I have someone I trust giving me prices for electric upgrades in my garage from 110 to 220. He explained to me that the advantage of using 220 is that there will be less current draw (less electrical cost) than with 110. I had no idea about the required increase in service capacity. I will have to talk to him about that since I was only thinking about 30 amp service.

220 will provide double the power at the same amperage. Welders are high draw, so you need all you can get. A 110v 30 amp circuit is about as heavy as you can get, with 20 amp being much more common. This limits you to a real world 90-100 amps output with a good inverter welder. A 200 amp inverter TIG machine will pull 30-35 amps at full bore 230v, so you may be OK with a 30 amp circuit depending on what you get and what you need. That Lincoln Square Wave 200 will run very well on a 30 amp 230v circuit. So will the Miller Diversion 180, but it more money, and it's big problem IMO, is that it uses a proprietary foot pedal and torch that are unlike any of their other welders, which is bunk. Most serious welders have a box full of parts, torches and such so they can keep working when stuff breaks, like when Cletus the slack jawed yokel backs his F350 over your foot pedal. S/F....Ken M

Your cost for the electricity will remain the same, since normally you pay for the amount of energy you consume, and that is voltage multiplied with current multiplied with time. Double the voltage with half the current...

The Everlast 200dx has 60% duty cycle at full output (200a).
That's one of the reasons I bought it.

Compare it to the miller 200dx.

Originally Posted By jcc

33? replies and this is the only with real world experience reply with a cheap tig?. I got a Miller Syncrowave 500, so no further comment.

I have dealt with cheap junk all my life because I couldn't afford( for lack of a better excuse)the better equipment, but after fixing it a couple times and putting up with the poor quality work it produces, well, that's the reason I suggested buy a good used unit and stay away from those products. You're better off in the long run.

The Everlasts are a reasonably mature product at this point, they do not have the business infrastructure of Lincoln/Miller or ESAB. Notice as they achieve market penetration, their prices go up. I think they could aspire to be like HTP some day, perhaps soon. For those who do not know, HTP imports excellent welders(from Italy IIRC) but they do not have a dealer network, they're in Elk Grove IL or close to it. They do have absolutely excellent customer service and the gear is good enough so that you seldom need it. Their 221 unit is markedly superior to the Miller Dynasty 200, with most of the features of the Dynasty 350 but not the output. But most people don't need much more than 220 amps.

The shop next to my part time gig imports and services a 200 amp AC/DC welder that gets rebadged under various tool lines. We used one of their 200 amp welders when our Everlast cooked a board (it still worked, just not 'right' and it was replaced fairly quickly) and 200 amps was inadequate for block and head repair. Would have been OK with 75% helium, but that's money. Honestly, that doesn't apply to most people. S/F....Ken M

I bought my Syncrowave 250DX at the chemical plant I was working at when it closed. I was the only person that had ever used it, probably only ran three pounds of 7018s with it. Luckily my $1003 bid was enough to buy it, the receipt on it was $3450. I'd rather save my money and pay $2000 for a Miller, Lincoln or Esab than pay $1000 for something that may not be well supported. Pay once, cry once.

A ton of good welding info here.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/