Everlast 225LX repairs and/or replacement?

[C. Livingstone]

Yeah,

I've owned an old transformer Lincoln unit that never needed any repair either, but I would have traded it on-the-spot for one of these newer lunch-box sized TIG/Stick units.

More choices, more better!

[soutthpaw]

If you have the space and the power, a used Miller 330ABP or Airco, sureweld rebranded version is a great choice. I have bought them in working order for less than $200. But at almost half a ton, they are not very mobile.

[Hobbytime]

Yeah,

I've owned an old transformer Lincoln unit that never needed any repair either, but I would have traded it on-the-spot for one of these newer lunch-box sized TIG/Stick units.

More choices, more better!

I also have a lincoln SW200 almost 3 years old with a 5 year warranty that still going strong no issues..... and would expect it to go way beyond the warranty period without issue, and if it does there are thousands of repair facilities in this country that dont require $200.00 shipping to get it fixed...so how many times do you need to buy your $700.00 welder to get the same life span of a quality name brand unit? in the end you dont save much and have a bunch of aggravation..

[TraditionalToolworks]

LOL..your impressed by the build quality that failed only after a year.... how long do you think it should last without repair? I have lincolns going back almost 30 years that havent needed ANY repair as of date....

Funny thing, or actually not so funny thing, is I have an inexpensive Everlast inverter. When I first opened it I thought it looked ok, but the next time I started looking around closer. The machine was not assembled by a person who took pride in their work. I took some pics and showed them that whoever assembled it didn't take very much pride in their work and several things were quite messy, and this was stuff that could have been done neatly in the same amount of time they did careless work.

The response from Everlast was, "You should see what over vender's machines look like!", or "That's nothing compared to other manufactures.

But who cares? This is the Everlast machine I bought and the one I own. I wasn't concerned with someone else's machine, only my own.

I'm not unhappy with my inverter, but I don't have faith that it will last over the long haul, and since Everlast doesn't actually stock many parts in the States, if any, I don't see this being a long term win for me over the long haul.

Ztg525 mentioned he was thinking about getting a 210EXT or similar. Ponder this...You can buy one of those crappy Miller Dynasty units used for about the same price as a 210EXT. I see completed auctions on ebay for 200dx and 210dx machines in the $2000 - $2500 range. You can find better deals, but that is a price that stands out. This is very close in price to what a 210EXT sells for.

So, the $64k question is will an Everlast be as reliable as a used Miller Dynasty? From what lugweld mentioned in this thread, it's possible to cost $1800 to get a DOA Dynasty fixed, which implied this happens on new units. I think I would rather roll the dice on a used Miller Dynasty, chances are you can get some equipment included with a used machine and possibly might be able to get a water cooler included if you're lucky!

[C. Livingstone]

Well,

That's a poor rationale, as the price of of a new 210EXT, with its included 5-year warrantee and all the extras, is then about the same as a costly repair bill of a used DynastyDX beyond its 3-year warrantee.

And forget about trying to get parts or repairs for a Dynasty300DX that you once paid a princely sum for.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...-dynasty-300dx

I mean, if he doesn't want to get the 225LX fixed, that's why I suggested the AHP AlphaTIG, as it's about the cost of the repair, and come with a 2-year warrantee.

Or, since an 210EXT is about 1/3 the price of a 210DX, it follows that you could theoretically buy a 210EXT every 5 years and have 100% reliability guaranteed (via repair or replacement) for 15 years (versus an new or used Dynasty), while having two spares to keep or sell, versus paying three times as much for one Dynasty at the beginning, with a 3-year warrantee, and then spending the next 12 years with no warrantee.

More choices, more better!

[Iain P]

LOL..your impressed by the build quality that failed only after a year.... how long do you think it should last without repair? I have lincolns going back almost 30 years that havent needed ANY repair as of date....

For what I paid for it, yes. My current welder project is a Millermatic 175 that when bang the last time the owner used it. I've also had a Lincoln 256 at work die 1 month out of warranty that I ended up fixing. You know what all three welders have in common? Lots of electronics in them. Anytime you pack that much circuitry in one thing and subject it to the type of abuse welders are subjected to electrically, something is going to give eventually.

