AHP Owners/Users Thread. No Trolling unless you have used/own one!

[sacherjj]

I will say this. Love the machine, but the manual that came woth mine was absolutely useless. It really is. I cant recall if t even had any exploded diagrams in it, it wasnt any sort of in depth book either, maybe 20 pages.

I haven't ever taken the plastic off the manual. I should probably look at it.

I upgraded the cups with a gas lens stubby pack. And I added a real flow regulator. Other than that, I've been happy with my 2nd Gen machine. Although, with some long beads I've been running on thicker steel, I really see the water cooled torch as something I need to pick up, after I build a water system.

[zapster]

I do not own one...
I have never used one...

But I will troll all I want because... I CAN!!



Besides... it's my job.



...zap!

[dbstoo]

I do not own one...
I have never used one...
But I will troll all I want because... I CAN!!

Besides... it's my job.
...zap!

zapster = Head Moderator : It would be nice if you discouraged others from trolling. Of course, the easiest way to do that is to delete the posts that are deliberately taunting those of us that do want to discuss the machine, it's use, tips and problems.


Dan

[soutthpaw]

I do not own one...
I have never used one...

But I will troll all I want because... I CAN!!



Besides... it's my job.



...zap!

You would troll a Dynasty thread or any machine that can be picked up without a crane for that matter.

soutthpaw> Truly sorry about your back…. glad you were feeling well enough to start this thread through. I don’t have one of these machines and never tried one but…. I promise I'm not being a troller as you call it. I always figured these welders were a heck of a lot better quality than what some were willing to let on to in part because the manufacturers don’t sink millions and millions of $$$ into advertising that then must be passed onto the consumer.
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Also too…. this comment strikes a chord, “Not sure on all the technical stuff but it seems to work very well.” I’m not into anything technical if I can avoid it…. too much neural cell activity required…. I'm just trying to figure out a way to weld year round!!!
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TIG would be the natural progression after MIG…. for me at least…. so I have a question for you. You made this statement, “I did receive 2 Demo machines, both AHP200dx models”. How does one go about receiving a demo or even a refurbished machine one could use for saaaay…. 60-90 days? And why would anyone want two machines.... wouldn't one have been enough? I tried a Lincoln at the airshow up in Oshkosh for all of 5 minutes and didn’t have near the problems other newbies had and I stood around and watched others have their 5 minute TIG trials for a while. Perhaps this is because I sew which requires the use of both hands and one leg to operate a presser foot? Regardless, I got home and looked at the price tag on the Lincolns and felt like I was in need of a defibrillator.
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Regardless…. it’s killing me living in the greater Chicagoland area…. the only place I have to weld with a MIG is ouside on my upper driveway… when the weather is decent as in…. not too windy…. not bitterly cold… no foot of snow to stand in and no torrential downpours. Can’t weld with a MIG in the garage like one could with a TIG because well…. our garage is attached to our house which… I sure wouldn’t want burned to the ground. The Everlast Powertig 185 IS the machine I’ve been wanting to try because I liked the features but more so because of the pricing… it’s within reach of the average “Joe” or in my case…. average “Jane” just starting out. Unfortunately, nobody I know has one and…. Reno is waaaaaaay too far away for me so…. please fill me in on demo details…. is there an application process? Did you need to provide them with a security deposit? If you did and you decide to keep the machine, will they apply the deposit to a purchase? I presume a manual came along with the machine? Is there contact information to support people should you run into any start up burps or hiccups?
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One last little thing…. how about scheduling a weldorama in Chicago or Milwaukee… we can put you up at our house for free with your own bedroom and bathroom and I’d feed you well…. just don’t forget to bring that 200dx you’ve got.

My east coast geography is terrible, I just know that we can fit half a dozen of your states into one of the west coast ones. However I am pretty sure there are enough WW members within a couple hours of your area that would bee interested in a Weld-o-rama. Just needs someone to take the reins and organize it. You could go with Midwest Weld-o-rama. Start a thread and then ask a mod (I think a Steve is not too far away 7a749) to put it in announcements. Just ask if someone has a barn/garage/shop etc that would bee willing to host the events. That's how the California one started. I'm hoping to start a Northern Nevada/Sacramento Weld-o-rama a at some point once I'm feeling better and have location to do it.
As for demo machines, it just started with being on this forum for a while and got offered a chance to try a machine and review it. I was willing to bring the machines to the Weld-o-rama meets and also left a standing offer for anyone I interested, that they could come to my place and try the machine out. I never had to give a any kind of deposit etc. The reason I had 2 of the AHP machines is that one was shipped to the starter of the So Cal Weld-o-rama who a agreed to review and do some video of it. However things happened, and that person left the forum so i stopped by his place and picked up the second machine and dropped it off to Terry last week.
You can follow back one of the other AHP threads and find that we saw AHP was getting good reviews from actual owners on Amazon and other forums. It also was not being marketed with a lot of the questionable tactics start had been used by some other brands. So I asked the owner (who also owns Everlast) if he was willing to offer up a demo and see if it stood up to the reviews it was getting as the price was/is very attractive for a lot of people. Well, he asked if there were any other members that I would recommend that were willing to review the machine. That's how I ended up with 2 of them.
I'm excited that Terry agreed to demo one of these. First off he is a great guy and TIG welding God. Second he really has no love for Chinese made welders, but most importantly it with be brutally honest without any malice.

