New welder... probably multimatic 215 but not sure

[Mark @ Everlast]

As far as ESAB, yes, that is what I've been told as well. I own ESAB and have been told by a well known remanufacturer of electronic welder boards, that ESAB refuses to cooperate and supply parts. Now that has been a while back, but it sounds like since they've ceased production here in the US, it is nothing but a stripped down marketing company bent on acquiring other companies, stripping them down and cheapening up their product line. Giving a look at some of the latest Victor torches yesterday, I was shocked at how far down they've gone. The edge regulators that I have to deal with on a daily basis are deplorable. Hard to read gauges, with constantly sticking gauges, and won't fit a normal acetylene cylinder without hitting the fitting and hose on the top of the tank, when mounted. Also they cannot be used very easily for brazing or welding because of the oxygen markings are so imprecise that you simply have to guess where lower pressure settings required by the process are. The gauges are set so far in the black bezel, that you have to nearly shine a flash light on the gauges to see them. And for some reason, the PSI readings are printed over a medium gray marking which makes it that much more difficult to read.

 

[Evan03]

Esab tweco wtf.

Im someone that researches alot.

Can you tell me if theres any everlast facilities in Boise idaho?

 

[Evan03]

I was curious so i looked sometimes location says alot.

 

[swines]

I own ESAB and have been told by a well known remanufacturer of electronic welder boards, that ESAB refuses to cooperate and supply parts.

I have a 21 year old ESAB welder. I can still get most parts for it and have had no problem ordering the parts. I also have a 20 year old ESAB plasma cutter. I have had a problem getting a board repaired, but, I don't expect 100% parts availability on 20 year old equipment. The repair service was able to repair the plasma cutter because of the number of units sold, and the ability to find used parts from other sources.

Second party stories are just that - stories. You have no idea of the entire set of circumstances like the age of the equipment that's being repaired, where the parts were being ordered from, etc. The statement "refusing to supply parts" is an example. If they're trying to get parts for 15-20 year old equipment and simply told, "That part is no longer available" - that could be construed as "refusing to supply parts."

I don't think it's reasonable to expect manufacturers to supply parts in perpetuity for equipment. That would require an enormous monetary investment in static inventory and is an unreasonable expectation. Would you expect to Intel to be able to supply an 8088 processor for a 30 year old computer? Probably not. At some point, the equipment can be classified as outdated and you simply have to replace it.

My interactions with ESAB have been both with their technical service people and one of their major parts suppliers. They have answered promptly and I have been able to get parts for my welder when needed. I don't expect the parts supply to be available forever, and at some point, I'm sure I'll have to replace the welder. But, at this point I've used it for 21 years. That's a pretty good life for any piece of equipment.

As a side note. I can't get parts from Smith and Wesson for a 25 year old pistol because they've changed the design of the trigger mechanism. I have a choice of paying a gunsmith to make the part or retiring the pistol from use. It isn't just welding equipment that becomes outdated by manufacturing changes to products or product lines - and manufacturers "refusing to supply parts."

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Esab tweco wtf.

Im someone that researches alot.

Can you tell me if theres any everlast facilities in Boise idaho?

We had repair facilities outside of Boise at one time. Repairs now take place either in TN or depending upon the nature, some in our CA facility.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

BTW, if you want to learn about everlast, go to our site, and read our info. It tells you everything you need to know about us. South San Francisco based. everlastwelders.com

 

[yomax4]

Not sure 20 year old equipment can be compared in this thread. ESAB was an ok company that actually just tanked about 3-4 years ago and that's why Colfax bought Victor for more than 2X what it was worth. It was supposed to bail ESAB out. Instead, They went with the ESAB management style and quickly watched Victor start to tank too and it continues. I was in the Florence S.C ESAB plant 3 years ago and it was empty. You could have 3 soccer games going on in there at the same time. It's now locked up due to a new affiliation with a reputable chinese manufacturer where most welding parts and many machines come from.
When it comes to dealer network and coverage it should be taken into consideration how old the company is. Lincoln, Miller and ESAB to a lesser degree have been established for decades and there are tons of dusty parts laying around on shelves all over the country and no-one could sell Miller or Lincoln in their stores without factory trained techs. No-one should expect a newer startup company of any kind to have a full blown network of service and sales centers in a few short years.. It's just not a good comparison.

 

[mikehaugen]

no-one could sell Miller or Lincoln in their stores without factory trained techs.

Well Lincoln has definitely changed their philosophy on that.

 

[yomax4]

Well Lincoln has definitely changed their philosophy on that.

Yes Sir, I agree. Lincoln will go direct on a favored distributor in a heart beat and cut them right out. Sadly, The distributor welcomes them back after a period of time only to have it happen again. We call it the Lincoln Sun Burn. First you get the burn but after a while it turns to a tan and Lincoln is back in. ESAb does this too but both do it with wire mainly. Lincoln is now doing it with Power Migs and Engin Drives occasionally as well.

We are in the midst of a global economy and everyone wants a piece of the pie. All manufactures are selling their goods on the web and through brokerage houses like Amazon. Lincoln used to turn down a lot of distributors and only had flagship locations who had to buy long and be trained in sales and repair.

When you bought a welder back in the early 80's you could expect to put it in your will. Buy a welder now and you better get a good warranty.

 

[Arc weld]

I don't think Esab or Colfax has a clue what they're doing. I remember back in in 1981 when Purox were as popular a torch as anything else on the market and dealers had stock of all the tips and rosebuds etc. Then Linde became L-Tec and then part of Esab and it's been going downhill ever since. Then they bought Victor, cancelled 99% of the Purox and Oxweld lines, made some of their own torches and cancelled them shortly after leaving customers pizzed when they wanted a rosebud or accessory for their brand new torch. If a customer bought a few of the new torches, they had an exchange program for Victor. Then they went to these 411 series torches that can use the medium or heavy duty cutting attachment. Trying to read one of their charts for which rosebud or welding tip to use leaves you more confused than when you started. Their website is even worse and now it appears they are cancelling all the popular Victor torches which one would think is the reason they purchased Victor in the first place. I don't think they have any concept of marketing (in N. America anyway) or realizing you need to have product support and spare parts if you want to get more sales and keep customers. The only person doing a good job at Esab that I deal with is the lady who gets certs. for me. Their website for certs. sucks too and doesn't have certs. for OK55 which is common in Canada. It's sad because they do have some good products... at least for the time being.