Giving warranty on used equipment

[Old Growth]

Before I defend my opinions, please defend yours.

How many and which chinese inverter welders have you used?

 

[Welder Dave]

Sorry, you mentioned specific machines so say what they were. It sounds like you do mostly Mig and not much stick welding. I don't have to try a bunch of different machines Chinese or not to know that a Dialarc 250 is one of the most reliable single phase stick welders made. There's a reason they were made for over 40 years with only minor differences. Forget Chinese inverters. Early Miller XMT 300's were notorious for blowing boards and being more money to repair than they were worth. They were basically blue Powcons because Miller bought the rights. There are very few Powcons still running. General consensus is to avoid them like the plague. However there are still lots of old transformers still going strong after 50 years. I know a shop that went through 3 boards on an XMT 300. I used it a couple times for Mig and it had a really erratic arc. They rarely used it because they had much better transformer power sources. They bought into the hype inverters were so much better but soon learned what a mistake that was. They bought transformer machines after all the problems with the XMT 300. The 304's and 350's are better but still have their problems. I know two people that had Dynasty 300's bite the dust and the boards weren't even available to repair them because they were too expensive. When Dynasty 300's came out they were top of the line Tig welders and quite expensive. They were terrible stick welders however. Even on XMT 350's a Miller service tech. said you should open them up and tighten all the bolts holding the boards every year or so because they come loose. This is because there were several instances where a bolt came undone and shorted the board destroying the machine. Go on the welding web and you can find lots of issues with cheap Chinese inverters. Most of them won't burn 6010 at all. Getting service or parts for them is a real pain too. Having a warranty is kind of useless if there's no warranty depot in N. America. Older inverters with mosfet electronics were also notoriously bad. I tried a cheap Chinese inverter burning stick but can't remember the brand. It was several years ago. It had a really odd arc like bacon frying at less intensity but at lightning fast speed. You couldn't vary your arc length much. It was really weird to weld with and made a weird sound. So what machines were you referring too?

 

[HarleyHappy]

Dave, as much as agree with you on the longevity and durability of the older transformer type welders, the rest of the modern world doesn’t.
I just bought a Miller syncrowave 250 and not the DX because it was my grail welder.
I am now going to try and sell my older Syncrowave 300 and with leads I will be lucky to get 500 bucks for it.
It‘s big, require’s a lot of amps but boy does it stick weld and tig weld great.
All the welders from 50 and under schooled on the inverter welders and after using a few with pulse and other amenities, they are unbeatable.
I had a HF white face before the Syncrowave 300 and the dimes you could get out it were incredible but your beating a dead horse.
Please continue the fight, maybe you will convince someone to go back to a big, loud, high amp machine and I will get more money for my Syncrowave.

 

[Welder Dave]

Now the subject is changed to Tig welders. A Totally different animal when it comes to inverters. By the way a Syncrowave 250 is a transformer. Too funny, you're talking about the virtues of Tig inverters and bought a transformer Tig. A Syncrowave 250 is an updated Dialarc HF with adjustable AC balance. Welds stick pretty much the same. Since this is a heavy equipment forum, I think most people that do repairs will use stick unless they have larger CV machines to run flux-core. You're certainly not going to get one of those for under $1000cad. Where welders are being sold can make a big difference too. I'm waiting to hear what inverter has 200 amps at 50% duty cycle and costs less than $550cad. Any stick welder is going to need cables of the same size for the same amps. I'm also waiting for Old Doug to list the transformer machines he referred to with crappy duty cycle and copper clad aluminum wires. The only one I know of is a Lincoln AC225 but it's not in the same category. However I did sell an AC/DC version of one with longer #2 cables for $450 in 3 days. A Dialarc is 10 times the welder.

 

[Old Growth]

This should be about $475cdn or $350us
Everlast 200STi

25 pounds. 16"x7" Not bad for about .77 sq/ft of shop space.

200a=35 percent
160a=60percent
130a=100percent

Not bad for brand new. Plenty of fidgets to adjustamabob on this unit to.

