I know many of you will think I'm crazy, but I put my approximately 25 year old Miller Thunderbolt for sale on Craigslist so that I could buy a small inverter machine. The reasons for this were: 1. It did not have a smooth arc on 7018. I got a lot of splatter (DC+).
2. The thing weighed a metric ton. Seriously I'm guessing well over 100 lbs. Wasn't very portable for me.
3. It maxed out at 160 amps on DC. This made a 5/32" 7018 seem very anemic. I felt that I wasn't set up to run 5/32 very well on this machine.
That being said, I researched the small inverter machines in depth. The big names (Miller, Lincoln, etc.) were simply out of my price range. I am a hobbiest that does a fair amount of fabrication. I don't make a paycheck from my welding so I simply couldn't justify spending big bucks. I have a Hobart Handler 175 for all of the thin stuff and I'm smart enough to know it's limits. If the metal is over 1/4" thick, it gets sticked. Everlast seemed to be my best bang for the buck. With the 5 year warranty I was willing to give it a try. Initial impression: I didn't go wrong and I am very impressed with the unit. More on that in a minute.
I sold the ol' Thunderbolt for $325 on Craigslist. Not bad considering I paid $200 for it used about 15 years ago. I think I got my money's worth.
I got the Everlast 200ST from UPS this morning. I unboxed it and was surprised at how small the unit actually was. Smaller than I imagined by looking at the pics online. It weighs about 30 lbs. The unit came with a very nice power cord (beefy) with a standard 50A welding plug on the end. It also came with a nice 110V adapter, although I haven't tried it on 110 yet. The welding leads are short, but that seems to be what everyone does these days to keep cost down. I at least expected that. In the future I will probably purchase 100 ft of 2 gauge wire and make 50 ft. extension leads. But for now this does the trick. The ground clamp is decent. The stinger is a POS. The spring is too stiff and the plastic cover keeps trying to slide off. Not the end of the world, I'll pick up something better. That is the only negative thing I have to say about the unit.
I plugged the unit in and fired it up. I was surprised by the noise level of the fan. I expected something louder and more obnoxious. It really wasn't bad at all. The amp dial had a nice feel to it. Better than I expected. Nice unit.
First I ran some 1/8" 7018. (It should be noted that all of my 7018 is about 10 years old and has never seen the inside of a rod oven. I have a brand new can of Lincoln Excalibur, but I refuse to open it until I spring the money for a rod oven.) Wow this thing runs hot! I used to run 1/8" 7018 at about 125 amps. Way too hot with this machine. I found the sweet spot at about 110 amps. Granted I was only welding on rusty 1/4" plate steel. I didn't even bother to clean it for the test welds. The arc was much smoother than what I'm used to and the arc strikes were easy.
Next I threw in some 5/32" 7018 on the same rusty 1/4 inch piece of steel. Again, runs really hot. I found it liked this thinner steel at about 140 amps. My old machine was struggling to even light it at 160 amps. This is just something I'll have to get used to. Not bad, just different. Makes me wonder how accurate the digital readout is. As long as it remains consistent I'm OK with the way it is. That being said, it ran the 5/32" 7018 great. I really think I could run 3/16" rod with no problem, although I don't have any on hand. Again the arc was very smooth and this machine made me look like a pro. I am a self-taught weldor. I included a pic of the 5/32" bead on here. Not bad for an amateur...I am giving the machine some of the credit here (no I don't work for Everlast). The slag does NOT come off easily from this outdated rod.
Finally I ran some 3/32" 6011 rod on the same piece of metal. You can definitely tell if you forget to plug into the 6010 port. It won't hardly light without the 6010 port. With the port it ran OK. Keep in mind this rod is even older than the 7018 I had on hand. I ran this at about 60 amps. Probably could have gone a bit hotter, but it ran good here.
My final conclusion is I'm glad I offloaded the very heavy Thunderbolt in exchange for this light machine. I'll let all of the China haters chime in now, but I've got more money in my pocket than you do. And this thing welds like a dream. I will replace the stinger, but past that the machine is wonderful. Thanks Mark Lugo from Everlast for getting this unit shipped off quickly.