[Hobbytime]

For what I paid for it, yes. My current welder project is a Millermatic 175 that when bang the last time the owner used it. I've also had a Lincoln 256 at work die 1 month out of warranty that I ended up fixing. You know what all three welders have in common? Lots of electronics in them. Anytime you pack that much circuitry in one thing and subject it to the type of abuse welders are subjected to electrically, something is going to give eventually.

agreed......that goes for every electric product across the line from welders to washers...

[TraditionalToolworks]

And forget about trying to get parts or repairs for a Dynasty300DX that you once paid a princely sum for.

BFD, do you know how old those machines are? Wake me up when your Everlast will EVENLAST that long. They don't make the 300dx anymore, it's a big old unit made in a day when Everlast was not created.

I mean, if he doesn't want to get the 225LX fixed, that's why I suggested the AHP AlphaTIG

You call my logic bad? You're suggesting he dig himself in deeper with a cheap imported inverter. And evidently owned by Everlast people...so basically put more stock in them.

Or, since an 210EXT is about 1/3 the price of a 210DX

But I'm not comparing it new, I'd rather take my chance and buy used. I can get a used Dynasty for about the same price. I mentioned a 200dx or 210dx, very similar amperage machine. And you can find some better deals if you watch or go to auctions...the Dynastys are usually in pretty good shape at some of the auctions I've been to...

it follows that you could theoretically buy a 210EXT every 5 years and have 100% reliability guaranteed

And you may need to. That's the point. If you can only rely on a welder for 5 years it's like a disposable lighter. Many Millers last for many years despite the claim of how much they cost to fix. I really see it as FUD, you have no proof that Millers are unreliable. Sure, some units might be, but those are in the minority.

To me the warranty means little. It's a limited warranty. After seeing the inside of my machine, I would want to inspect any Everlast closely and decide for myself whether it's a machine I would want to own or not.

At the end of the day it's not just numbers and warranties, it is a tool after all and it needs to be reliable. I'm just not convinced that these cheaply built imported inverters are the panacea many make them out to be. What do you do when it's out of warranty? Nobody has any obligation to service it or provide you parts. Where do those parts even come from after the warranty is up? How about putting some of those numbers in your 6G pipe and welding it?

[TraditionalToolworks]

For what I paid for it, yes.

So if we treat it like a disposable lighter, it's easier to chew?

In some ways it's a race to the bottom. Why do you need to disclaim about the cost?

And that's one of my points to the AHP 200dx. It's one of the least expensive AC/DC 200 amp tig machines. I am finding it hard to believe that the least expensive full featured tig machine can last over the long haul. Time will tell. They do seem like a great value, and in some ways may have been a better option even for me, but I still fail to see how it can really be.

If it always gets down to "For what I paid for it, yes", I think we are definitely on a race to the bottom...

[C. Livingstone]

Well,

It's because you don't know much. I mean, you haven't learned how weld a rudimentary bead yet, on that Everlast unit you just bought, Alan.

So, maybe you're just frustrated and looking to blame Everlast for that, and is why you also deleted every post and photo that you uploaded in that Pedal vs Pulse thread you started elsewhere. That did leave a cyber mess for those guys on that other forum who were trying to help you, much like some of us at the Everlast forum tried to help you, and at another welding forum as well.

And here we are again, with you trying to do some weld-splainin' about Everlast and the welding industry in general, before you've even learned how to run a rudimentary bead.

It doesn't matter that you're a slow starter. That just gives you an opportunity to make greater gains in learning how to weld.

I recommend that you practice how to weld first, and then you'll undoubtedly stop worring about, "Where do those parts even come from after the warranty is up?"

...To me the warranty means little....

At the end of the day it's not just numbers and warranties, it is a tool after all and it needs to be reliable. I'm just not convinced that these cheaply built imported inverters are the panacea many make them out to be. What do you do when it's out of warranty? Nobody has any obligation to service it or provide you parts. Where do those parts even come from after the warranty is up? How about putting some of those numbers in your 6G pipe and welding it?

[Hobbytime]

So if we treat it like a disposable lighter, it's easier to chew?

