New Powerarc 200

[Meriasek]

I've been in the market for a new stick welder for a minute. I was originally gonna purchase the Hobart Stickmate AC/DC from Tractor Supply, which they retail for $479.99. I also had a 10% coupon that I would have used on the purchase.

After a thourough review of this forum's content regarding the Powerarc 200, and after a couple conversations with Mark on the telephone, I decided to purchase the Everlast machine instead. The tranasction was handled by telephone with Oleg last Friday. The sale price was $315 and $35 shipping to Oklahoma City.

I pulled the machine out of the box today, and attached the plug. I haven't used the machine yet. I have attached a pic (hope it loads). I want to point out that this PA 200 does not have the 'special 6010 port' as described on the website's product information, and as mentioned before in previous discussions. Additionally, I haven't measured it or weighed it, but it surely seems smaller than the dimensions that Mark gave me verbally, and certainly doesn't seem to weigh 38 pounds.

My criticism thus far regarding my interaction with Everlast would be the following: a) It seems Everlast has an inventory management problem. Everlast was out of stock, and subsequently verbally postponed their shipment dates more than once. b) I have always been skeptical of the 6010 port anyways, but as a matter of principle, goods should be sold as advertised. I consider that Everlast might not have even been aware of the change in the product, which makes me wonder how much oversight they have of the production line. It certainly seems that had they known of the product change, that Everlast would have made the change in it's product advertisement or communicated otherwise. And if they did know about it, and failed to make the change known, I would argue that's a questionable business practice.

Lastly, please know, that I'm just an average consumer. The fact remains, that if the machine WELDS as advertised and reviewed, then I frankly don't care. But, I am a little disappointed, and hope that my fellow hobby welders would empathize appropriately.

 

[HarleyScooter]

Meriasek, I understand how you feel, my PA200 will be delivered Monday. After all the hype about how great the PA200 welds with 6010 in the special port, I don't understand why they would remove it. I posted over on their forum to see if we can get a response from someone at Everlast.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

We didn't order anything removed. I'll check it out. Its not a regular PA 200, that's for sure. I have a note in already. We'll make sure it gets straightened out. It looks like an early edition of our new 140s scheduled to be out soon.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I got an email from the factory right away.

Appears they made a change we didn't order or someone creating the order on our end didn't spec it out the same as before. They assure me that it is the same performance though on 6010, and that it will work well with both 7018 and 6010. Our guy in the factory from Canada overseeing production at the time it was made must have missed this feature change.

IF it doesn't work as promised, we will make it right.

 

[Haywire]

Does this mean that the one coming to me will not have that port either? I gotta say that a company not taking note of a major product change like that doesn't reflect well on that company. Seems like if your plant over there is exclusive, you shouldn't have to spec out every order. All it would take is "Make us 5000 more PA200s." If they made a change without Everlast's consent, you need to return them all for the correctly spec'd units or have a sale on those units that are without the additional bells and whistles.

JMO,
Ian

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Haywire,

Our plant is exclusive with our products in the US with our unique models, features, and designs. I have mentioned it manufactures for name brand companies in Italy, Germany, Holland, G.Britian,S.America etc. Even our Canadian counterpart specs their units differently than we do to meet their market expectations. The Australians do as well, and they are usually manufactured in the same run. We do encourage the plant to continually make improvements, usually through specifying exactly what is to be changed, but also if they feel something can be done better, we do give them that license, but with the condition they discuss it with us first.

The units will be made right if they aren't up to snuff. I can promise that. We will swap them out with the new ones in a few weeks that are on order and we will make sure it is the way we want. Or if a refund is order, we'll work that out too.

As I said, our plant replied in less than 5 minutes, from the time I sent the email on, that it should work well. IF not, again, it will be corrected with our customers. I am having one sent direct to me to investigate as well. I'LL know if it is the same. I have the original benchmark welder that's burned quite a few pounds of rods(the one in the video), first one made. I'll work them side by side and I can post the results or lack thereof, if doubts remain.

There were a few things we were planning on modifying, since we have a new 300 we are working on. But we wanted to make sure the 300 was up to par before we touched the 200.

 

[Haywire]

Ok, keep us updated. Since I'll be learning from scratch on this machine, I have no way of knowing if it is up to par or not. If you try one out on your end and you say it's fine then I guess I'll take your word on it.

If you don't mind, what were the changes you were planning?

Ian

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

A little more on spec's. We are charged with every little thing. Each piece and part we specify is charged to us, every foot of cable etc. So, yes, we need to specify each time, and the price is slightly different each time.