2. The thing weighed a metric ton. Seriously I'm guessing well over 100 lbs. Wasn't very portable for me.
3. It maxed out at 160 amps on DC. This made a 5/32" 7018 seem very anemic. I felt that I wasn't set up to run 5/32 very well on this machine.
That being said, I researched the small inverter machines in depth. The big names (Miller, Lincoln, etc.) were simply out of my price range. I am a hobbiest that does a fair amount of fabrication. I don't make a paycheck from my welding so I simply couldn't justify spending big bucks. I have a Hobart Handler 175 for all of the thin stuff and I'm smart enough to know it's limits. If the metal is over 1/4" thick, it gets sticked. Everlast seemed to be my best bang for the buck. With the 5 year warranty I was willing to give it a try. Initial impression: I didn't go wrong and I am very impressed with the unit. More on that in a minute.
I sold the ol' Thunderbolt for $325 on Craigslist. Not bad considering I paid $200 for it used about 15 years ago. I think I got my money's worth.
I got the Everlast 200ST from UPS this morning. I unboxed it and was surprised at how small the unit actually was. Smaller than I imagined by looking at the pics online. It weighs about 30 lbs. The unit came with a very nice power cord (beefy) with a standard 50A welding plug on the end. It also came with a nice 110V adapter, although I haven't tried it on 110 yet. The welding leads are short, but that seems to be what everyone does these days to keep cost down. I at least expected that. In the future I will probably purchase 100 ft of 2 gauge wire and make 50 ft. extension leads. But for now this does the trick. The ground clamp is decent. The stinger is a POS. The spring is too stiff and the plastic cover keeps trying to slide off. Not the end of the world, I'll pick up something better. That is the only negative thing I have to say about the unit.
I plugged the unit in and fired it up. I was surprised by the noise level of the fan. I expected something louder and more obnoxious. It really wasn't bad at all. The amp dial had a nice feel to it. Better than I expected. Nice unit.
First I ran some 1/8" 7018. (It should be noted that all of my 7018 is about 10 years old and has never seen the inside of a rod oven. I have a brand new can of Lincoln Excalibur, but I refuse to open it until I spring the money for a rod oven.) Wow this thing runs hot! I used to run 1/8" 7018 at about 125 amps. Way too hot with this machine. I found the sweet spot at about 110 amps. Granted I was only welding on rusty 1/4" plate steel. I didn't even bother to clean it for the test welds. The arc was much smoother than what I'm used to and the arc strikes were easy.
Next I threw in some 5/32" 7018 on the same rusty 1/4 inch piece of steel. Again, runs really hot. I found it liked this thinner steel at about 140 amps. My old machine was struggling to even light it at 160 amps. This is just something I'll have to get used to. Not bad, just different. Makes me wonder how accurate the digital readout is. As long as it remains consistent I'm OK with the way it is. That being said, it ran the 5/32" 7018 great. I really think I could run 3/16" rod with no problem, although I don't have any on hand. Again the arc was very smooth and this machine made me look like a pro. I am a self-taught weldor. I included a pic of the 5/32" bead on here. Not bad for an amateur...I am giving the machine some of the credit here (no I don't work for Everlast). The slag does NOT come off easily from this outdated rod.
Finally I ran some 3/32" 6011 rod on the same piece of metal. You can definitely tell if you forget to plug into the 6010 port. It won't hardly light without the 6010 port. With the port it ran OK. Keep in mind this rod is even older than the 7018 I had on hand. I ran this at about 60 amps. Probably could have gone a bit hotter, but it ran good here.
My final conclusion is I'm glad I offloaded the very heavy Thunderbolt in exchange for this light machine. I'll let all of the China haters chime in now, but I've got more money in my pocket than you do. And this thing welds like a dream. I will replace the stinger, but past that the machine is wonderful. Thanks Mark Lugo from Everlast for getting this unit shipped off quickly.