In some ways it's a race to the bottom. Why do you need to disclaim about the cost?

And that's one of my points to the AHP 200dx. It's one of the least expensive AC/DC 200 amp tig machines. I am finding it hard to believe that the least expensive full featured tig machine can last over the long haul. Time will tell. They do seem like a great value, and in some ways may have been a better option even for me, but I still fail to see how it can really be.

If it always gets down to "For what I paid for it, yes", I think we are definitely on a race to the bottom...

you hit the nail on the head" its a race to the bottom".... they are pumping out cheap disposable welders with lots of buttons and settings to impress people to buy one, whether they work or not... if its cheap enough to get someone welding and only lasts a short time and the person is satisfied with that disposable mentality then fine, the other half of that is if the cheap welder preforms as good as a more expensive one and gives the quality weld one is looking for or puts out crap and discourages the person from continuing to grow into welding..so its a 3 sided coin of price and performance and how long it will last...ill spend the extra money for a name brand with the hopes it will out preform and last some cheap no name unit and so far the lincoln and millers have, all companies will have failures in their line of products , thats almost impossible not to have and the warranty and support from name brand established companies are proven already..

[TraditionalToolworks]

Well,

It's because you don't know much. I mean, you haven't learned how weld a rudimentary bead yet, on that Everlast unit you just bought

You have no clue what you're talking about. In fact, if you would quit running around like the Everlast Retriever, humping on every Everlast customers's leg, people would be more acceptable of you.

I'm not looking for your support, and I don't need you to tell me what is good or not for me.

You stated nothing in regard to the crappy quality of the Everlast welders, you changed the subject to point to my skills which you know nothing about.

The support and <gasp> support infrastructure that Everlast has in place speaks for itself. I hope when my welder is out of warranty it's not "out of parts" at the same time. There are no guarantees.

Now, rather than try to pick apart my skills, character and personality, stick to the crappy welders.

[TraditionalToolworks]

you hit the nail on the head" its a race to the bottom".... they are pumping out cheap disposable welders with lots of buttons and settings to impress people to buy one, whether they work or not...

In most cases they at least work since they just design these machines like cookie cutters. If you buy when the cookies are tasty you might get lucky. More than likely you'll find the cookies are stale and leftover from other designs. If you compare the machines that Everlast manufactured even a few years ago, they have improved a lot. But who is "they"? Everlast is nothing more than a distributer for the most part. Just that they have some support in TN you can ship your unit to.

The headquarters is nothing more than a warehouse where they store boxes of welders they get from China. It's actually a pretty smart setup, IMO, since they are in the Bay area and right across the bay from the Oakland docks. They really only need to transport them to the headquarters across the bay and ship. This is exactly why if you have a bad unit, they ship parts from China. They really do not stock parts, they only get boxes of welders.

Contrast that to a company like Miller or Lincoln, both of who have been innovating welding for close to or over 100 years and still in business, despite those crappy welders that could cost you $1800 to fix when they arrive DOA.

Sure, it's easy to smack your competition when you've only been in business for a fraction of the time they have, or that you don't even have a manufacturing plant in the U.S., or even stock parts...

And that is supposed to be a better solution than Miller or Lincoln?

[C. Livingstone]

Well,

You just bought your first welder, an Everlast one.

Start learning how to use it, instead of crying about it.

Then you probably won't worry about acceptance, either...

[TraditionalToolworks]

Well,

You just bought your first welder, an Everlast one.

Start learning how to use it, instead of crying about it.

Then you probably won't worry about acceptance, either...

And please go work on that electric wheel chair and STFU.

[455dan]

Looked it over pretty good. Only visual damage/burnt up components I see are these wires.

Attachment 1684148

Attachment 1684149

Attachment 1684150

If you have some electronics repair experience It might help to ask Everlast for a schematic. That will will help narrowing down the problem.

This is where I believe there IS a difference in offshore versus the big name brands. I know when I needed schematics for the Lincoln Tig 300 300's an email got results within hours from them.

Under $40 in parts and the Lincoln was back up and fully functional.

