Welding Tips and Tricks

Demented wrote:

MinnesotaDave wrote: Inverters in general are very nice, weld excellent, consume less power, and will die without being able to be fixed (in many/most cases).
That last fact has to be balanced in the equation in my humble opinion.

They can always be fixed. Just comes down to finding the component(s) that went pop and replacing them. Usually is always just a cheap capacitor, resistor, or fuse that goes bad. Unless it's a proprietary chip, as long as you've got a magnifying glass, a soldering iron, and flashlight, it'll likely be a $10 or less repair.

I can only speak from my experiences, repairs are a no-go zone.
$2200 machines that cost $1100 to repair with zero warranty are not for me
When I was trying to find a repair place to fix my miller boards, I found out other items have to be replaced as well to avoid a cascade type failure of the repaired boards. And this whole deal did not include warranty.

My $500 ESAB or Thermal Arc 161 machines cost too little money for any repair tech to spend time on them - a much better way to go for me.

Other people may have had better luck of course.

MinnesotaDave wrote: I can only speak from my experiences, repairs are a no-go zone.
$2200 machines that cost $1100 to repair with zero warranty are not for me

If the failure rate were 10% I would agree, however I expect the failure rate of the HTP Invertig to be significantly less than 1%.

When I sold my Lincoln 140HD I did write off a good chunk of the purchase cost for a nearly new, little used machine. Was it a decent welder? Sure, but I would have been better off going directly to the 210MP which is the last MIG I need. What I try to avoid is getting a mediocre, or feature-limited, machine then sell it at a big loss to upgrade. Same with all sorts of Husky and Craftsman pliers, screwdrivers, sockets, etc when I got Knipex and Wera: they all went to Goodwill. I am not a hoarder of tools and prefer the simplicity of few, quality tools.

And for me going to a 600 pound old transformer is about as appealing as using a Chevy Bel Air as a daily driver.

MinnesotaDave wrote:

Demented wrote:

MinnesotaDave wrote: Inverters in general are very nice, weld excellent, consume less power, and will die without being able to be fixed (in many/most cases).
That last fact has to be balanced in the equation in my humble opinion.

They can always be fixed. Just comes down to finding the component(s) that went pop and replacing them. Usually is always just a cheap capacitor, resistor, or fuse that goes bad. Unless it's a proprietary chip, as long as you've got a magnifying glass, a soldering iron, and flashlight, it'll likely be a $10 or less repair.

I can only speak from my experiences, repairs are a no-go zone.
$2200 machines that cost $1100 to repair with zero warranty are not for me
When I was trying to find a repair place to fix my miller boards, I found out other items have to be replaced as well to avoid a cascade type failure of the repaired boards. And this whole deal did not include warranty.

My $500 ESAB or Thermal Arc 161 machines cost too little money for any repair tech to spend time on them - a much better way to go for me.

Other people may have had better luck of course.

Self repair. Repair shops will always cost an arm and a leg. If the machine can suffer a little downtime, repairing boards is easier than people usually think, even if it's all SMD components.

It really comes down to time. TIG is generally a much slower process and requires a lot more practice IMHO.

MinnesotaDave wrote:

Demented wrote:

MinnesotaDave wrote: Inverters in general are very nice, weld excellent, consume less power, and will die without being able to be fixed (in many/most cases).
That last fact has to be balanced in the equation in my humble opinion.

They can always be fixed. Just comes down to finding the component(s) that went pop and replacing them. Usually is always just a cheap capacitor, resistor, or fuse that goes bad. Unless it's a proprietary chip, as long as you've got a magnifying glass, a soldering iron, and flashlight, it'll likely be a $10 or less repair.

I can only speak from my experiences, repairs are a no-go zone.
$2200 machines that cost $1100 to repair with zero warranty are not for me
When I was trying to find a repair place to fix my miller boards, I found out other items have to be replaced as well to avoid a cascade type failure of the repaired boards. And this whole deal did not include warranty.

My $500 ESAB or Thermal Arc 161 machines cost too little money for any repair tech to spend time on them - a much better way to go for me.
Other people may have had better luck of course.

And then there is also the possibility that a board failed because the original design and components were faulty. Been down that road with a Syncrowave 350, The first replacement board lasted a day, then they finally supplied the Mk2 fix...........

Just a quick follow-up: I pulled a trigger on a single voltage (220V) water cooled HTP Invertig 221 and extended torch. Will see how it changes my practice.


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Another followup: I decided to sell my Lincoln MP210 and stick to the TIG welder. It’s on CL now.


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I keep my mp210 just to use for mig. And those seldom occasions when I need to tig or stick off of 110v.

koenbro wrote:Another followup: I decided to sell my Lincoln MP210 and stick to the TIG welder. It’s on CL now.


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Unless you really need the money, or not enough space, don't sell it. Almost guaranteed the day after you sell it, you find you need it.

ljdm1956 wrote: Unless you really need the money, or not enough space, don't sell it. Almost guaranteed the day after you sell it, you find you need it.

Haha I fear you will be proven right!

koenbro wrote:

ljdm1956 wrote: Unless you really need the money, or not enough space, don't sell it. Almost guaranteed the day after you sell it, you find you need it.

Haha I fear you will be proven right!

Don't worry, that will present the perfect opportunity to get a ProPulse 200 that will blow that 210MP out of the water. Grow your HTP family!

Ok, Oscar, I’ll bite. Why A PP200 and a 300? In fact, why 2 PP200s?

Just because I can.

That’s a down payment for a house in welders [emoji106]

I also like HTP as much as you do, just can’t afford to express it [emoji3166]


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