Bought an Everlast PowerTIG 250EX

I did buy the Miller Coolmate 3 torch cooler due to Everlast lying to me and jacking me around on when their Powercool W300 would ship, got fed up with their BS.
 
The current carrying cable from the machine to the torch is a smaller diameter in water cooled torches because it has the coolant to keep it from overheating and frying. Therefore it is limited in the amps it can withstand when run dry. Without knowing what it could withstand it would be foolish to risk it. The day before the cooler arrived I had an air cooled torch picked out (but not ordered) in case it was going to take awhile. I've read that some people had waited a couple months for coolers to ship.

The first thing I noticed is the Lincoln transformer machine was much more forgiving from a grounding and material prep standpoint. I could be pretty lazy and still get a satisfactory result. It could be just that I had spent more time with it and knew what I could get away with. I ran an earth ground to both the Everlast and my welding bench and sandpapered the bench top and the machine ran fine. Probably just the difference in electronics.

I don't have the luxury of space for a dedicated toolbox to hold filler metal and the factory tubes aren't all that sealed either. I think some capped PVC tubes standing on the cart will solve both my space and exposure issues.
 
I don't have the luxury of space for a dedicated toolbox to hold filler metal and the factory tubes aren't all that sealed either. I think some capped PVC tubes standing on the cart will solve both my space and exposure issues.

The PVC tubes will work well.

Why did you need to buy a welder for aluminum when you already had one? The Lincoln had the capabilities for aluminum. Was something not working and you could no longer get repalcement parts?
 
The PVC tubes will work well.

Why did you need to buy a welder for aluminum when you already had one? The Lincoln had the capabilities for aluminum. Was something not working and you could no longer get repalcement parts?

That's a terrific question! Transformer machines can weld aluminum but only at 60 hz because they are limited to what the power company supplies. The square wave tig transformer machine is balanced at 50% + and 50%- to provide cleaning action. The result is a pretty large hot puddle (relatively speaking of course). The inverter machines are tuneable so they can provide frequencies between .5 to 500 Hz, and the wave form (time on + and - AC) can be adjusted for optimal cleaning action and penetration. The higher the frequency the finer (narrower) the weld.

My most recent experience welding aluminum with the Lincoln was a positive one in that it did the job but demonstrated to me that I needed the ability to adjust the welder to achieve better results. Luckily it was a job where I was going to machine the weld back down to shape so it didn't have to look pretty.

A buddy asked me the other day what big welding project I had in mind that required a new welder. My response was that I buy tools that give me the capability to do anything I want before the need arises, not after.
 
A buddy asked me the other day what big welding project I had in mind that required a new welder. My response was that I buy tools that give me the capability to do anything I want before the need arises, not after.
Spoken like a true addict. :applause 2:

Both machines use 60 Hz because that's what the power company supplies. You can TIG weld aluminum with A.C. or D.C. but A.C. current is where the cleaning action comes in. High frequency is available on the transformer or inverter machine but it really sounds as if the Lincoln didn't have the controls or circuitry, and the bigger question is, do you need it.

Are you a better driver behind the wheel of a Prius or Tesla?

PS. I wasn't comparing Neverlast to Tesla. :)
 
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Based on your comments I get the feeling that you're biased in some way, just not sure which way. I don't have to need it to want it, I thought we had that all sorted out? :confused:
I am biased to Made in America and I can't afford a machine that's going to leave me stranded. It doesn't make sense to buy two or three machines just in case one breaks down or the next container ship hasn't arrived in port, or won't for another month.

My "need" comment was regarding the weld, not the machine. You can produce the same high quality weld from the transformer machine. As I stated, the Lincoln probably didn't have the circuitry. Most of the problems encountered in welding have nothing to do with the machine, it's simple welding basics, and if we miss these we miss a lot. Welding machines are sold based on whistles and bells, with electrical theory that's above the training of most welders. No, I'm not slighting anyone. i.e. I tell my welding salesperson; Show me how the crater fill feature works on my machine. I'm still waiting. If you don't stop and fill the crater at the end of the weld bead, a switch on the control panel isn't going to do it for you.
 
That's a terrific question! Transformer machines can weld aluminum but only at 60 hz because they are limited to what the power company supplies. The square wave tig transformer machine is balanced at 50% + and 50%- to provide cleaning action. The result is a pretty large hot puddle (relatively speaking of course). The inverter machines are tuneable so they can provide frequencies between .5 to 500 Hz, and the wave form (time on + and - AC) can be adjusted for optimal cleaning action and penetration. The higher the frequency the finer (narrower) the weld.

If high frequency plays such a big part in welding aluminum, how are quality MIG welded aluminum weldments produced? This isn't a provacation question, it's a thought provoking question. Mig aluminum is a D.C. process with no high frequency.
 
Another good question! But I have neither the training to know nor the desire to search for the answer. I've never run aluminum through my Lincoln Mig.
 
One of the top welders on youtube Jody at weldingtipsandtricks has put the Everlast up against the best Miller has in a head to head challenge and the Everlast matched or beat it. As for Made in USA the guts of the $8,000 Miller, which is 95% of an inverter welder, yeah made in Asia just like the Everlast. I know because I called up Miller and asked them. There are a lot of former made in USA products out there that are now made in Asia, but they are still charging the made in USA high price and not forthcoming about the fact that manufacturing was moved to Asia.
 
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