My 3 in 1 chinese welder plasma cutter is still going - with a couple contact cleanings, but a schematic would be really helpful. I have doubts when the day comes that something fails inside that I will get any satisfaction on sourcing a full schematic from the company I bought it from.

This is one Important way the welder companies can really set themselves apart from just being a throw away product. Even Harbor freight has started providing schematics I have found for at least some of their welders, that is a good trend.

ps. I do understand why a company would want to with hold this info if their product has advanced proprietary hard earned tech designed in. What doesn't make sense is when the warranty passes and the tech is no longer leading edge why the companies wouldn't provide the schematics after the warranty runs out.

[C. Livingstone]

Yeah,

I'm doing some welding and fabricating on a revised battery box for it out of diamond plate aluminum, with an interesting revised mounting solution, since moving the motor from the mid-drive position. Now that the motor is in the tail section, it's why the initial battery box was revised, to allow the motor to pivot for chain tensioning, as the old battery box was in the way.

But right now WW seems to have problems with members uploading photos to the Show Us What You Welded Today, thread.

If you want to see, I posted some pics in a thread at Weld.com, called, Revised Aluminum Diamond Plate Battery Box, showing the pattern layout, the metal brake bends, and the welded seams. I'll be posting more in that thread soon, maybe even today, as I'm doing an interesting welding move, in which I'm calling, The Livingstone Longtitudnal Plug-Weld, as it may have never been done before in all of welding history. Ha, ha, ha...

But I'm actually still a novice on aluminum AC TIG welding, even though I've had the 210EXT for over 3 years, as the several projects I've used it for on aluminum have probably added up to aonly about 8-10 hours of actual arc time on AC TIG. Of course, I have more experience with DC TIG, Stick, and some MIG too.

So, honestly, I relied on the the Triangle wave for the thinner aluminum stuff and on outside corner joints for a while, as I liked how it really constrained the heat input. But now I'm tending to not use that as a proverbial crutch, and mostly use the Square waveform. But I'm still glad I have the Triangle wave on my 210EXT.

Welding is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TraditionalToolworks]

This is one Important way the welder companies can really set themselves apart from just being a throw away product. Even Harbor freight has started providing schematics I have found for at least some of their welders, that is a good trend.

I completely agree, and in fact, if you look at some of the modern hardware designs for systems on small boards used for embedded work, open hardware is one of the latest trends and many people are jumping on the bandwagon. This goes for the Texas Instruments Beagle Bone and Freescale designs, both of which have several designs available.

15 years ago people scoffed at open source, and now Linux has earned a place for itself, mainly in embedded as the kernel ports easily. Operating systems are becoming a commodity. I see this trend continuing with hardware and maybe we will see vendors like Everlast and the likes providing schematics. This would be good as even in the case someone is not competent enough with electronics to make use of it, they can take them to someone that does understand them and get the repairs done for them. In many cases a competent repair guy can figure out the problem without the schematic, but having it saves time and money in the end.

I do understand why a company would want to with hold this info if their product has advanced proprietary hard earned tech designed in. What doesn't make sense is when the warranty passes and the tech is no longer leading edge why the companies wouldn't provide the schematics after the warranty runs out.

There is really little advantage of holding the schematics, since most companies can reverse engineer the design, it is what they did to manufacture these cheap inverters in China, they merely have copied designs, it's not as if China created this technology, they merely copied it.

If you want to see, I posted some pics in a thread at Weld.com

Actually I don't have any desire to see it. I am working on projects of my own and those are more important to me than your work. I wish you the best with your project though.

[C. Livingstone]

Hey,

Good for you, Alan.

And, thanks for that!

[Ztg525]

I repaired the burnt up wire with no changes to the welders function. I am going to start probing some parts and see if I can get this thing fixed.

If anyone has any expert repair advice feel free to toss it in. I am fairly proficient with soldering but am not well versed on the ins and outs of electronics repair at a component level.

[soutthpaw]

Yeah,

I'm doing some welding and fabricating on a revised battery box for it out of diamond plate aluminum, with an interesting revised mounting solution, since moving the motor from the mid-drive position. Now that the motor is in the tail section, it's why the initial battery box was revised, to allow the motor to pivot for chain tensioning, as the old battery box was in the way.

