Problems with pp256

[single t gt]

My regulator also leaked. I had to swap to different pipe thread and use a liquid thread sealer to remedy that.
I used the plasma a ton, and it worked great.
I used the tig 2x, then had the HF problems. I thought it was my settings. Turned it off. Went inside to write down settings for the machine from welding tips and tricks. Came outside to use them but couldn't. The machine had froze up. It had no amp control and the guage was locked at a number higher the machine is rated at.
Mike called me after I called the tech line, diagnosed it, and said it would have to be swapped out. Come to find out now its being fixed and way behind schedule.
You guys need a location on the East Coast! This shipping the machine for warranty work is for the birds, especially after only using the machine a couple of times.

Lets see what customer service does to make it right.

[performance]

single t,
We will get it fixed. I will find out what the repair schedule is looking like as soon as I can. Although I don't know exactly when you bought it, but as a general aside here....The incidence you describe is why we give a 30 day period covering shipping so the units can be used, and thoroughly given a good workout of ALL processes. We encourage our customers, and it is included in the warranty statement that the units should be thoroughly checked out and used during this time....This is a guideline given to the customer and we give it a for a good reason. Most failures will happen withing the first 30. If you did not take advantage of this time, then it is beyond our control. I don't have any idea why customers buy a unit and delay for some time before using it. Not trying to defend a failure here, but just trying to get it across that we do give plenty of "encouragement" to fully "test" the machines during that 30 day period.

We have shifted our warranty (it has always been included as an option on our part) to a repair primary, replacement secondary warranty. It is working overall much better than before for most customers. During the transition, we have hit a slight backlog due to several machines waiting on service being shipped to the center in MN. We've had a few issues with a chip in the unit, limited to a batch of boards from your production date it appears by your registration date. Not all are giving trouble, but enough to be able to reliably diagnose the problem 99% of the time. It'll usually happen soon after it is used if it is going to. But we have made some modifications...It appears the chips could have been overheated during assembly. Its a simple fix, but it can be annoying. Shipping is to MN, more centrally located in the US from W to E than CA. Not the East coast, but better than it was.

[single t gt]

wow, I just wrote a lengthy reply and was loged out before I could post it.. boy oh boy!! LOL Dont read this as pissed off, im just not writing it all again

That manual was horribly printed in ocr and the english was chopped up. I dont recall reading to "test" the machine, isnt that your job anyway? When did the warranty switch?
I did use all the features, well my grandfather in law did. A 40+yr welding vet and die hard miller fan.. He loved it, hated the analog dials, gave teh unit a 9.5/10 score and said he'd buy one over a miller or lincoln any day.

The money I paid for shipping to CA woud have covered to and from MN. That sucks. I was told I would pay 1/2 the cost from MN. I have mixed feelings on that.

again, dont take that as pissed.. i am pissed my fingers hurt LOL Just shot out the points of the long reply that got wiped, where you could read my demeanor so to say

[performance]

Single T,
The manuals intended for English speaking customers are online. We have had them online for several years now and we have stickies about it. Its posted in several threads. Go to the home page and click the RED button at top of the page...any page.

The option to repair has always been in the warranty, since I have been here. As for the testing. The welders are tested in the factory. We want the customers to use the units thoroughly when they get them because shipping can do a lot of things to them that may not be apparent, but will within a brief period of time after use. Its also likely that any electronic part will fail on ANY company's welders within a brief period of time after use if it is going to fail. Again, its been in the statement since I began. Just recently I had a customer that had an issue. He had bought the unit two years ago and it sat in a box, or so he said... and just started using it. He wanted to send it back for a refund (nothing wrong with the unit btw). We have to draw the line, and we give a generous 30 day policy, among the best in the industry.

[single t gt]

Still no welder!! Its been there since 2/21.

[performance]

If you'll pm me your information, I'll check on it.

[dgarnier]

wow an I thought I was waiting long for a new welder - this guy is still wanting for over a month for warranty work... Seeing this make it really tough for me not to call in a cancel my order and just keep the miller 180 I had to buy to since the ship date has slipped by more then 1 month.

