Powerarc 140 review

[atatro]

Well I broke down and purchased my first everlast welder. I bought the power arc 140. It arrived with no damage and a day earlier than expected. This is a very nice little unit that welds very great for its size. So far I'm happy with my purchase. I have not tried out the Tig portion yet. I will keep you posted once I do.

[performance]

Got any updates?

[atatro]

I tig welded a little bit tonight with it. Works real good. So far I'm very pleased. Any chance of ever coming out with a unit like this with a foot pedal?

[Titan winch]

I doubt this model will ever have the foot pedal control, the fact that it is primarily a stick welder would tend to negate this option.

There is a new model in the Works that I will actually be asking one of our Regular Forum members to try out and to give his opinion on. This is a 160 amp Stick welder somewhat similar to the 140 in that it comes in the plastic case etc but it offers both HF and Lift Tig .
I has very respectable performance on 110v but of course performs at it's best on 220v.

All testing numbers i did on this ( and other units ) were at 110v and not 120v so as to have the minimum performance numbers.
I have a few of these units that are presently on there way to me and i will be looking for them in mid January .
Hopefully we can start getting user input from both Everlast Personnel and Forum user's very shortly after that.

As a side note the present models coming do not have foot pedal options but this will be changed. This was a oversight on the part of the Factory and it was my decision to leave them as is because it is just a small number and there will be cosmetic changes done to it before full production starts.

[everlastsupport]

WOW, that will be a hot seller.

I have came close to buying the 140ST many times for a portable TIG with stick. The 160amps over the 140amp is a nice plus. Can't wait to see them in stock.

Price, power, dual voltage and dual process. Very nice. Add a generator and argon, and you are mobile.

[Tritium]

What will the 160 weigh approximately?

Thurmond

[Titan winch]

The 160 will weigh 8.5kg or 18 lbs approx.
Cheers

[atatro]

I'm very interested in seeing one of these 160's with the HF start. How much are we talking to get one of these?

[plumber]

Hi- I've purchased a PA140 and am having a hard time welding with 1/8 6011 rod. I've tried all heats from 60-140A. The arc seems very unstable. I find that the only way to kep an arc going is to really push the rod into the puddle. Even at high heat the welds mound up and look cold. This makes for unsightly welds with out much penetration. Is this welder capable of running 6011 5p+ or is it me. I haven't tried 7018 on this machine yet. I've been welding for years with a Lincoln Idealarc 225 and have never had a problem. Thank you, Mike

[performance]

Are you on 110V?
Give me a call at my number below. Don't have issues running rods except 6010 5P. 6011 is fine. But it also depends upon the brand. Fleetweld runs great. ON and inverter, the way you describe is how you run a 6011. It IS different than a transformer machine.

[plumber]

Hi Mark, Yes, I am on 110V. Would 220 run better? What amperage do you like on Fleetweld 6011, 1/8. Mike

[performance]

You'll want to bump up to 220. It will run 3/32 6011 fine on 110V..But it can be more challenging for 1/8" 6011 on 110V. Are you using it with the electrode in the positive? This will make a big difference.
Are you weaving or stepping the weld? What amp circuit do you have? Output on a 15 amp circuit is only about 70-80 true amps.

[atatro]

I have run a 7014 1/8" and have no problems but that was running it on 220. On 110 I have used a 3/32 7018 that worked good as well. This is a great little machine but I would say that running 1/8" on 110 is probably pushing its limits. I do have one question for Mark. When it is running on 110 what kind of amps will it put out. For example: the display shows 140 but I know that it is not really 140. Is this 100? I know that it is a max of 100 amps on 110 but where is this at? Is there someway to tell how many amps you really getting on 110 without putting an amp gauge on it?

Thanks,
Andy

[performance]

As far as the accuracy, I can't say for sure. They aren't that far off...at least from my experience comparing them to expected performance. I have run 1/8" 7018 with 110V. According to Duncan observing the factory testing, Flat out the current models can pull as much as 29 amps on 110V for max performance. I have even run 5/32 7014 on 110V. Yes. I have. But you must have a 30 amp breaker or it will trip. So the one I tested as you can see in the video I put up handles 1/8" 7018 on 110V. No alteration, just an off the shelf unit. But you have to watch arc length or it will pop a 20 amp breaker eventually.

I do know we have worked on the latest ones for a truer read and tried to limit the draw on 110V, which will throttle the max output down, but protect circuits in the welder and on the input side much better.

[Titan winch]

As far as the accuracy, I can't say for sure. They aren't that far off...at least from my experience comparing them to expected performance. I have run 1/8" 7018 with 110V. According to Duncan observing the factory testing, Flat out the current models can pull as much as 29 amps on 110V for max performance. I have even run 5/32 7014 on 110V. Yes. I have. But you must have a 30 amp breaker or it will trip. So the one I tested as you can see in the video I put up handles 1/8" 7018 on 110V. No alteration, just an off the shelf unit. But you have to watch arc length or it will pop a 20 amp breaker eventually.

