Miller Thunderbolt Restoration 

Have you seen the new video I posted of the Twin Welder Carts? Your comment pushed me over the edge to getting that video out. Thanks brother.

Absolutely Joe. When I showed my dad the welder all finished I was really hoping he'd didn't say "This looks great, now let's load it into my car." Haha I'm planning on some more videos with the old Miller Thunderbolt.

Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks Luis.

Monte, Thanks for the kind comment. Hopefully more videos coming.

I'm buying a used Thunderbolt XL AC/DC tomorrow, and will likely tear it apart and make some improvements - just because ;-)

sounds awesome! At least you know what's on the inside now.

Keep it around. What may be sorta cool today will be be awesome in 15 or 20 years if it's in good shape. Thank you for your encouraging comment.

Did you sell the welder?

Muito obrigado por sua mensagem encorajadora. Em tempo espero fazer o upload de muitos mais vídeos.

Grazie mille

Haha oh that old thing? The scaffold wheels were sort of a backfire. They roll over anything, but they don't turn around very easily. I used them + the screw jack legs cuz the floor is so out of wack.

So the 50 amp receptical that I use is typically found behind the range (electric stove) on newer homes and does have a neutral. My purpose for bringing a dedicated neutral into the machine was to NOT do what you asked about (ground the 120v fan to the chasis and use one hot leg for 120v power).

Shoot... I have a lot of confidence in the new inverter based technology, but I don't have any experience with the thunderbolt 210 but online it looks good. The machine I have is sort of a tank.

Thanks Sir...

I’m a year late but I’d definitely say keep it, you will save/make a lot more money with it by keeping than you will selling it, plus it’s built like a tank.

No, it would just trip the breaker.

CPUDOCTHE1, Thanks for your comments. Yeah so the choice of plug was really just what made most sense for my circumstances. The 50 Amp outlet in the shop is the Nema 14-50. Also I felt like it was a little cleaner to supply a dedicated neutral for the 120V fan. So for those reasons I went with the Nema 14-50. These machines are great and pretty reliable. I think it will be cool for one of my boys to get "Grampa's welder" in their shop some day.

That is an idea I have for a future video actually. That way I can use my leads that came with my Lincoln Welders.

The T.B. I have is just dirty... I wiped the dust out of the inside and will replace the power cable with a longer, heavier one. A new coat of paint on the cart and some new wheels is all it need to brighten it up. I ordered the Dinse25 plugs here: www.aliexpress.com/item/DKJ35-50-Quick-Fitting-Male-Cable-Connector-Plug-Adaptor-315A-Welding-Machine/32752776551.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5ff64c4dcJs5kC I will replace the AC ground and both DC sockets. If I want to weld AC, I can use the old skinny lead. I've been using Dinse25 with 35mm cable for many years now. I really like that setup. None of my welders are above 200A. I rarely weld higher than 170A. Dinse25 is enough on a Thunderbolt for 150A DC. I hope this inspires you (and others reading this) to make the switch as well. A longer bolt is needed for the DC + socket and some tinkering with the grounding strap to the DC - socket will be needed, but it's easily doable!

For sure you need 240 volts for this machine. There's a 95% chance you have a 240 outlet in your house, even if you libe in an apartment. Check your dryer and stove.

@@TheConcreteBox Thank you so much for your prompt response, greetings from Tijuana, Mexico

I definitely threw that stuff away. I actually kept it a while, then realized I was never going to use it. Sorry bro.

Darn man! It's all good it would've come in handy wheeling it around the shop. Have you used yours since you restored it?

I have not actually, tho I have been getting into stick welding. In an upcoming video I will be replacing the connections on the front with more modern dinse connectors that all my other machines have. I am excited to use it. I actually learned how to TIG weld on it, tho I have not used it since I bought my TIG welder.

Hola hola en Colombia. No se que te digo pero sabes que yo pienso que ni esta muy correcto lo que dice. Yo pienso que lo que puedes hacer tratarle a un metal, digamos 6mm y ver donde funciona bien. Y ya le escribes 6mm en la maquina.

10 gauge should work. 8 Guage would be best. Using a 30 or 50 amp breaker?

50 amp

Ok good. On the 30 amp you'll trip the breaker all day long. When I was a kid we used to weld some 1/8" material off a 50 amp breaker and about 100' of 10 gauge extention cord. Worked fine, we just had to turn the machine up.

I have plans to show all that stuff in future videos.

Can you tell me more about that?

Yeah we buy the red insulation spray we buy from grianger here in indiana. Must of our customers are the older generation and dont want newer inverter style machine though thats what everything is being forced to. But anyways ive worked on some of the first tig welders that miller has made im talk 1960s. Sometimes when really dirty we will pressure wash air dry for 2-3 days then spray shop air into windings and relays to insure dryness then spray that insulation spray where the iron core and windings meet. Think of the transformer as a motor over time from being hot and cold the shalack that miller dunks the trans in and the wooden shims the use looses which eventually rubs bare spots which obviously causes short etc. Ive seen alot of farmer machine and amish. Yes amish welders lol being left in the barn amd field mice get into them an chew wires for nesting and destroy machines. One company spent $1000 to fix a inverter machine miller xmt 304 all because a mouse got in there and peed on a pc board and it went pow! Lol. Also those packets you get with new shoes ect. Idk what they are called but some guys will throw them in the welder to keep moister drawn away from electrical parts inside

Haha, that's a very interesting point. Out of everyone I know you're the second person to say that. The other guy actually said it before I changed it. Ultimately the old blue cover was all bent up which was driving me crazy. I had tried to straighten it up but it didn't look good. So I decided to just replace the covor all together.

Changing the appearance of the welder doesn't change the memories, but if you change the appearance it allows for others to make new memories

IMHO, I'd buy the Miller. I've never used the tombstone, but I always see a lot of them for sale. Not so much with the Millers.