If you are able to arrange a local Welding Web meet, I'd be happy to work with you and see about getting a machine (maybe one of the AHP units we have now) sent your way.

[zapster]

zapster = Head Moderator : It would be nice if you discouraged others from trolling. Of course, the easiest way to do that is to delete the posts that are deliberately taunting those of us that do want to discuss the machine, it's use, tips and problems.


Dan

So far I see nothing wrong here....



...zap!

[Louie1961]

Troll: noun In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Somehow I don't think this fits the duties of the head moderator Zap.

[Equilibrium]

soutthpaw> Awww how sweet of you. I’m going to have to take a pass though. I would feel EXTREMELY uncomfortable accepting a free TIG machine from anyone unless I was a conduit and driving it over to donate it to a 501(c)3 or a needy school. It’s not that I don’t feel your offer is sincere…. I do…. I just couldn’t accept anything like that for myself from anyone with the obvious exception of my husband, my dad, or one of my brothers. I do truly thank you though.
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Please understand that scrap metal from a garbage can…. broken auto parts out of a recycling bin…. rusty gears for flower parts, empty cigar tubes…. old bicycle chains.... goodies from my teacher and.... even a wonderful little jig from gxbxc and an awesome jungle knife for one of our kids from notsooldordum…. are an entirely different story….. the more I can get my hands on to play with the better!!! A brand new TIG machine…. uh uh…. no… I can always quilt over the winter months to keep myself busy!!! And I swear it’s nothing personal….

[zapster]

Somehow I don't think this fits the duties of the head moderator Zap.

Yeah your correct...
Hmmmmmmm

...zap!

[soutthpaw]

soutthpaw> Awww how sweet of you. I’m going to have to take a pass though. I would feel EXTREMELY uncomfortable accepting a free TIG machine from anyone unless I was a conduit and driving it over to donate it to a 501(c)3 or a needy school. It’s not that I don’t feel your offer is sincere…. I do…. I just couldn’t accept anything like that for myself from anyone with the obvious exception of my husband, my dad, or one of my brothers. I do truly thank you though.
--
Please understand that scrap metal from a garbage can…. broken auto parts out of a recycling bin…. rusty gears for flower parts, empty cigar tubes…. old bicycle chains.... goodies from my teacher and.... even a wonderful little jig from gxbxc and an awesome jungle knife for one of our kids from notsooldordum…. are an entirely different story….. the more I can get my hands on to play with the better!!! A brand new TIG machine…. uh uh…. no… I can always quilt over the winter months to keep myself busy!!! And I swear it’s nothing personal….

I Think you misunderstood what I said, I am NOT giving away free welders. I was suggesting the possibility of if you arranged a weld-o-rama that I may be able to arrange to ship one of the current demo machines to you to use at such an event. When you are finished with the machine for a reasonable amount of time it would be shipped back to AHP. I guess i need to clarify what "demo machine" meant. I'm just a member here and not associated with AHP. So I certainly am not in a position to give away anything I don't own. I just enjoy using and trying out new stuff. That is why I mentioned that if there was someone with a good reputation here on Welding Web involved with a weld-o-rama you assemble in your area that I might be able to arrange to ship one of the demo units to you rather than them getting shipped back to AHP first. Sorry if you misunderstood what I said.
Also if a person was expecting or had an agreement to keep the "demo" for free don't you think that would taint their review of the product and maybe make it less objective? No such agreements exists with AHP.
If the company decided once the machines had ran their course that they wanted to offer the machine at a discount or some other option then that is their option and I would support whatever I decided to do. I only live a few hrs from AHP offices and can even drop off the machines in person when we are done.
If you have been around longer you would have seen this very thing happen with Lanse (Chucke2009) and his dealings with Longevity. He was promised the machines after review and since has been paid by Longevity to make videos as well as reimbursed for materials and consumables. I also did reviews of Longevity products and all the machines were sent back to longevity at their request. Actually it cost me me a little in materials and consumables. I never asked to be/or was reimbursed for anything.
In full disclosure, The Everlast powertig185 was sent as a demo (it was actually a previous shipping damaged machine) that was sent to me for the weld-o-rama. when I contacted Everlast to arrange to return it after a couple of our events. I was told just keep the machine. So occasionally cool things like that happen but it was unexpected and after the fact.

[DSW]

Of course, the easiest way to do that is to delete the posts that are deliberately taunting those of us that do want to discuss the machine, it's use, tips and problems.

As far as I know all of us Mods are in agreement. We won't edit or censor threads unless there is a major violation. We'll step in and play referee, but we won't simply go in and edit or delete others posts without good reason. I was asked by a member recently to pull a few of their own posts out of another thread and declined. Those statements had already had comments made on them and yanking them for no good reason would have caused more issues than they would have solved. It wasn't anything major, just that they thought the thread was getting hijacked by their comments and wanted to try and avoid that.