 

[FredH]

Although I do not own a Everlast welder , ( YET !!!:thumbsup: ) , I would have to say Mark's explanation and his Quick Response is something that is very rare in today's society . For the most part anymore , customer service only lasts till you get out the door , yet with Mark and his Everlast product lines , He not only follows up with Customers , but answers question's quickly and informatively from potential new customers . That an is also very informative about welding in general .

Kudo's and 5 out of 5 stars for you Mark , I sincerely hope that I can have the pleasure of doing business with you someday .

Take Care
Fred H.

 

[Meriasek]

Mark,

Indeed, thank you for your prompt reply. In no way misconstrue my critique as an ad hominem affront. I would very much appreciate it if you would take this PA 200 variant to task with some rod and post your opinion on it's performance against the the other spec. If you agree that it's up to par, then I'm happy.

Regarding Everlast's inventory and delivery delays. Mark was always very responsive via email in updating the expected shipment dates.

I have posted some additional pics regarding this machine's dimensions. It is roughly 12" deep, 7" wide across the face, and 11.75" tall. Again, I have not weighed it, but the UPS waybill notes it's shipping weight as 20 pounds. It definitely doesn't feel like 38 pounds as referenced on your product information page on your website.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

On going dialogue with the factory has been reassuring (and we have our man over there in the factory again). They did issue an apology, and promise to make them our way and ship lcl if need be.

From the email received this morning, here's what happened, a good bit more detail arrived this morning with a point by point answer to my questions. Forgive the disjointed detail, but I'll try to bring all the information together.

The units should weld 6010 without any problem. The factory's Argentinian customer had been the first company several years ago to request 6010 operation capability> 6010 is not used in China and some other places in the world for root pass, and 6013 is used in its place. Any one ever welding 6013 knows it doesn't require much of a welder to weld 6013. Many factories in China offer a small inverter stick welder, but very very few will weld 6010 correctly. Some will barely weld with a 6013. The Argentinians used a similar but larger design in their 400 amp units to our older style. Which produced a high voltage tap that provided a great arc as people see, but for the larger machines was too much power and the reactor builds a lot of heat creating a shorter duty cycle in the larger welders, though it was highly effective. The Argentinians had worked to get a single port unit with improved inductance and voltage management system. The 3 port system is a simple way to do it, but as just pointed out it has been known to be too hot for some applications and creates heat in the machine due to the separate reactor. Anyway, the reactors were redesigned and voltage management/inductance was improved to handle the 6010 through a single connection.

As I alluded to before, we were working on our new 300 design to be a conventional 2 port, and were surprised that the factory said no problem and I was a little surprised because I expected some development time and units sent for testing...It appears from this mornings email, the Argentinians were ahead of us and gotten it worked out and footed the "bill" so to speak. Of course, we did not plan on this coming in the 200 for some time, and wanted to use it in the smaller quantities of the 300 first. The factory took our request to mean we wanted it to be incorporated into all our units.

Hot start and the adaptive arc control is still built into the machine.

Of course, I will get hold of a unit quick as I can and verify this myself...But to sum up, yes, the units have been changed in this order. We can go back to the original if we need to. But IF this works, we may keep this. But if customers aren't happy, we can definitely turn things around and get some here as reasonably fast as possible and replace them with the original style.

Here's what I will ask our customers to do: Use the machine, see if it is capable for your needs. If not, we will put the manufacturing into gear on the old style and get them coming as soon as we can and will replace them soon as possible. Or if a customer insists, we will refund the product. After the email and given the detailed explanation, I have no reason to believe the factory was blowing smoke, and go on their advice that the unit will indeed work with the 6010 well. But, of course, the proof is in the pudding.

I am just glad I check the forums just before I go to bed.

 

[rjmack]

i have had my pa200 for a while now but, for a number of reasons (not least the weather) i haven't had much chance to use it.

i have to say it welds structural steel very well, no complaints.

pipe is another story, and as you can see, i'm still trying to dial it in.:laughing:

 

[Haywire]

Ok, so essentially we got the next generation of welder, but before it's been field tested.

Thanks for the update. I feel better about it, but would still be very interested in your opinion after using it.

Ian

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Yes...and no, or rather not exactly.

Yes, it would seem to be the next gen.

No, it appears the Argentinians have been using it for some time around a year or so now and have had good results, as well as the Italians have recently adopted it. Factory said it yielded some of the best results the Italians had seen even with their own plethora of advanced inverter designs including the one they makes the inverters for Lincoln. But yes, to the fact WE haven't tested it yet. Factory states its the strongest welder design they have produced from the Argentinian design from the second email I received this a.m. Which our other PA 200 units had almost no issues at all.

