5030
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 26,994
- Location
- SE Michigan in the middle of nowhere
- Tractor
- Kubota M9000 HDCC3 M9000 HDC
The guys (and gals) on the Welding Web forum rave about Everlast. Candidly, I don't but in their defense I will say their TIG cooler was reasonably priced, got fast shipping and they replaced the bent Quick disconnect fitting promptly and without hassle. All their offerings are made in China far as I can tell. My TIG cooler was. Even stated that on the inside of the cabinet, but then Miller and Lincoln are now sourcing most of their components from across the pond as well and Hobart is completely made in rice land.
I'm waiting for Hobart to go completely IGBT as it's much more energy efficient and much less expensive to produce. Everything HF sells (other than their bargain basement Chicago 110 volt welder is IGBT). My only issue with any IGBT machine is, they really aren't user fixable. You need sophisticated electronic measurement machines and a good knowledge of electronics to even work on them which is why I always opt for the HF extended warranty. If it breaks for any reason, HF just replaces it with a new machine and if they no longer sell your machine, they replace it with a higher grade machine and your old clunker gets relegated to the 'scratch and dent' table or winds up in their dumpster. I positively run the 'bags' out of my Vulcan Pro-Tig and both the Titanium plasma cutters. They all get run hard almost every day. Especially the 65 amp cutter than is coupled to my Shop Saber plasma table. When I go to HF, I make a beeline for the plasma torch consumables and usually buy all they have on the shelf. I can 'wail' through consumables when I'm running a production job on the table, especially in thicker material but it's still much cheaper than the Hyper Therm consumables that the machine I sold was. Like about 75% less cost. I did like the HT 'Fine Cut consumables but kerf isn't an issue on most jobs I run anyway.
I'm waiting for Hobart to go completely IGBT as it's much more energy efficient and much less expensive to produce. Everything HF sells (other than their bargain basement Chicago 110 volt welder is IGBT). My only issue with any IGBT machine is, they really aren't user fixable. You need sophisticated electronic measurement machines and a good knowledge of electronics to even work on them which is why I always opt for the HF extended warranty. If it breaks for any reason, HF just replaces it with a new machine and if they no longer sell your machine, they replace it with a higher grade machine and your old clunker gets relegated to the 'scratch and dent' table or winds up in their dumpster. I positively run the 'bags' out of my Vulcan Pro-Tig and both the Titanium plasma cutters. They all get run hard almost every day. Especially the 65 amp cutter than is coupled to my Shop Saber plasma table. When I go to HF, I make a beeline for the plasma torch consumables and usually buy all they have on the shelf. I can 'wail' through consumables when I'm running a production job on the table, especially in thicker material but it's still much cheaper than the Hyper Therm consumables that the machine I sold was. Like about 75% less cost. I did like the HT 'Fine Cut consumables but kerf isn't an issue on most jobs I run anyway.