Welding Tips and Tricks

Looking at buying the Everlast 250EX. Everything sounds good about the machine but I am very worried about if support if I need the machine fixed. Has anyone ever dealt with Everlast and had to have repairs done ( not repairs by purchaser but by Everlast)? Their website does not show dealer stores, it just states to call a number.
Second question: I see some individuals were having issues with the cooler, far as hooking them up and turning on the cooler. Have these issues been worked out?
I am very new at welding and appreciate any help. Thanks for your time. Blaze659

Good questions. I had a Miller Syncro250 and have been using a Everlast 250ex, with cooler, for a year or so. There is some pretty good info available on there forum. Based on that information and my preferences, I changed something straight away. I installed ck20 torch. created my own cooling plumbing, installed a high quality pedal - search there site for details, and wired the 220v power for the cooler myself.

I like having more adjustability of properties such as balance and frequency. The machine has worked fine. The only problem I had was when I first set it up. The AC balance would not go below 30% even though the dial was set lower, that is, I was getting to much cleaning action on aluminum. I contacted Everlast. They said it must have be other factors. 6 or more user complained of the same. One indicating that he tested it with an oscilloscope and it was not dropping below 30%. The specification is to 10%. Then Everlast said that some of the EX machine had received LX frequency boards by mistake. They shipped us new frequency boards for self install. All OK now.

Point of the story. They have Quality control, service, and warranty, but not in the same league as Miller or Lincoln. Even under warranty if the machine has to go back, you have to pay the shipping to and from - not cost practical.

Good deal? Can be. Depends on your requirements:
- up time
- quality of documentation
- workload
- support availability
- local support, or not
- Do you mind modifying to improve
- ...
Good luck.

I've had a 250EX for over a year now. I built a 21' boat with it and a Miller 212. I live nearby the West Coast distributorship so I wasn't too worried about shipping if I had to but so far I haven't needed it. The only thing I have to do is adjust the points for the Arc Start on occasion which is no big deal. I run mine with a WeldCraft cooler and I changed out the Torch and Foot Pedal but I would have done that with just about any welder. I had a Lincoln 225 before and there is no comparison. The 225 is a beast and expensive to run with a lot less features whereas the Everlast is a energy miser by comparison and is full featured. While building the boat and several other smaller projects I have not run into a situation that I couldn't adjust to 250EX to accomodate. I would say that dollar for dollar you get a lot more than you would expect.

Customer support is fine. These guys are hands on with the machines on a daily basis so when a problem arises they're not responding to you from a troubleshooting guide. I've seen some complaint posts about the service but in the end it usually ends up being a finicky newbie that just needs to take a little more time to learn the machine.

Quality Control was an issue at one time and can still rear it's ugly head from what I hear. That's the name of the game when you pay half of what your would for the same components in a different color machine. If that's ends up being your problem they will swap out your machine free of charge.

Delivery - A year ago there were delivery issues and those are probably still occuring. If the unit is in stock it will ship immediately. If not, you might have to wait a couple of months. I waited and was glad I did.