purchasing a tig welder

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Hey guys i'm looking at purchasing a Tig welder for my garage. Some back story i have 12 years experience tig welding aluminum and s/s's using dynasty 300's and then 350's with lots of good things to say about the machines..... However their price range is well beyond my reach which has led me to the Everlast brand.  looking at the machines themselves my price range puts me into the 200DV and the 210 EXT which i would probably upgrade with a water cooler/torch.  Is the EXT worth the extra money or would i be better off saving the cash.  I also have concerns with longevity and service support as i have seen some very negative reviews of these though i try to take that with a grain of salt as there is very positive ones also.  Does anyone have experience with the machines lasting longer than just their warranty period? do they compare to miller's? any constructive feedback would be appreciated.
Reply:Originally Posted by micweldHey guys i'm looking at purchasing a Tig welder for my garage. Some back story i have 12 years experience tig welding aluminum and s/s's using dynasty 300's and then 350's with lots of good things to say about the machines..... However their price range is well beyond my reach which has led me to the Everlast brand.  looking at the machines themselves my price range puts me into the 200DV and the 210 EXT which i would probably upgrade with a water cooler/torch.  Is the EXT worth the extra money or would i be better off saving the cash.  I also have concerns with longevity and service support as i have seen some very negative reviews of these though i try to take that with a grain of salt as there is very positive ones also.  Does anyone have experience with the machines lasting longer than just their warranty period? do they compare to miller's? any constructive feedback would be appreciated.
Reply:Thank you for the response Lug I'm new top this site as well though I've cruised through some threads and seen your responses to them so i appreciate you taking the time to respond.  I think the 350 EXT is most likely out of reach but just noticed the 250 EX.  Comparing it to the 255EXT does it just lack the digital options and memory capacity as well as the two other wave forms?
Reply:The 250EX doesn't have the memory, advanced pulse, or the adjustable AC wave forms.  Nor does it have the same level of stick welidng capability, or VRD.  The 250EX has one, the 255EXT has 4 wave forms.  You also miss out on precise control. The display only displays the Amps.  Everything else is set by the tic marks on the dial, which isn't 100% accurate as we all know.  The 255EXT/210EXT has a more reliable low amp start. The 250EX is a bit higher for most stable start.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldThe 250EX doesn't have the memory, advanced pulse, or the adjustable AC wave forms.  Nor does it have the same level of stick welidng capability, or VRD.  The 250EX has one, the 255EXT has 4 wave forms.  You also miss out on precise control. The display only displays the Amps.  Everything else is set by the tic marks on the dial, which isn't 100% accurate as we all know.  The 255EXT/210EXT has a more reliable low amp start. The 250EX is a bit higher for most stable start.
Reply:I've owned a 210EXT since 2013 and it's been fine but I did have a warranty issue with a previous Everlast welder I can speak to.  I'm pretty sure I'm not a misanthrope, or disgruntled, but we'll have to see if Mark (lugweld) agrees...  The first unit developed an issue within the first couple of months where the display readout would change by itself even though the machine was welding the same.  I would set the amperage, run a bead, look at the machine and see a very different number on the readout.  Run another bead and the number would change again.  I called Everlast and they sent a new display module, but it was for the wrong machine.  I called them and told them it was the wrong part and they sent the correct part....that didn't help.  I called and told them there was no change so they sent me a main board, but it was for the wrong machine.  They sent another board which was the correct part, but it didn't fix the problem.  At that point I was pretty frustrated and I finally wound up talking to Oleg who is the owner of Everlast.  Oleg offered to send a replacement unit or credit me full purchase price towards an upgrade, which I took and got the 210 EXT.  I did have to pay to ship the broken machine back to them.So yes, they did honor the warranty, but it took more effort on my part than I think it should have.  I had a welder down for something like 6 weeks as we went back and forth with the wrong parts and parts that didn't help.  If I owned a welding business I wouldn't risk these sorts of potential delays.  If someone can't look up the correct part number based upon a serial number and put it in a box I'm not confident they're the same sort of service techs you get when dealing with the bigger companies.  For hobby use, that may not be a factor.  Now I'm waiting for Mark to say they had someone who was a problem right during that time frame and they're gone Check out my bench vise website:  http://mivise.comMiller Syncrowave 250DXMillermatic 350P with XR AlumaProMiller Regency 200 with 22A feeder and Spoolmatic 3Hobart Champion EliteEverlast PowerTig 210EXT
