Chicago Electric Welder Help

[jimbo74]

well i posted this here since its fab related... but i couldnt figure out where else to put it...

I have a Chicago Electric Welder.. Bought it used back in the day worked great... one day the plastic handle fell apart, i rigged it and it worked... well since then, its fallen all apart and i no longer have parts of the handle... also i htink i blew a fuse inside of it... the fuse was black and not see through anymore, and hte welder stopped working even if you crossed the wires that were inside the hadnle.... the fuse part is i think Buss T1.6AL250V where can i find it and what does that part # mean? also is there a way to find a replacement handle? or does anyone have any handle that will work on it?
the welder model is easy mig 101/1 and the #36689

 

[Brian_B]

Most electrical supply houses should have the larger buss fuses. I do not know the number. We used to order them from mcmaster carr at the shop. (that was in quantity though). You might search their website. I am not sure what handle you mean. The stinger? Got a pic?

 

[jimbo74]

the gun part.. its plastic and has the feed on/off button


i think the fuse is a very low amp fuse...... it was tiny... glass fuse... about 1/8" diameter and 3/4" long

T i think means its a slow blow or something..... 1.6 is probably the amp rating, but i dont know why it says 1.6AL

250V is 250 volts i assume

 

[Brian_B]

Oh wire welder. Sorry was thinking arc.

Yeah, it should be a slow blow fuse. Do you have a welding supply house near you? Might check with them or an electrical supply house for the fuse. Our old welding supply company carried mig gun parts, but I don't know if they would be universal enough to work on yours. Ours were like miller and lincoln. We even had an ESAB

The fuse you should be able to get, a new gun (or parts) might be harder to find.

The only other source I can think of is a local welding shop may have some old messed up ones you could get parts off of.

 

[jimbo74]

the chicago electric is a harbor frieght welder.... i was looking at the design, and it doesnt look too complicated... i could probably even build one, i am sure trying to retrofit one wouldnt be much of an issue.....

radioshack might have the fuses too....

 

[Brian_B]

I know the brand comes from harbour freight. Your radio shack might....ours....not so much.

 

[jimbo74]

the handle looks quite simple, just the shaft, tip and a switch... has 3 wires... and the tube for the wire...

the big fat wire is connected to the tip's shaft, the tube for the wire goes into the tip shaft and the other 2 look to be part of the switch.....

 

[Brian_B]

I know what they are and how they are made. I have torn lots of them apart to fix them over the years. I have been searching online and don't see replacement parts for yours. I find all other name brands though.

Here is a pic of one I found.

 

[jimbo74]

mine is a gasless mig... its jsut flux wired..... i will ocntact hf in the morning to check with them.. on their website, it says you can get replacement parts for their stuff through their customer service line...

i have the tip part... but i dont have part of the handle part.. the plastic that houses the tip and the switch to advance the spool

see the part with the duct tape? not the tip and shaft itself, but the part ducttaped together.. the handle part i guess, its all plastic.....

 

[ryf]

well, you could go to HF and buy the handle with the spool on the back. or you could buy a Campbell hausfield assembly and fit it to yours (http://www.chpower.com/) since its flux wire, they have torch assemblies (p/n WC601200AV ) but they run 53 dollars. its just a big wire and a little wire and a sleeve for the flux/wire.