I also asked about Tigability ( my word). They say it should not be affected. They repeated a phrase several times to me: "Voltage rate has been improved on the PCB." The older 6010 port put out more voltage across the board to compensate for the loss of amps when the rod was pushed close. From what I am gathering that the machine "Kicks" in extra voltage when it is needed now. That combined with arc force control (kicking in extra amps) helps defeat sticking and weak arc when the rod is pushed into the puddle that is common with many inverter and transformer welders. I am not an electronics guru. I will get some more light shed in the coming days. Its a weekend, and not much more I can get accomplished until I get my unit.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

i have had my pa200 for a while now but, for a number of reasons (not least the weather) i haven't had much chance to use it.

i have to say it welds structural steel very well, no complaints.

pipe is another story, and as you can see, i'm still trying to dial it in.:laughing:

Nice looking weld except for that little "pin hole". lol

 

[Shield Arc]

The units should weld 6010 without any problem.

Mark in case you didn't realize this, other machines only have two ports, and they work just fine.:laughing:
I'm sure interested in your take on the machine when you get it.

i have to say it welds structural steel very well, no complaints.

pipe is another story, and as you can see, i'm still trying to dial it in.:laughing:

Wow I guess I lucked out, my PA200 does pretty good on pipe. I'm the weak link.

 

[rjmack]

Wow I guess I lucked out, my PA200 does pretty good on pipe. I'm the weak link.

good point, i am somewhat out of practice.

sometimes its best to get to know the machine before trying 1/8 root 1/8 cap roll on a 1/4 thick piece of pipe.

i am having trouble with the 6010 though... i just can't seem to get it to feel right (or go in right). for some reason, turning the heat down about 12-15 amps below normal seems to help. it goes in, but it the rings don't have that sharp, defined look, it almost looks like solar flux was used

 

[Shield Arc]

i am having trouble with the 6010 though... i just can't seem to get it to feel right (or go in right). for some reason, turning the heat down about 12-15 amps below normal seems to help. it goes in, but it the rings don't have that sharp, defined look, it almost looks like solar flux was used

If your not working to a WPS, try some Hobart 335A 6011. My PA 200 loves that stuff!
For 5-G vertical up I use 5/64" land and a 5/64" drill bit to set my gap. Around 65 to 70-amps for 1/8" rod. If the pipe closes up on me while tacking, I take a die grinder with a 1/16" wide disc to cut the gap back open.

 

[rjmack]

Originally posted by ShieldArc

If your not working to a WPS, try some Hobart 335A 6011. My PA 200 loves that stuff!
For 5-G vertical up I use 5/64" land and a 5/64" drill bit to set my gap. Around 65 to 70-amps for 1/8" rod. If the pipe closes up on me while tacking, I take a die grinder with a 1/16" wide disc to cut the gap back open.

i appreciate the info and it's always welcome, but i weld pipe for a living. the reason i bought the pa200 was to be able to practice at home rather than driving 550 miles and practicing at the the hall where i have to test before going to work. it costs about $140.00 per/day to rent a room and eat in edmonton.

i regularly have time off between jobs, so i figured i would practice at home with the pa200 and save the lodging money on the other end. i don't plan on welding in the dirt forever and a shop to practice in is in the relative near future.

at any rate, 6011 is a no-go. the petro-chemical industry in alberta is very particular about the welding that goes into it's facilities. we are issued a rod requisition slip, issued rods according to the paperwork we are given, and that's what we use, period. on many jobs, if you get caught with your rod oven unplugged, you are fired. if you get caught using a procedure that is not specified... toast... basically, there are a whole bunch of things that are simply out of the welder's control. lincoln 5p+ is used to weld the roots on every job, everywhere, period. (at least for carbon steel using the f3/f4 procedure)

on the other hand, i'm guessing that we both know that every problem a welder runs into is a gift, and the more time i spend fighting with this pa200, the better welder i will become

again, i'm not trying to slag the machine. i think, for the price, it is a great machine and i don't regret buying it. at the same time, it's no xmt304... not even in the same league. then again, it's 1/10 the price, so the pricing is not in the same league either.

whereas it may be possible to use a small generator and an xmt304 to supply the needs of a portable welding rig, i would say the same is not true of the pa200... at least for now.

edit: ps. hate the carry strap... put a lunch box handle on them.

 

[Shield Arc]

Holy crap! I' am truly embarrassed, you've forgot more about welding then I'll ever know!
Sorry about trying to give a professional pipe weldor advice on how to weld pipe, man do I have egg on my face!


You like those XMT-304s do you? There is an auction coming up the first of June that has two of them, but the literature doesn't say if they're CC/CV or not. I went to an auction a couple weeks ago looking to buy a XMT-350 CC/CV with a 22A feeder. 5-year old machine went for $1,100.00 less than I can buy new!