Re: Everlast welders, anybody own one? I do now.
Some would consider this a dead thread, I suggest that it was just aestivating through the long hot summer.
I bought an Everlast 250ex a couple months ago. It works as advertised. More welding machine than the welder using it. The Everlast 250ex is an inverter welder. Inverter welders definitely have a different output than transformer machines. I think different in this case is better. The Everlast machine replaces/augments my Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC machine. I think my 6010 welding is better with the Everlast than it was with the Thunderbolt, though, even with the ARC force adjustment turned to max I still experience loss of the arc (but restarting is fairly easy). DC tig works well and I can make some nice looking welds in steel. AC tig on Aluminum is not consistent though not the fault of the welding machine. Sometimes I can make a "stack of dimes" other times, chicken scratching. I am not a welding professional, though I have used a number of machines over the years (Miller, Lincoln, Linde, P&H, Forney, home grown). Prior to adding the Everlast, I had the Miller Thunderbolt and a Lincoln SP-180T mig welder. I nearly bought the Hobart version of the Miller Diversion machine (~$1600). The 250ex was ~$1600 for a 250 amp machine and a lot of control knobs plus stick welding capability while the Miller Diversion is ~180 amp and a very simple set of controls, but no stick welding.
I searched the Internet and read through some of the "horror" stories of this brand vs another brand. The video on welding TipsAndTricks.com where Jody demonstrates how to set up the Everlast 250ex was a deciding factor for my purchase. You can access the videos via the Everlast web site
Welding Tips & Tricks Reviews the Everlast 250 EX . I would not recommend trying to purchase the Everlast 250ext model as it has been a source of a few horror stories. To Everlast's credit the thread is available for all to read (under TIG welding, ***250EXT***). Assuming that you intend to also do stick welding, make sure that the welding machine you purchase has the arc force control. It is pretty much required on an inverter machine if you intend to run 6010. Also make sure your auto darkening helmet is rated for TIG welding. Not all auto darkening helmets work well when doing DC TIG. Apparently the sensors in the welding helmet are dependent on the rate change or lack of rate change in the light intensity to trigger and hold darkened and un-darkened modes respectively. Inverter machines have very stable DC TIG arcs which can fool some helmets into reverting to the un-darkened mode.
Aside from a few niggling issues, i.e. the supplied stick welding leads could stand be a few feet longer, and some confusion as to how to connect the 220volt single phase power, I am satisfied with my purchase. As to power input requirements Everlast recommends a 50amp 220 single phase circuit. The 250ex can also be connected to a 3 phase source, which was part of the confusion. One of things touted for an Inverter based welder is higher efficiency. This appears to be true as I have been running on a 30 amp 220 single phase circuit. Yesterday I burnt up a dozen 1/8th inch 6010 rods fixing the brush cutter hitch. I was running at a 100 welding amps pretty much continuously. No breaker tripping.
As always your mileage may vary. Good luck to any in their search for an affordable welding machine.
gordon