Introduction and Questions

[presure2]

Hey All,
My Name is Manny, joined the forum here after a few days of lurking and browsing..Great little community you guys seem to have here!
Anyway, Im am pretty much a total noob when it comes to Tig welding, and am interested in the Everlast lineup.

After doing lots of research over the past few weeks on the major brands, i had narrowed my choices down to the miller diversion 180, or syncrowave 200.
During my research, i stumbled apon the "Welding tips and tricks" website, and jodys reviews of the everlast brand of welders, which led me here.
After looking thru the product line, I noticed that for the price of the diversion, I could get a muliprocess machine, that would include a plasma cutter as well as the tig process i am looking to learn.

My question to the fellow user out there is this:

given the choice of the PT250EX, or the PP256, is there any loss of quality or features with the 256 over the 250EX?
will i be over whelmed with features on the 256 as a noob to tig and plasma cutting (never used either before, I have basic mig welding skills.)

to give you guys a little info on what ill be doing, it definetly will not be anything structural, other than maybe a work bench and welding cart (once i develop enough skill to accomplish that! lol)
right now, i use a lincoln sp135T (110V) to do small things like 16ga steel intercooler piping and exhasut piping with .26? (or is it .25? lol) solid wire and 75/25 sheilding gas.
i have used stainless wire and piping a few times, using tri gas mix, with decent results after a bit of practice, the exhausts havent rotted or cracked yet, so i guess it works..lol
the main reason for wanting to learn to tig is for the ability to be able to weld diffrent metals, especially aluminum, for intercooer piping, and of course the looks of tig.

my other question is about the pricing on these welders/cutters.
i notice that there is an "make an offer" option, and have seen a few threads where guys mention "working out a deal" for theyre packages, and wondering if things like wait time for delivery, ect, are things that you all used to help work out a price.
i currently have an email out to oleg, espressing my interest, we'll see where that takes me!

thanks in advance for any comments or tips you guys have to share, looking forward to getting a machine, and sharing my progress with you guys!

[everlastsupport]

Hey Manny,

The 250EX has a couple features the 256 does not. A spot timer and lift start. I would use neither, but some people do. The 256 has a plasma cutter, a major plus.

The 256 has a 35% duty cycle and the 250EX has a 65% at 250 amps. So you can weld longer with the 250EX at 250amps.

Both are great machines. The 256 requires less space, but manipulation of torch and gas lines to switch between processes. Both have the same IGBT inverter, so they will weld the same.

Hope that helps.

Being in tech support, I can not help on the pricing. You have done the best things by contacting Oleg.

[performance]

For your description, you'd be just as well off with the PowerPro 205, or the PowerTig 200 DX, worthy competitors. There are a couple of videos of the PowerPro 205 around when it was called the Powermaster 205. But it is the same unit. Its a fine machine for what its intended. I would tell you as a new guy, that having a separate unit would likely be the better choice for you.

[geezer]

Manny, the 256 is probably your best solution for a single unit machine, it has the power and the features, plasma, stick and tig. It seems like a stretch on your budget but going the few extra dollars will get you the top of the line.
At my age I can tell you, Treat yourself right in life, there is no point in sitting there later with extra cash in your pocket wondering what it would have been like to get the deluxe model. I have the 250 EX and seprate plasma's,
cause I also have a CNC plas table. so the choice was obvious for me.
The rest of the guy's who have 256's seem to like their machines. If you are strapped for cash you can by with a lessor model, but like I said, life will teach you to reach out and really get what you want. After all it is the Christmas season.

[Wrenchtamer]

I have a 256 and I love it. It is a little bit of work to change the torches and gas over from tig to plasma but I made a three way valve for the inputs so all i have to do is throw two valves. no more switching hoses. Keep it dry though. as for the torches it can be a little bit of a birch to switch them a million times during the course of a job but it encourages me to plan twice and act once, a discipline which I need to practice anyway.

[presure2]

Hey guys thanks for the responses.
Geezer, you hit the nail on the head for me i think.
most of the money to pay for the machine is going to be coming from a side job im doing for a friend, and although i havent welded anything over 1/8th (other than for practice) i'd really like to try things like turbo exhaust manifolds, and intake manifolds ect down the road as my skills develop.
the more i think about it, and talk with the guys who help me out around the garage the more im leaning toward getting the PP256.
i dont think i will use the plasma function a ton initially anyway, other than playing around with it, but down the road i can see it being useful.
for a bit more background, i do alot of work on 94-99 toyota celica's, mostly engine swaps, turbo kit installs, exhaust work, and do body/paint work as well.
i am a moderator on a site dedicated to the 94-99 celica, (6th generation), www.6gc.net , and somthing a few of the guys on the site have done is AWD conversions (the celica is available with an AWD config. from the factory in japan, but was never imported to the USA.)
my ultimate end goal with the tig is that eventually i would like to be able to weld in the mounting brackets for an AWD conversion, super cleanly, and safetly, so that i can perform the conversion for others.
just for the hell of it, here are a few pics of some of the projects i've completed in the garage.
some intercooler piping i welded up, grinded down, and had powdercoated with a silver "hammered" finish.


an exhaust b-pipe for the same car



heres a link to a slideshow of a turbo motor swap into a n/a 91 mr2:

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a57...t=5a9ab4b2.pbw

my car (drag radials on the front, had just gone to the track. ((13.8 @ 108MPH)),



turbo motor swap:



wrenchtamer:
been reading your posts, thanks for the advice, im pretty much settled on the 256 now!!
thanks again guys, looking forward to joining the everlast team, just waiting to hear back from oleg!

[geezer]

Manny, if you are doing that kind of work, you don't need any advice from me, rather maybe, I should hang around you and pick up some tip's.

I have a good long time friend who do's auto clips like that, he's a pro and I can see you are one too.

I'm sure you will enjoy the 256,

[presure2]

Manny, if you are doing that kind of work, you don't need any advice from me, rather maybe, I should hang around you and pick up some tip's.

I have a good long time friend who do's auto clips like that, he's a pro and I can see you are one too.

I'm sure you will enjoy the 256,

hahaha, hardly a pro, my friend, just someone who enjoys tinkering..lol
im still very much so a beginner when it comes to welding, thats for sure..