But right now WW seems to have problems with members uploading photos to the Show Us What You Welded Today, thread.

If you want to see, I posted some pics in a thread at Weld.com, called, Revised Aluminum Diamond Plate Battery Box, showing the pattern layout, the metal brake bends, and the welded seams. I'll be posting more in that thread soon, maybe even today, as I'm doing an interesting welding move, in which I'm calling, The Livingstone Longtitudnal Plug-Weld, as it may have never been done before in all of welding history. Ha, ha, ha...

But I'm actually still a novice on aluminum AC TIG welding, even though I've had the 210EXT for over 3 years, as the several projects I've used it for on aluminum have probably added up to aonly about 8-10 hours of actual arc time on AC TIG. Of course, I have more experience with DC TIG, Stick, and some MIG too.

So, honestly, I relied on the the Triangle wave for the thinner aluminum stuff and on outside corner joints for a while, as I liked how it really constrained the heat input. But now I'm tending to not use that as a proverbial crutch, and mostly use the Square waveform. But I'm still glad I have the Triangle wave on my 210EXT.

Welding is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think you spent way too much money on that belt sander stand....

[Iain P]

So if we treat it like a disposable lighter, it's easier to chew?

In some ways it's a race to the bottom. Why do you need to disclaim about the cost?

And that's one of my points to the AHP 200dx. It's one of the least expensive AC/DC 200 amp tig machines. I am finding it hard to believe that the least expensive full featured tig machine can last over the long haul. Time will tell. They do seem like a great value, and in some ways may have been a better option even for me, but I still fail to see how it can really be.

If it always gets down to "For what I paid for it, yes", I think we are definitely on a race to the bottom...

What I mean is that for what I paid for it I am impressed with it. If I paid more for it I'd expect some things to be a little better. I paid $250 for a welder and got $250 worth of welder. I'm impressed with the Lincoln 256 I have at work for what we paid for it. It was $2200 and it's good quality for that price. If we had paid $5000 for it I would expect somethings to be better on it. Both welders are good for their price bracket, so I would answer that they are both good quality for what I paid for them.

[C. Livingstone]

Yeah,

That's a $1400 stand, that doubles as a stainless steel washer/dryer in-one, too.

I've had it for five years now, so maybe it's time to buy another one just like it.

Ha, ha, ha...

[455dan]

[QUOTE=TraditionalToolworks;8604089]I completely agree, and in fact, if you look at some of the modern hardware designs for systems on small boards used for embedded work, open hardware is one of the latest trends and many people are jumping on the bandwagon. This goes for the Texas Instruments Beagle Bone and Freescale designs, both of which have several designs available.


There is really little advantage of holding the schematics, since most companies can reverse engineer the design, it is what they did to manufacture these cheap inverters in China, they merely have copied designs, it's not as if China created this technology, they merely copied it.


A few years back I did a little looking into this and found that some of the Chinese welders were based on initial test model research done by Siemens.
Apparently freely given out Research- so that when a chinese manufacturer cloned the mule and added a few refinements Siemens benefited from increased sales of their chinese based IGBT and MOSFET driver production.


here is an older pdf link to some of their half bridge and full bridge design topology mule research that resulted in higher operating frequency of inverter /reducing transformer sizes, fewer parts, cooler operation and higher power output or more duty cycle.

https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infine...47ce6f0a197daf

[TraditionalToolworks]

A few years back I did a little looking into this and found that some of the Chinese welders were based on initial test model research done by Siemens.

Isn't it good that some companies do still give to the public domain? One of the problems I've noticed is how little the Chinese contribute to the public domain, they are a very secretive culture. In many cases they will use what is available, for their gain, and not show their own work.

What if companies like Siemens stopped contributing their work to the public? What is Phillips hadn't contributed their sound work in the 50s? What if PARC didn't contribute so much for the user interface on computers that they had?

I wonder when we'll see some big contribution for ANYTHING from China?

EDIT: Oh wait, are you saying that because we can buy these cheap inverters is China's contribution to the public domain?

Why don't they give schematics out on their welders then?

TT