I think Zaps use of the word "troll" was probably a bad choice. I'd have used the work "lurk" myself. Most of us mods browse thru posts fairly regularly and keep an eye on things, even if we don't comment, even posts we don't like or really want to have any part of. I've watched this one from day one as it's got the potential for trouble. So far no major problems. I'll often make small jokes or generic comments so people know we are out there watching, sort of like the police car parked alongside the road. You slow down and check your speed even if the car is empty when you 1st see it, or the cop is doing his paperwork. There's no reason to write a ticket if simply by their presence they cause people to slow down and drive safer. We don't usually need to step in if everyone knows we are there and watching.

Now back to our regularly scheduled train wreck...

[dbstoo]

Thanks for the clarification. My concern was that it appeared to condone and therefore encourage trolling.

To add some on topic content:

I don't have an oxy/acetylene rig for heating metal for bending. When I use a propane torch it heats everything in the area, including whatever I left on my welding table 18 inches away. I do get nice gentle bends that way since the heated area is so wide.

Today I tried using my TIG torch to bend 1-1/4 x 1/8 inch mild steel bar stock. I reduced the argon to less than 10 CFH, used a #5 gas lens, 3/32 2% lanthenated and about 1/3 the amps that I'd normally use for a lap joint. I slowly waved the torch back and forth along the line where I wanted the bend. If I dwelled in one place too long there would be superficial melting. I used a vice grip as a handle on the end of the bar. In no time at all (30 seconds? A minute? Who knows???) , it started to give to gentle pressure.

The result is a nice clean sharp bend.



Dan

[zapster]

I think Zaps use of the word "troll" was probably a bad choice. I'd have used the work "lurk":

" Casual Observer " Would be a better term I think....


...zap!

[soutthpaw]

Dan, that is a really cool idea for bending.

[AluminumWelder]

Trying to recommend a tig to a friend.
any comparison videos between ahp 3rd generation and longevity 200dx? Anyone use both? seem to be both targeted to same market.
http://www.longevity-inc.com/tig-welders/tigweld-200sx

wtih promo code they are both about the same price.

for some reason i have a gut feeling that longevity is a bigger company, thus better support, but it's not based on any real world experience.

[soutthpaw]

A lot more features on the AHP, better company IMHO, but that is because I have dealt with Longevity and the owner thus cannot recommend the company. that's all im going to say on that. I did try the 200sx I believe it was called at the time. very similar. welded fine but the amperage readout was very inaccurate. not an issue if you just set it to kill and use the pedal, would be annoying if you did a lot of stick welding.

[dbstoo]

I did not really understand the 2T / 4T setting until I read the information at http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ngs-part3.html

I was under the impression that it was just slope-up/down. It appears to be much more than that. Worth spending 3 minutes to read.

Dan

[TigMonster]

Handled. i apologize.

[Louie1961]

who did you buy it from and when? Their warranty clearly states they only pay for the shipping for the first 30 days. If you bought it from Amazon, simply send it back for a new one.

By the way AHP's warranty is actually better than Miller's warranty when it comes to paying for shipping. And I quote: "exclusive remedies shall be, at Miller’s option: (1) repair; or (2) replacement...upon return of the goods at customer’s risk and expense. Miller’s option of repair or replacement will be F.O.B., Factory at Appleton, Wisconsin, or F.O.B. at a Miller authorized service facility as determined by Miller. Therefore no compensation or reimbursement for transportation costs of any kind will be allowed."

[TigMonster]

who did you buy it from and when? Their warranty clearly states they only pay for the shipping for the first 30 days. If you bought it from Amazon, simply send it back for a new one.

By the way AHP's warranty is actually better than Miller's warranty when it comes to paying for shipping. And I quote: "exclusive remedies shall be, at Miller’s option: (1) repair; or (2) replacement...upon return of the goods at customer’s risk and expense. Miller’s option of repair or replacement will be F.O.B., Factory at Appleton, Wisconsin, or F.O.B. at a Miller authorized service facility as determined by Miller. Therefore no compensation or reimbursement for transportation costs of any kind will be allowed."

I purchased it from their ebay store

[Louie1961]

more than 30 days ago?

[TigMonster]

Ive had it for about 16 days

[dbstoo]

If you bought it new, go to the web site listed on page 13 of the manual and register it, then call for warranty repair.. http://ahpwelds.com/index.php/product-registration/

Bet you are glad that it's not an 800 LB Miller, right? Shipping on that would suck!

I looked for AHP on ebay, and did not find it. I did find a Canadian company, Weldmax, that is selling them. They claim to be an authorized dealer. Who were you dealing with? The seller or AHPWELDS?

Dan

[TigMonster]

Its from weldmax-tools los Angeles

[TigMonster]

Handled. i apologize.

[AhpWelds]

Shouldn't they test these things?

Mr Moran ( i assume you same george moran that left us feedback on amazon)

please give me your ebay or paypal info , i will look you up in our system. Who told you to ship unit back at your expense if its less then 30 days ?


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