Spoolmatic I - Ancient history??

[deleteall]

I tried a spoolmatic I yesterday and all I could think was-glad it's not mine. I've got a l-tec/esab ST-23a spoolgun from 1980 that still holds it own, but it seems like the spoolmatic is one of those welding products that truly shows its age. Other than maybe being able to get one cheap, are there any positives for the spoolmatic I?

[aametalmaster]

I have a Westinghouse mig from 1962 with a Westinghouse Spoolgun setup for alum welding. My dad bought it new. Those long contact tubes are a pain in the rear. Looks like my miller 185 Spoolmate but with shorter tips....Bob

[Hobart Expert Kevin]

aametalmaster,

The Spoolmatic 1 was built until the late 80's and was replaced by the Spoolmatic 3 which was very similar in design. This gun was very popular and there are of alot of these guns still in use many of them on Millermatic 200's. Probably the biggest disadvantage of the Spoolmatic 1 is that it requires 36 volts DC to operate, very few mig units provide that voltage directly and the WC-1 weld control that is used to adapt it to units that don't provide it is no longer manufactured.

Kevin