[performance]

dgarnier,
I believe you have mentioned this before. Alex has said to give him a call if that is what you want to do.

[dgarnier]

I did and his offer of a loaner only came after I had told him I already went out and picked up a deversion180. I really want to sell the dervision once the pt250 shows up...but waiting for more then a month for warranty work has me starting to think I might be better off upgrading to the dynsty200.

Is there any update on the OP's welder?

[haveissues]

Yeah I know what you mean. Being told 3 weeks at the beginning of March when I paid my money and having that turn into a more likely 7 weeks or more and then seeing people wait well over a month for warranty work with still no welder is making me start to regret my decision. I feel at this point a 3 week estimate was not an honest estimate.

[performance]

I have asked for him to pm me his info...no such thing has happened yet. At times like this, when we are trying to get the job done, and willing to see what can be done, it leads one to wonder about the complaint. We cannot look him up by his name, singletgt. I am willing, and able to help find out the situation and verify problems, but I have no way to trace the complaint as of now.

I can tell you this: Any major name company does not guarantee a delivery time, and on average, I see other name brand companies customers waiting for a month or more for repair...by the time the unit is shipped, received, evaluated, parts ordered, parts shipped, unit is put in line for repair, unit is repaired, unit is tested, unit is boxed and shipped, and unit is received again. If you wanted a diversion, then we certainly could have satisfied you with a much more capable product in a 185 micro...until you got your 256, and you could have paid a lot less or we could have worked something out, if that was the alternative purchase you were considering.

have issues, I am not sure what your name represents...But it does sound like you have issues with us. I can tell you, we have ALL told people our best guess here on this forum. We never make any promises for exact delivery, and things beyond our control happen, frequently. Read the forum, from past shipments, and you can see each time something is delayed, we do our best to get it out quickly as possible when it does come in. Anyone who has dealt with international manufacturing and shipping, can vouch for the issues at play...it isn't a science and it certainly isn't something we can bet the farm on as far as delivery schedules...We have addressed this issue every time something ships. It is well known that there are delays, more often than not, but we cannot ever tell when a delay is going to happen. On the times all goes smoothly, then everyone is happy, but when it does not, there isn't much we can do. IF you think we have mislead you, call in and cancel your order. I nor anyone else at Everlast wants you to be dissatisfied or distrustful of us, because that makes for a bad relationship from the start....We have always delivered the product, and everyone that has an issue with it we have worked with as best as possible.

[haveissues]

Mark,
Actually haveissues is not a dig at your company. My neighbors son saw me outside early on a rather cold day flying a RC helicopter and told me I have issues. I use it on other forums too.

[performance]

I didn't know. We do get guys who register from "another" company that do have a few of their own and like to stir the pot. lol.

[dgarnier]

I have asked for him to pm me his info...no such thing has happened yet. At times like this, when we are trying to get the job done, and willing to see what can be done, it leads one to wonder about the complaint. We cannot look him up by his name, singletgt. I am willing, and able to help find out the situation and verify problems, but I have no way to trace the complaint as of now.

How many pp256 machines do you have at the repair shop that have been there more then a month...

I guess I should have asked this before but that is the avrage turn around time if the machine does need to go in for repair? and what is the max turn around time?

[performance]

I don't have any specifics, and honestly, they all haven't been at the shop itself for a month. All of the units sent in to San Fran. had to be transferred to the new repair center in MN, when we finished negotiating the deal with them the first week or so of March. I believe there were 30 units sent all total. Now that represents a significant number of the older mosfet units, and supercuts as well. The balance were from the Power series, all across the range. The units are coming out as fast as possible, but there were several that were sent, at one time creating a backlog quickly along with the regular units. We also were waiting on an additional air shipment of parts that had to be made at the factory then shipped as the repair center went into full swing with service. When they get there, they have to thoroughly gone through, and hooked to testing and monitoring equipment to check for repeat issues or related problems. It takes time, especially when our product is new to them. And they do not repair only our machines...