PowerArc 200STi - Stick Welders | Everlast Generators

The all new PowerARC 200STi is built with the true professional in mind. With 200 amps of DC Stick/Live Lift TIG welding power, the new compact digitally controlled IGBT inverter welder cuts no corners on performance or design. The unit features E6010 welding capability making the welder...

www.everlastgenerators.com

Here is Bob putting some 6010 thru the predecessor to the 200ST1, the 200ST. Same machine with less adjustamabobs.

I dont really have much more time to feed ya anymore today. The web is a big place. Dig around and look for yourself.

 

[Welder Dave]

35% is not 50% and where would you take it for warranty or repairs? Plus GST brings it just under $500 and there may be shipping charges as well. Now you're about the same price for just the welder. You don't have AC current if you encounter arc blow, you still need cables or a long power cord to reach the same 46'. If you don't want to put the machine on the floor you'd probably want a cart of some sort. Add all that up and you're pretty close on price and still have less duty cycle. 15% can be a big difference if you have bigger project and are using 5/32" or even 3/16" rods. From what I've read from Everlast owners (in the US mostly) you have to pay the shipping costs for repairs. If you need parts you have to wait for them to be sent and fix it yourself. Have read of several owners having trouble getting a hold of someone at Everlast and even of people at Everlast being rude. Figuring out what's wrong isn't easy for a lot of people. All the extra fidgets are just more things to go bad.
I'm still waiting for the list of machines with copper plated aluminum wires and crappy duty cycles. You made the comment so it should be easy to answer.
Another thing that strikes me as a little bizarre is that while you're all for the latest inverter technology in welders, and call transformers dinasaurs, you drive a 1982 pick up and want to fix up a 1984 but don't want anything much newer than that. Most people would consider a 1982 pick up a dinasaur. It begs the question, why is a 40 year old pick up perfectly fine but a welder of the same vintage isn't? I can think of some reasons but they'd apply to proven transformer welders as well. I'm not against inverters but have a perfectly good transformer with proven reliability and people come on here and try to say a cheap Chinese inverter is a better welder. If the main objective is sound high strength welds that are fairly easy to achieve, there's nothing wrong with a transformer like a Dialarc. If someone was going to pay $800 for a new Lincoln AC225, I'd suggest an inverter too although the AC225 is the most popular welder in the world. Many people claim you can't kill them. I'd beg to differ with that statement.

 

[Old Growth]

I think you canads are fooked. But here in the good ol USA, shipping is free for warranty service.

I however had never needed any service on mine or anyone I know of with one. They are a pretty good machine.

 

[Welder Dave]

It was people in the US having to pay for shipping or fighting to get it covered. I never said inverters weren't a good machine. Some are some aren't. They certainly don't have the life expectancy of a good transformer. I'm still waiting for the list of welders with copper coated aluminum wires and crappy duty cycles? You asked me to list some inverters with known issues and I did. Some high end inverters too. Now it's time to list these machines you referred to. If not I'll take it as a generic statement without basis. In the mean time if anyone is looking for a good heavy duty single phase welder for heavy equipment repairs or larger projects, I have one.

 

[Old Growth]

Boy Dave, you got me. I give, I throw in the towel.

You officially won the internet today.

Your official prize, one super high quality, super old, super obsolete welder.

Now list it at the auction house and see what it brings!

 

[Welder Dave]

I figured as much. You want me to back up what I say but can't even back up what you say yourself. Transformers are only obsolete in your mind. There's still thousands of them earning their keep. I don't know why you felt it was necessary to dish on me because I have a transformer welder I'm trying to sell. It burns rods just as good as anything new in the same category and better than some. I'm not desperate to sell it and don't need to put it in an auction. I'd bet it will be running just fine years after your Chinese inverters have let all the smoke out.

