Welder myth

[plane crazy]

Thanks, I finally broke down and bought it, I am looking forward to getting my new Bernard gun to fire it up.

[DDA52]

Plane, I would not have a problem with it....IF it worked as it was supposed to. If it had wierd issues or something just didn't work, then that would be different. Would alu windings keep me from buying it? Nope, not in the least. But that is just me. I don't fret over stuff like that...until it won't do what they say it is supposed to. That is what I pay attention to.

[Bert]

Weld13, when did you get your buzzbox?

[fun4now]

i'm with DDA52 on this one, if miller made the call to switch to aluminum i'm shore they did plenty of testing and tweaked it to work best with it. i would not have a problem getting a MM212 due to the aluminum windings.

[welder13]

Weld13, when did you get your buzzbox?

about 6 or 7 mounths ago, And it still works

[Jolly Roger]

Yes my new AC-225 has aluminum coils. How do I know? I took it apart and looked. If memory serves correctly, my syncrowave 250DX has aluminum coils as well. For that matter I think my lincoln portable does as well. For all practical purposes the only difference you will ever see between copper and aluminum is the hit to your pocket book. Yes I use it in my shop. It is inexpensive, has low power consumption, is small and easy to move (I mounted it on a bottle cart) and it welds great. Just don't try to use 6010 with one.

[Admin]

I spoke to a Miller tech that works with Stick welders and also the product manager for the Millermatic Group.

Here's what the tech had to say:
I do not know if the Millermatics went to aluminum or not, but it would seem that is the case seeing the weight difference. When a machine is designed, the size of conductor is always factored dependent on the material being used so that temperature rise and duty cycle can be met. I don't think you could ever win an argument with someone that thinks copper is better. The fact of the matter is, if a unit is initially designed for aluminum windings it will last just as long as one that was designed to use copper windings. Big benefits are weight and cost. There really aren't any cons. If the unit was designed for copper and the manufacturer just replaced with the same size aluminum then there could be heat and reliability problems. This was a big problem in the early 80's when copper got expensive and was replaced with aluminum without a redesign.

Here's what the Millermatic Product manager said:
I agree w/ what he said. Some of the Millermatics use aluminum, some use copper, and some use a hybrid of both. It really depends on how it was designed. If it is designed for aluminum windings, it work as well as a copper transformer.

Hope that helps!

[fun4now]

thanks ADMIN
i'm surprised there was not a reference to cooling time's or differences. i would think the aluminum coil would cool faster than the copper one. at the same time the aluminum winding would have to be larger to allow for the same current capacity. just look at the aluminum wire requirements for a house feed VS the same feed in copper.
as i suspected they designed it with aluminum in mind and as such its just as efficient, no surprise there.