On the bright side, most customers I have seen have been extremely satisfied with their product after they have been repaired.
As a side note, the issue the other day the customer reported on about the 225lx with nothing wrong called me today with the same problem again. Turns out to be operator error. After I talked with him today, a he said that he had not downloaded the manual, and he was relying upon bad advice given to him by a lady that had operated a transformer machine all her life (still some things weren't transformer related issues). But the unit had to be thoroughly checked out, if not more so because there wasn't a problem detected. Typical repair time each unit is allotted an hour and half to two hours for repair...And the repair center is going beyond that I am sure to make certain there are not additional problems, and making upgrades if there are deficiencies.

[ASE_MasterTech]

single t,
We will get it fixed. I will find out what the repair schedule is looking like as soon as I can. Although I don't know exactly when you bought it, but as a general aside here....The incidence you describe is why we give a 30 day period covering shipping so the units can be used, and thoroughly given a good workout of ALL processes. We encourage our customers, and it is included in the warranty statement that the units should be thoroughly checked out and used during this time....This is a guideline given to the customer and we give it a for a good reason. Most failures will happen withing the first 30. If you did not take advantage of this time, then it is beyond our control. I don't have any idea why customers buy a unit and delay for some time before using it. Not trying to defend a failure here, but just trying to get it across that we do give plenty of "encouragement" to fully "test" the machines during that 30 day period.

We have shifted our warranty (it has always been included as an option on our part) to a repair primary, replacement secondary warranty. It is working overall much better than before for most customers. During the transition, we have hit a slight backlog due to several machines waiting on service being shipped to the center in MN. We've had a few issues with a chip in the unit, limited to a batch of boards from your production date it appears by your registration date. Not all are giving trouble, but enough to be able to reliably diagnose the problem 99% of the time. It'll usually happen soon after it is used if it is going to. But we have made some modifications...It appears the chips could have been overheated during assembly. Its a simple fix, but it can be annoying. Shipping is to MN, more centrally located in the US from W to E than CA. Not the East coast, but better than it was.

A 30 day defect/return warranty policy is a joke considering Everlast ships the product 'whenever', with little if any notice.
Are folks supposed to be expected to be set-up ready to rock & roll, to completely test your product? Shouldn't YOU be testing the product BEFORE you send it to us???
& enough with the "blame everything on UPS" nonsense, I get things from UPS at least once a week (at the job they deliver twice a day) & in 15yrs you can count 'UPS damaged' items on one hand.

[performance]

Master Tech,
I am not sure what's up with your comment. If a customer doesn't like or agree with a warranty policy, they should not buy the product. I believe ours is fair and I know its better than many of the major guys out there. Our's is there and in plain print for all to read. If we have a delay in shipment then we take that into consideration for the return policy. WE do give shipping and tracking numbers for all to follow once they land. Also, there IS the option of ordering when they come in...which I typically suggest. No one forces anyone to buy ahead, unless they want to take advantage of a little better price. But then there are less discounts when the units come in because the demand is high. I will remind you that we do offer an exceptional price for a well performing unit. Unless people want a huge increase in price, that is what we offer. We can do more, add more, and hand deliver them in person on a gold plated welding cart...but the cost goes up.

Yes, folks are supposed to be ready to rock and roll when they get their welder...If they aren't then they should wait to buy until they are. WHO buys a car and puts it in a shed? Or who special orders one waits for it to be built and then lets it sit in a warehouse for 6 or 8 months before they even crank it up for a test drive. Who comes back to the company after the warranty is expired, and says I never used it and I want my money back? Or who goes out to buy a car if they don't have a license or insurance or for that matter, sufficient money to put gas in the tank? Or what person starts buying clothes and supplies for a baby the day it is born even though the baby may come late? That may seem extreme, but the analogy is accurate. Quite simply, a person buying a welder, should be prepared to use it when they get it, or they should wait until they are. We are up front about it and we don't apologize. Most problems IF they occur do occur within 30 days of operation. We cover the shipping for that, covering the greatest majority of issues. A person can delay in using the unit. Its their choice, but they must be aware that they must pay the shipping...