Reply:Tech support is much larger and better trained.  And yes, Gmanbart, you are right. We had one guy doing it all and no one helping out.   The tech support and warranty repair department are separate, and we have two locations to repair now on opposite coasts.  We have multiple people manning tech support lines 40 hours a week.  And warranty centers are separate...and parts are separate, but we all communicate issues back and forth.  Parts department has been increased in size and staff.As far as same level of service techs...these guys have their degrees, and they are also factory trained and are factory equipped as well.  These are far better trained than your average service or tech guy from any other company...I can assure you.  We have full printed diagnosis and repair instructions if the customer decides to repair a repairable item him/herself, which since the units are now mostly modular, repairs are simplified and most common items are pretty much just plug and play.  It would be arrogant to assume things are the same as they were 8 years ago or more. We sell probably more than 10 fold more machines yearly now than back then. And we have increased staff and support and capability, as would any company as they grow. We've even quadrupled our ware house facilities...while our factory has increased capacity with new buildings and equipment right about 2013 or so.  So, yes, we have changed...even adding support capability through facebook via several extremely popular Everlast owner's groups with 10's of thousands of followers.  We've also expanded globally.  One of the pictures below is of the European distributors show truck.  We even have our own technical office in the factory where we work from when our guys are over there in the factory supervising production. Attached ImagesLast edited by lugweld; 4 Weeks Ago at 01:51 PM.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldTech support is much larger and better trained.  And yes, Gmanbart, you are right. We had one guy doing it all and no one helping out.   The tech support and warranty repair department are separate, and we have two locations to repair now on opposite coasts.  We have multiple people manning tech support lines 40 hours a week.  And warranty centers are separate...and parts are separate, but we all communicate issues back and forth.  Parts department has been increased in size and staff.As far as same level of service techs...these guys have their degrees, and they are also factory trained and are factory equipped as well.  These are far better trained than your average service or tech guy from any other company...I can assure you.  We have full printed diagnosis and repair instructions if the customer decides to repair a repairable item him/herself, which since the units are now mostly modular, repairs are simplified and most common items are pretty much just plug and play.  It would be arrogant to assume things are the same as they were 8 years ago or more. We sell probably more than 10 fold more machines yearly now than back then. And we have increased staff and support and capability, as would any company as they grow. We've even quadrupled our ware house facilities...while our factory has increased capacity with new buildings and equipment right about 2013 or so.  So, yes, we have changed...even adding support capability through facebook via several extremely popular Everlast owner's groups with 10's of thousands of followers.  We've also expanded globally.  One of the pictures below is of the European distributors show truck.  We even have our own technical office in the factory where we work from when our guys are over there in the factory supervising production.
Reply:Originally Posted by G-ManBartMark,I just noticed I had a typo....I got my 210EXT in 2016, not 2013 as I said earlier.As far as it being just one person, luckily I tend to save stuff.  I saved all 54 e-mails it took to resolve the problem.  There were quite a few phone calls involved as well...that was my first step.  I dealt with four different people at Everlast, and have e-mail records of all of that.  It wasn't just one person making mistakes, it seemed to be everyone until I talked to Oleg.I never said things today were just like there were back then so calling me arrogant was unnecessary (and just rude).  I simply detailed my experience and said it was ultimately resolved to my satisfaction.  People can find plenty of discussions on Everlast customer service to make their own decision if things have changed.About those service techs...  There was a thread over on Tractor By Net in 2017 where you said that you're in Georgia, but the Everlast folks on the left coast hadn't been working for Everlast as long as you had (2009), and that "most of them never have struck an arc."  That certainly sounds like the folks I talked to in 2016.  I'm sure all of them have been let go and in the past five years an entirely new force of highly trained folks have been brought on board with years of experience.