I do know we have worked on the latest ones for a truer read and tried to limit the draw on 110V, which will throttle the max output down, but protect circuits in the welder and on the input side much better.

The following information is based on the Model that i was testing and had some bits and pieces changed for the December Build. These Welders will be available in Canada around the 19th and i believe the middle of February for the US.
The readout in 110v will show max 100amps and actual output is a little less at 95- 97amps. When using 220 v 240v it is 140 readout and actual is the same.
It is worth noting at this time that i set the Test Readout cabinet at 110v as this is the minimum for N.America. running 120v will of course raise the amp output and will bring it close to the 100amps( if i recall it was around 98.7 amps)
The new 140 st ( in fact all Dual voltage) now has more protection and a Daughter board added to control the readout and bring it into the correct readings on 110v and there is one other improvement that will not be discussed here on a open forum , but needless to say it is something worthwhile doing .
This does not take anything away from the Previous models although here in Canada i have not yet received any and in fact my last visit was the first time i have been able to work on these units.
The Welders where actually boxed and ready for shipping when i arrived and after evaluating them we decided to unpack them all and add the above improvements to them before shipping. One other point with the latest units is the leads are 10'-0" as i did not really like the idea of having such short leads.

The other point mentioned in this Discussion was the 160 unit
Actually this is one that i really like and i really enjoyed using this . On 110v with tig you have 100amps @ at 23.8amp input having the HF makes things so much nicer and you still have the option of lift tig if you prefer. 110v gives you a range of 5 amps to 100amps DC 220v gives you 5 amps to 160amps and 60% Duty cycle on both 110v and 220v
Needless to say the 220v is the better option to run it especially in stick mode but you still get the 3/32 rod capability on 110v ,Although some better welders than myself ( and this means most people ) will probably manage to do 1/8".
I believe Mark is designing a new Face for this model and will be sending it off to the Factory sometime over the next day or so.
In the meantime i have a few coming in the next couple of weeks .
The owner of a popular website has expressed a lot of interest in this particular model and he has asked if it is possible for us to let him borrow one so he can see just what it is all about.
The pricing on this model has not been determined ( we are adding read out and 7 pin control so we have still to get a fixed price ) buti think it will likely be in the low $ 500 range
I will be offering a few 220v models at significantly lower pricing just ot get them in the hands of people for feedback.
Cheers

[dblake22]

The following information is based on the [PA140ST] that i was testing. . . . The readout in 110v will show max 100amps and actual output is a little less at 95-97amps.

This indicates that at max setting on 110 VAC, the PA140 is putting out ~70% of the indicated amps. Does this ramp down linearly? If an indicated 140 gives me 97 amp output, do I dial the indicated output to 100 to get an actual output of 70?

[performance]

No, according to my math it isputting out 95-97% in 110V. The older units that are out now, will put out higher, but it's hard on most peoples electrical circuits to reach it without tripping the breaker.

[dblake22]

No, according to my math it isputting out 95-97% in 110V. The older units that are out now, will put out higher, but it's hard on most peoples electrical circuits to reach it without tripping the breaker.

As I understand it, this new circuit will limit the output to ~100 amps when operating on 110 VAC. With a unit that doesn't have this built-in limit, it behooves the operator not to exceed 100 amps indicated.

[Titan winch]

As I understand it, this new circuit will limit the output to ~100 amps when operating on 110 VAC. With a unit that doesn't have this built-in limit, it behooves the operator not to exceed 100 amps indicated.

It is not quite like that with the old models. While i can not or actually more to the point do not want to discuss the upgrades ( this applies to all dual voltage) as i do not want to give our Competitors the information that we have worked so hard to find for improving this unit by simply reading this thread and having the same upgrade done to there product.
BUT
here is the condensed version . The chances are very strong that there will be no issues with any previous models as the Breaker will trip before causing damage to the unit ( most people max 120v = 30 amp breaker max )
the potential for problems arises when you have less than ideal power sources. For example here in Canada Hydro is supposed to deliver minimum 110v but it has been known if you are at the end of the grid and heavy use etc if your 110v becomes 104v ( this is a example ) then this can cause issues when running on the 30 amp and dialing max at 110v . we have upgraded certain components to 25% more capacity ( trying to be really vague here and still give a somewhat coherent answer ) I would not be too concerned about running it at max on 110v with a 30 amp max breaker although this is a non issue on 220v running on 20 amps drops your max output but also gives more protection to some components .
Can not really say anymore at this time

[weldtex]

Can one safely power the 140 st off a quality generator equiped with AVR (automatic voltage regulator)?