New Power TIG 250EX

[Gcsuthe]

Got my new 250EX and PowerCool W300 just the other day. I'm a newB to TIG welding though I've been MIG welding for a while. I picked the Everlast to help me with two restoration projects I have going. I'm working on two International Scouts, a '61 and a '80. I'm hoping the 250 will help me with some sheet metal work as well as some other odds and ends. So far so good. I've gotten a lot of information off the Welding Tips and Tricks web site and have put down some adequate basic welds. Lots of room to get better. I only have two small issues with the package as delivered. One, the cart has no instructions. Now I got it together from the crude pictures but it took longer then necessary and a little basic step-by-step would have made it faster. The real issue I saw was the three pieces (welder, Cooler and cart) were bought as a package yet the water line from the torch to the cooler wont reach on the cart. I called and asked about it and the tech said they know this but it fits if you put the welder directly on top of the cooler (no cart). So even though they knew my intent was to put it on the cart, they shipped it with the hoses too short anyway. How hard is it to add a couple of feet of hose to the torch hose? I had to run around to find hose and clamps to get the setup to work the way it should. Its just a little thing but an unnecessary frustration. All in all a great product especially for the price but if you want to be a "go to" name in the products business you need to sweat the little things. If this is the only issue I face I'll be real happy but it is one that could have been easily corrected before it shipped. I ran my own business for 13 years and this was the kind of stuff that would drive me crazy. Don't want to focus on this though, I would really recommend the 250EX to anyone based on very early use.

[m j mauer]

Congrats on your new machine.
And welcome to the forum Gcsuthe.

[performance]

We do try sweat the little things, but we have to get the hose lengths in standard sizes and they come preboxed in the package. There's no extra lengths for different placement etc on the stock torch, which we consider as a "freebie" as a courtesy to our customers to get you started. Most all other companies sell the unit without the torch or accessories on this size unit. A Miller Dynasty or Lincoln Invertec would have come without the torch, and then you'd have to wade through the various options to pick a torch that would work for you.

We're actually putting a more expensive torch in the package this year than we were last year. Last years version had less flexible hoses, and shorter ones too.

Some people put the coolers beside the units, where they reach some don't. The torch factory sets the length for the price. Each thing we do or change has an added cost to it. Sometimes it is a price point issue, pure and simple, and certain changes put us over where the price needs to be. A couple of feet translates into several dollars (to us) on hose material like this. The Chinese, do everything for the cost, right down to the penny.

It's not the fact that we don't want to improve, but we do offer CK with longer hoses for a premium price, which we will sell in addition to the stock package. We have given the customer a choice in this regard.

I hope this makes a little more sense. Call us if you'd like a premium CK torch.

[Rambozo]

How about selling a male to female quick release extension hose for those that want to use the cart. Those that want to pay for plug and play could do so, while others will come up with their own solutions.

[performance]

The issue will be resolved in the future so it will work direct. New 210ext is scheduled to be released. More about it later.

[Gcsuthe]

We do try sweat the little things, but we have to get the hose lengths in standard sizes and they come preboxed in the package. There's no extra lengths for different placement etc on the stock torch, which we consider as a "freebie" as a courtesy to our customers to get you started. Most all other companies sell the unit without the torch or accessories on this size unit. A Miller Dynasty or Lincoln Invertec would have come without the torch, and then you'd have to wade through the various options to pick a torch that would work for you.

We're actually putting a more expensive torch in the package this year than we were last year. Last years version had less flexible hoses, and shorter ones too.

Some people put the coolers beside the units, where they reach some don't. The torch factory sets the length for the price. Each thing we do or change has an added cost to it. Sometimes it is a price point issue, pure and simple, and certain changes put us over where the price needs to be. A couple of feet translates into several dollars (to us) on hose material like this. The Chinese, do everything for the cost, right down to the penny.

It's not the fact that we don't want to improve, but we do offer CK with longer hoses for a premium price, which we will sell in addition to the stock package. We have given the customer a choice in this regard.

I hope this makes a little more sense. Call us if you'd like a premium CK torch.

I guess to me shipping a package that you know wont work the way the customer expects it to with no explanation or assistance to resolve it is not sweating the little things. And just to be clear I upgraded the torch to a WP20 and bought a WP9 to go with it. Maybe the WP20 wasn't premium enough. Anyway I don't want to give the impression that I am down on the product. That's not the case. But as a rule of thumb I think customers hate surprises like this. Its like getting a cool toy on Christmas but no batteries so all you can do is look at it. Its fixed now and working fine.

[Rambozo]

I guess to me shipping a package that you know wont work the way the customer expects it to with no explanation or assistance to resolve it is not sweating the little things. And just to be clear I upgraded the torch to a WP20 and bought a WP9 to go with it. Maybe the WP20 wasn't premium enough. Anyway I don't want to give the impression that I am down on the product. That's not the case. But as a rule of thumb I think customers hate surprises like this. Its like getting a cool toy on Christmas but no batteries so all you can do is look at it. Its fixed now and working fine.

This is one of those situations where there is no way to win. Traditionally TIG machines have not come with any water or argon lines, no regulator, and no torch. There is just way too much variation and personal preference to suit everything. As it is, the machine is far from working out-of-the-box. You still need to get tungsten, argon cylinder and argon, filler rod, etc. Professionals expect that and prefer it, whereas the hobbyist market wants a turn key solution. No matter which way you go, you are going to piss off someone. Adding an optional installation kit is probably the only way to keep both parties happy.

[Gcsuthe]

This is one of those situations where there is no way to win. Traditionally TIG machines have not come with any water or argon lines, no regulator, and no torch. There is just way too much variation and personal preference to suit everything. As it is, the machine is far from working out-of-the-box. You still need to get tungsten, argon cylinder and argon, filler rod, etc. Professionals expect that and prefer it, whereas the hobbyist market wants a turn key solution. No matter which way you go, you are going to piss off someone. Adding an optional installation kit is probably the only way to keep both parties happy.

I get your point except I bought the extra stuff. I bought a water cooler and a cart and upgraded the torch. I knew I had to get the tungsten and argon ect but, there really was no mystery to the fact that I was going to put the welder on the cart with the cooler and was going to attach the torch. This must be a pretty standard configuration. I wasn't doing anything that wasn't obvious. It be different if I bought the cart somewhere else. This is their setup. One would obviously expect it to work together. Anyway this has become a bigger deal then I intended. I was hoping to provide some constructive criticism and hoped it would be taken that way. I'm done talking about it. As I said it is fixed and I am welding. The 250ex is a much better TIG welder than I am. Happy welding folks.



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