 

[Tyler d4c]

Every inverter I ever welded with I found awful hard to light the rod with

 

[Welder Dave]

It's better with high end inverters like XMT's but the low end models can be iffy and have a weird arc. Even some better inverters state on the brochure not recommended for 6010 root passes.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Dave, you’re being an ass.
I told you I agree with you on tranformer welders.
I am really upset to learn my grail welder is a transformer welder, the guy selling it must have lied to me, he told me it sounded so loud because there was a Pygmy in there turning a jet engine to cool it.
I am so bummed, good luck in selling your Dial Arc.
Internet humor for today, just because some ones handle claims they are a welder, look out.
This thread started about you selling an old Dial Arc, instead you have decided to derail your own thread.
Good luck with the sake, I’m out.

 

[Welder Dave]

I never asked for opinions or comparisons to inverters. I didn't hijack my own thread. People came on knocking the welder I have and transformers in general. You were going on about how big and loud transformers are jumping on the band wagon they are aren't worth anything. Then you said you bought a Syncrowave 250 that is a transformer basically the same size as a Dialarc. I have no idea what you're thinking or if you're trying to be funny. Why do people need to rain on my parade when all I did was ask if warranty might be a good incentive to sell a welder?
If you're trying to suggest I'm not really a welder, the jokes on you. Look in the archives on here and you'll see even some of the most knowledgeable members have referred to me for welding advice. I don't have to prove to you or anyone else if I'm a welder or not. I think 99.99% of what I've posted regarding welding speaks for itself. I'd have to be some kind of exceptionally gifted mastermind to have that much knowledge of welding without being a welder. It's really not cool to suggest anyone isn't who they say they are. A lot of people would be really offended if you suggested they weren't the mechanic, electrician, welder or any other occupation they said they were.

 

[Acoals]

Dave, your welder is a big giant (noisy) boat anchor.

I would buy it if I wasn't like 2 or 3 thousand miles away (That's a lot of kilometers in Canadian)

I have a Lincoln Buzzbox (bought it when I was 17) and a little 160 amp inverter job, but I need more power, and I like the concept of a welder that will work after a nuclear apocalypse.

Maybe instead of a warranty you can offer free shipping? ? ?

 

[Welder Dave]

It's not that noisy. Some people will position them so the fan blows the smoke away. I think I have a buyer for it. A farmer in Southern Alberta said his Miller Thunderbird AC quit and he thinks the Dialarc would be a good upgrade for him. I've never heard of a Thunderbird so I'm guessing he meant Thunderbolt. He just called in the middle of my typing this. He wants a pic. of the plug to see if he needs to add one in his shop and a video of the machine welding so he can see and hear it working. He killed his machine burning 5/32" rods on 1/2" plate. This machine could do that 1 rod after another all day long. He said he'd pay me for my gas and time to deliver it. I said maybe we could meet somewhere and he was OK with that. He's 4 1/2 hours away. The only thing to figure out is how to transfer it from my truck to his. Maybe on a heavy sheet of plywood and use a come-a-long to roll it from one truck to the other? The guys at the trailer shop might have a good solution. So looks like I'll get my price and then some. He has a Dodge dually and I have an F150. I asked him to measure how high his truck is so I can figure something out. Unless something really bizarre happens it looks like I SOLD IT!

 

[BC Placer gold]

Moved our Miller Bobcat on a sheet of heavy plywood/lumber “stiffener” & come-a-long from the ground up onto the pickup once…just took a bit of elbow grease. Truck to truck shouldn’t be too bad.

 

[Welder Dave]

We were thinking a come-a-long to pull it from my truck to his. It's on wheels which helps. Kind of sucks he has a big dually.

 

[Tinkerer]

Dave; If you have an engine hoist it will /should be perfect to do the transfer on the trucks.
Mine is portable. I can pull a couple of pins and it folds up for storage.
If you don't maybe the buyer can bring one.

 

[56wrench]

I like the comealong idea using heavy plywood and some 2x6’s to shim up and support it in the middle on the tailgate of the lower truck. If your truck has a short box, there may not be room for a picker