Longevity 200ex tig/stick. My thoughts.

[Gamble]

I got a chance to check out this 200ex finally and well here are my thoughts on this machine.

http://www.longevity-inc.com/product...Weld-200EX.php

The unit is pretty light weight and seems to be a nice piece. Everything showed up in very good condition. And it all works perfectly outside of the box. No complaints there.

Comes with 1 3/32 collet body, 1/16th collet, 3/32 collet, 5,6,7 cup. Back caps. No tungsten, no welding rods. Torch is a 26 style and has a simple on/off switch (no knob to adjust current, and this is pretty standard for the longevity stuff from what I have noticed on both longevity machines)

This unit comes with a flow meter style gauge and looks to be really nice. Hooked it up and it works just fine. Here is the strange part, this is the first machine I've seen with a push lok for the argon hook up in the back. So a few thoughts when I noticed that. For me it doesn't work well because I switch from machine to machine and it makes it a pain in the ***. If you use this machine with the same tank it's perfect. The release is a little uncomfortable at first since there is so much plastic in the back. If you have really big hands you won't like it. One thing I didn't like was the hose that came with it was too small. Not a big deal; I had one that would work.

Performance: It honestly welds perfectly. No problems, nothing bad to even comment at all actually. I did some steel and some aluminum and have zero issues with it's welding performance. I like the adjustability for pulsing, frequency, balance etc. The 26 torch is a little on the heavy side and pulls on the wrist some, but it's just going to take some getting used to. I actually love the 17 torch that came with the 160sx. It welds like a high end machine. And if you don't believe me, anyone in the chicago land area is free to come by and try it out first hand. Also note it does not have the same issue with the arc as the TA186.


Display: Easy to navigate. Easy to adjust your settings. Very well laid out. However if the machine is on the ground and you change anything you will have to get eye level with it to see the numbers because of the way the front bevel sits. This is why we have welding carts
The display after a few seconds will change to voltage, but if your setting is on amperage or post flow etc just turn the knob and it will change back.

Postflow: Lowest setting is 1second

With all the good things there has to be some things I dislike, right?

Well yes there is, and it's once again the foot pedal.
The cord is a little short; not a big deal.
Next thing I noticed was that the pedal has no grip too it. None at all. And in fact after using it; it's so not a big deal. $3 on skateboard grip tape and it will be perfectly fine. Even without it; there is no issue at all. Just something worth noting.
The other thing is the amperage adjustment knob is on the side of the pedal again. For comparison, the pedal on the 160sx has the adjustment knob on the left side and the wires going in the front. This pedal has the adjustment knob on the right side, and the wire coming in the right side as well.
I've gotten used to the knob on the pedal for the 160sx, however on the 200ex it's not as convenient especially with the wire being short and coming out on the same side. I can deal with all this, it's just a slight difference from what my other machines are. What I dislike is the amperage knob doesn't even spin 360* and there is no indication of what your amperage is at. Only way to tell is to grab a piece of scrap metal, turn the knob, and hit the pedal and watch the front panel. This is my only real complaint with the machine. I'm going to test and mark the pedal so I have an idea of where it's really at.
Of course with the pedal being like this and you using the pulse feature you can set your low current, but you can't set your high current (exactly) unless you use a test piece of metal and double check your settings.




So in conclusion:
It's probably not ideal for someone that uses pulse and needs to know exactly what their amperage is. Machine shop people come to mind.

Who is it ideal for?
Probably everyone else that likes welding, and does it for fun, hobby or work. If you can buy some $3 grip tape, a $2 hose and spend a few minutes marking the pedal the machine is awesome.


Would I buy this machine?
Yes and here is why. I've bought a few things from longevity and everything has shipped out quick. Showed up working. Great customer service anytime I have a question. And most of all performance. Never would I have thought with a budget price can I get a lot of performance and I was wrong. Yes it's not a perfect machine, but if the pedal was different and the amperage control was on the machine it would be a perfect machine. It has a TON of features and options. I don't think you will be able to find any other machine with this many features for this price point. $1299 plus shipping according to www.lweld.com

Here are some pics in no particular order. And I have a video to follow later this week.

[Gamble]

And I have a project coming up that I'm going to use this machine one, so can't wait to see how it comes out.

[brucer]

Why is there an adjustment knob on the pedal?

[cope]

Why is there an adjustment knob on the pedal?

When you run with pedal control, the knob on the machine front panel is disconnected. I have gotten halfway able to adjust the amperage with my foot.

[Gamble]

Why is there an adjustment knob on the pedal?

As cope said. It's amperage control. Their 160sd machine is like that as Eastwood is the same. Not sure I have seen any other welder with this adjustment.
Depending on how your garage or shop is setup, it can help or hurt.

[ironrail]

How dose that affect pulse settings? If it can't see welding amps on the panel, how can it see backround current?

[LONGEVITY-Simon]

The pedal allows you to set a limit of the max amps for output on the machine. So say you want to max it out at 100amps, it would be half way.

[LONGEVITY-Simon]

Next week, we are hoping to do a lot of videos on this EX model to show people all the settings. We are planning one video per day.

[soutthpaw]

How dose that affect pulse settings? If it can't see welding amps on the panel, how can it see backround current?

Yep that seems weird to me also. I can understand it on the 200sx I have but the EX really should have all the controls on the panel... I figured it was just a cost savings thing putting it on the pedal....
I like the pedal design better than the SX though as u can get your whole foot on it....
Does it have memory slots?

[Gamble]

Nope.

[Gamble]

I never noticed until just recently this torch has a flex head. That's awesome!

Also this is a big help. Now I know where I'm at and this thing welds perfect. No issues AT ALL.




What's most impressive is there is a small sticker on the top that says PASS. In my mind it means there is quality control to make sure all the machines are working before they leave. Something the TA didn't have, but that is for later.

[Gamble]

pic below

[Dalzani Lima]

Here in Brazil... Another clone.

http://www.balmer.com.br/balmer/equi...tig-200p-acdc/

About the pedal and its operation with the machine the same bad features are found in this. But in the manual of my machine there is a topic talking about an internal dip switch and some relation to the operation of the pedal. It is not clear enough, but I decided to take a chance.




I removed the top cover of the machine, there is a dip switch and position 5 was ON in my machine. I put it OFF and ...

1) The maximum current control of the pedal can now be done on the machine panel in the normal way without the use of the external pot on the pedal.

2) In DC, using pedal, now the minimum current becomes 5A and not 10A.

Disadvantages:

1) With a direct torch (without pedal) the 2T / 4T control does not work. I do not use it anyway.

2) With a direct torch (without pedal) the amperage adjustment is unstable because there is no resistive pedal pot reference.

For disadvantage 2, I believe it is necessary to make a resistive divider within the torch connector simulating the fully depressed pedal. Still the working current could be adjusted on the panel. I have not tested it yet but it should work. I will test as soon as the extra pins arrive for the torch connector (which only has the trigger pins)