Just got my Longevity 160P today.

[bhardy501]

My unit just come in today. Got it all hooked up and the Argon and air plumbed in with cut off valves for quick change over. Only had a chance to try out the TIG but it runs nicely. I really like the start control on the side of the torch. Dont know if I will use the foot control. Hopefully try out the plasma cutter tomorrow. The only thing I have found that I dont like is the short leads for stick. I will have to change them out to longer leads. Probably 20 ft. on the ground and 30 ft. on the electrode. I have to build me a cart. My cart that my MIG machine is on is to narrow, its only 11" and the 160P is around 13". I have only run this machine machine a few minutes but I think am going to like it.

[jakeru]

Enjoy. I am surprised you are not planning on using your footpedal though, if you are doing any TIG'ing, it is very nice to have the heat control!

I just completed a welding project last weekend involving welding mild steel using DC TIG. I added a reinforcing gusset, 1/8" thick steel along an angle iron frame of a rotor-tiller. There was a crack forming in the frame that the reinforcement was to help prevent spread further by taking the load off it.

The Super200P worked great! I wrote a 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% markings on the knob on the side of the footpedal, then set the panel current to 50% (100 amps). That left the footpedal knob controlling current; I set it at 75% = 75 amps at "full throttle" and this was a nice range for my project of fusing 1/8" steel. I used a 3/32" tungsten (1.5% ceriated) sharpened to a pencil tip point. I had just one incident of touching the tungsten to the puddle. It was nice to be able to "lean" into the pedal to get lots of current to make things really hot when I wanted. And then relax the pedal to regulate the puddle size.

I got pretty good results. Penetrated through to the backside on the first reinforcing gusset I welded (and then some, rounding the edge I was welding near a bit more than desired for prettiest looks :) , so then went a little slower and with less current on the second gusset, and made a better looking weld on the top that probably didn't quite penetrate as deeply, but probably enough to be plenty strong.

I had a welding mask that is open to the back, and was having problems seeing with bright sunlight behind, causing a reflection in the lens. I think if I had a hood that went over the back of my head or changed position (weld in the dark room but with bright light in front near the work, instead of outside with sun over top behind head?) I could see better and get even better results.

I am really impressed with the power the Super200P can put out at max, through such a modest sized circuit (I have a 30 AMP breaker and am going through a standard 30 amp dryer plug.) Really happy with my unit, can't wait to try out in more projects (especially more plasma cutting and aluminum projects)

I bought my unit through Everlast but I believe it is the same as the Longevity. Enjoy your unit!

Did you have any problems hooking up the argon regulator to the argon tank? On mine the fitting wasn't right. I also don't like how it reads in metric units. If I bought over I'd pass on the Chinese argon regulator and buy a us-sourced regulator. But the pedal is worth it's weight in gold. :)

[iWeasel410]

jakeru,

I have a Riland Tig200WSE which is pretty much the same thing as your unit. I absolutely love it. I used it to tig my rollbar, and now I'm using it to build my intake manifold. The only thing I don't like about it is that my pedal doesn't have a setting on it like yours. Irregardless to what the panel is set for, the pedal all the way down is 200 amps, all the way up is 0 :(

[longevity-inc.com]

My unit just come in today. Got it all hooked up and the Argon and air plumbed in with cut off valves for quick change over. Only had a chance to try out the TIG but it runs nicely. I really like the start control on the side of the torch. Dont know if I will use the foot control. Hopefully try out the plasma cutter tomorrow. The only thing I have found that I dont like is the short leads for stick. I will have to change them out to longer leads. Probably 20 ft. on the ground and 30 ft. on the electrode. I have to build me a cart. My cart that my MIG machine is on is to narrow, its only 11" and the 160P is around 13". I have only run this machine machine a few minutes but I think am going to like it.

Hello,

We are glad you are enjoying your unit more and more everyday. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you in the future.

Thanks.

[bhardy501]

I have been playing around with the TIG functions and trying with the foot pedal and without. I do like the foot pedal for welds where I can sit down and dont have to try to balance on one foot and use the pedal with the other. On out of position welds where I need both feet planted for stability, I love the switch on the side of the torch. I know I dont have heat control with the side switch. I tried out the plasma function and it works great. Still learning about the machine, looking at possibly adding one of Longevity's MIG welders in the future. Great company easy to deal with.

[gaustin]

Lets see some PICS :) . I cut my teeth on tube welding not far from you in Ft Payne. I worked the paper mill there in Rome a few times.

[jakeru]

Here you go guys, this is the latest project done by my Everlast Super200P.

This is of a aluminum stepladder that my father in law gave to me. It had fractures developing at the corners of the top edges, where the sheet aluminum was just rolled over (not welded, riveted, etc.) It was only supported at the left and right sides, so the corners where the stresses transitioned to the front and back rolled over edges were where it was cracking out.

I did *very* little prepatation on this - I just hand wire brushed it a bit and let 'er rip with the TIG, set at about 30 (then upped it to about 40-50%) cleaning mode. I was shocked how easy aluminum is to TIG weld. If I were oxy-acetylene welding this, I'd have to have done so much more work to get results this good.

I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to bridge a gap on the bottom edge, of about 1/4". (Using a thick filler rod helps.)

I am getting a bit of arc wander lately, I am wondering if I can make stabilize or if it's just a limit of what the TIG process can do. Maybe too much gas flow? I'm not sure. I am using a gas lens. It might be time for a good argon regulator in standard (not metric) flow units, and one that doesn't leak.

On another project, I had some success with the plasma cutter a few days ago, better than what I have been able to do before. What I did differently was I took off my mask, so I could actually see what I was doing. The better vision enabled me to keep the cutter head off the work and let it work well. Before I think I was touching it to the work too much - that makes it mess up. Also, getting a good ground, especially to start it seems very important. And oh yeah, almost forget I installed one of those inline dessicant dryers in the air line for plasma cutting mode, I think this helped tremendously!!! It really helps keep the insides of the consumables from getting all messed up. I actually tripped my 30A circuit breaker for the first time, it was in plasma cutting mode at 100% (50A? maybe is what my Super200P is rated at). It actually didn't flip until about 1/2 minute or so at that current level. I just turned it down a tad from max, and can run without tripping it at all.

[KHK]

If OSHA finds the ladder on a job site there will be a fime. They will not allow any repaired step ladder to be used. Light ga al is hard to weld. Thanks for sharing

[dstevens]

Federal OSHA says this about ladder repair.


O.S.H.A. Standard 1926.1053(b)(16)
Portable ladders with structural defects, such as, but not limited to: broken or missing rungs, cleats, or steps, broken or split rails, corroded components, or other faulty or defective components, shall either be immediately marked in a manner that readily identifies them as defective, or be tagged with “Do Not Use” or similar language, and shall be withdrawn from service UNTIL REPAIRED. (emphasis mine)

Unless you have a state OSHA reg that supercedes it, it's permissible to repair a ladder as long as it's done properly.