The products are tested before they are sent from the Factory. In fact Duncan just returned from testing them.


I get UPS frequently as well. I can count on one hand when something wasn't damaged in someway. My wife was teaching a summer course for kids for a learning company up North. They sent her the teaching materials, which included legos. Not only was the box ripped open, there were legos that had fallen out of a taped up, and sealed plastic tupper type containers that were crushed to the point they broke open. I have had hand tools come to me with damage. There's plenty of people here in daily business that can vouch for the football practice that happens with UPS on their own products that they ship. I even had a man whose wife WORKS for UPS tell me he'd rather have it shipped fedex because he has seen how the packages got handled. I have watched as units I have dropped off were instantly dropped 6 feet straight down, never touching a chute. I have seen them come in upside down after falling off the top shelf in the truck.

[Jason]

I would say that anyone serious about getting something would test it right away. When I get a package I open it right then and there to inspect for damages and test everything as soon as possible. I will admit I am not totally ready for my welder but I have everything except argon which is easy to get. I purchased filler rods and everything within a week after ordering the welder knowing it would be at least 1 month for it to arrive. All I would expect if even this is for everlast to test the welder once before shipping it but like I said I may not even expect that much. There are a lot of places that only offer a 30 day return and I think that is perfectly fine.

UPS is a joke and if I can help it I will never ship through them again. I have had packages I sent come up missing more than once. I have received more packages damaged than good. I have had UPS not replace items damaged in shipping and have had to fight them to get lost items covered which so far my success rate with them is 1. I sent a high flow catalytic converter to canada and UPS said it came up missing. Then they denied the claim.. First off I don't see how something that size just becomes missing and then how can they say its not their fault.. I fought that claim until they covered it and told them I would not give up on it. Just about every box I get from UPS is smashed.. I have never had a problem with fedex or USPS. I guess its nice to see that someone has good luck with UPS and that maybe they are not just out to screw people to make money. A few years back a roommate of mine loaded and unloaded trucks for UPS. He told me that they would just throw boxes around and often times they hit the ground..

[everlastsupport]

I recall one shipping guy hitting a box that was on a welder coming to me. It tumbled across the bottom of the truck. Did it right in front of me, then he turned to me and said sign here.. No joke.

I currently use an 225LX that came in with the end of the box and the foam missing, it was in an oversized box (way bigger than our box) with UPS on it. Most of the TIG consumables were missing. I work for Everlast and receive stuff damaged sometimes. I do not like it, but nothing I can do about it other than wait on a part if needed.

The good news, the LX that was missing 10% of the box and the foam is about a year old now and still ticking, other than scratches on the front bezel which I have not replaced, as the welder welds fine, scratches I can live with.

[Rivets]

UPS is a joke and if I can help it I will never ship through them again. I have had packages I sent come up missing more than once. I have received more packages damaged than good. I have had UPS not replace items damaged in shipping and have had to fight them to get lost items covered which so far my success rate with them is 1. I sent a high flow catalytic converter to canada and UPS said it came up missing. Then they denied the claim.. First off I don't see how something that size just becomes missing and then how can they say its not their fault.. I fought that claim until they covered it and told them I would not give up on it. Just about every box I get from UPS is smashed.. I have never had a problem with fedex or USPS. I guess its nice to see that someone has good luck with UPS and that maybe they are not just out to screw people to make money. A few years back a roommate of mine loaded and unloaded trucks for UPS. He told me that they would just throw boxes around and often times they hit the ground..

Well Mark, your and Mike's own posts are the best argument for going with someone other than UPS. I know that you have said before that it was out of your hands, but WTF is up with management ???

It was mentioned months ago that alternatives were being looked into. Where is that at now ?

So, another shipper would charge more. How much would it add to the customer's cost ?

My unit was damaged. Fortunately, it appears to have been only cosmetics (front bezel).

This ongoing shipping damage issue is NOT conducive to customer "feel good".

Just saying. Rant over.

rivets