a manual on one anymore. Not a real problem, as it's an AC -only stick machine and has no parts to really worry about. Just a transformer in a case with a power switch. If the transformer goes out, time for another machine. Probably will last forever anyway...

 

Here's more info on the welder.

AIRCO 225 Ampere A.C. MSM Busybee Transformer Welder

Stock No. 1353-0141 Model 2.25 ADT-2-A

Primary Secondary
Volts 230 Volts 30 25
Amperes 44.4 Amperes 200 225
Amps. Sec. Shorted 72 Duty Cycle 20%
K.W. 7.2 Max. OCV 80
Freq. 60 Cy Temp. Rise 90 C
Single Phase

High Electrode-Work-Low Electrode (These are the three sockets)

 

Okay, it's the Busybee. Same basic unit that I had, but a little more output. That's a moveable shunt machine. Has a leadscrew that moves a hunk of iron in and out of the core. Wouldn't be a bad idea to open it up, make sure that screw is clean and toss some graphite on the slides and threads. Not a real versatile machine, but VERY dependable.

 

Anyway of knowing from the Stock No. or the Model No. as to who made this welder and when? I've e-mailed Miller but haven't heard back from them yet.

 

Definitely a Miller. Give me the serial number and I'll see what I can dig up.

 

I've looked everywhere but could only find the Stock & Model numbers.

 

It's usually stamped into the nameplate, not painted on, so dirt will sometimes hide it pretty good. There's also a very slight possibility that the nameplate has been replaced, and people normally don't restamp their SN when that happens. More than likely it's just covered up. Gotta look close, and good light helps.

 

I'm out of town until Friday, so I'll check then and get back to you. Thanks for your help!

 

I've looked everywhere for a serial number and I can't find a darn thing. I've cleaned it all up and the only place I can find any info is on the nameplate and I pretty much put all that info in the description above. I even took the cover off and looked in there but no dice. If I would email you some pictures would that help? If so, PM me and I'll send you some. Thanks again!

 

Received a reply from Miller today stating they did not manufacture this unit. Someone else recommend that I contact ARC-Products but I haven't heard back from them yet.