OT: YesWelder DP200 questions

[zarfnober]

Anybody use one of these budget do-it-all welders? Online reviews seem pretty decent. MIG/Flux/Stick/Lift Tig with single and dual pulse capabilities. As much as I'd love to think I have the skill to buy a fancy welder, I don't and wouldn't unless I did. I've got a cheap "Chinese version" Lincoln flux welder I got at Lowes, and it surprisingly does pretty darn good when I have my reading glasses on, and only cost around $110. It's paid for itself about 6 times repairing the frame on my Husqvarna lawn tractor, I've got about 5 acres with rough spots and it's seen more than it's fair share of abuse.

This DP200 seems to have more user friendly features than the Harbor Freight Titanium series machines.

So, any thoughts on these? Thanks!

Rocco

[joelsplace]

For TIG I only have experience with a Miller Syncrowave 350. I've been told it is much easier to weld with compared to a cheap TIG. I've never used anything else but I can say aluminum is really easy to weld with it.

[Project65]

I was in your shoes when I began my restoration project. Had only crude stick welding experience. Was tempted to buy an inexpensive welder, but settled on the Hobart Multi-handler 200 after talking with a few friends of mine that were skilled welders. I followed their advice and ponied-up for a good machine, made in the US, with a solid warranty, and certified repair shops nearby. I did have one failure with it and had it repaired at the certified repair shop at no cost. Otherwise it’s worked flawlessly and I feel confident knowing that if I need a repair, I know where to go. A consideration is also the controls. One attractive feature for me was the variable spool speed with the trigger pull…like the Miller (shared technology), with the squeeze of the trigger for MIG, the wire feeds slowly at first, then ramps up…”smooth start.” Great control for light gauge sheet metal.

Just my

[joelsplace]

I went with the Miller because the have free tech support that will help you figure out what is wrong if something fails so you can fix it yourself. Free wiring diagrams too. Or at least they did a few years ago. Haven't needed anything lately.

[Phil Dally]

Miller auto wire feed!!!

[Frank DuVal]

For TIG I only have experience with a Miller Syncrowave 350.

Well, a $10K machine is certainly out of the less expensive category! OK, that's the LX version. Used 350s are in the just under 3K, so still not cheap.

We have an Everlast at work and the welder TIGs aluminum all the time with it. Mostly making intake manifold parts... Shhh. It is light enough to carry to the job site. And then carry the bottle...

Looking at the catalog page I think it is the Power Tig 210. I will find out tomorrow.

[joelsplace]

I think I gave $1500 for mine with the water cooler and no bottle or stick welding lead.

[zarfnober]

Thanks for the replies guys, but all of those machines are too expensive to learn on. I work on vintage tube guitar amps for a hobby, and am pretty darn good with a soldering iron, but that ain't welding, and considering the learning curve, I'm trying be...let's say cheap as a starting point. Practicing with expensive machines costs a lot more than paying someone to weld for me, I just want to be able to do some simple repairs/fabrication. You'd be surprised at what you can do with that cheap flux core Lincoln clone from Lowes, they work great for fixing stamped steel riding lawnmower frames, especially when you can see what you're doing. But I need to upgrade to a Mig machine at a minimum and thought one of these may be a good way to go, I found one of these brand new-in-box locally for $375, up to 250 amps at 60% duty cycle:

https://yeswelder.com/collections/welde ... r-mig250sg

and this one is there newest multi process:
https://yeswelder.com/collections/welde ... lder-dp200

I'm guessing no one here has tried one of these YesWelder/ Harbor Freight multi process machines, and I'm fully aware they're made in China. Any more thoughts? Thanks!

Rocco

[Tramp61]

Project Farm on YouTube does lots of these sorts of comparisons in a very thorough and seemingly unbiased way. They are usually quite informative. He has several videos on welders and it would be worth viewing them to see what he has to say. I haven’t viewed his welder videos but learned a lot from his other product tests. At minimum you might find things to consider after watching them that you wouldn’t know before spending your own money.

[joelsplace]

Project Farm is great.
A few things that he doesn't seem to talk about are warranty, service and parts availability and historic reliability of a brand or model. Parts availability is a big deal to me unless the item is so cheap that you would just replace it.

[Project65]

I never mig welded prior to my investment purchase, and learned how on my new purchase. To me, I valued the controls, flexibility, warranty, support, and also resale (if I wanted to sell it). I also looked at it as I couldn’t afford to have a body shop do my welding work. If a shop charged me $60 an hour, 25 hours of welding would cost me $1500….the cost of the welder. I put a value on it and it made sense to me…so I bought it. For my project, it was worth the investment as well as being one that should hopefully last for years beyond. Good luck .

[Frank DuVal]

BTW, a DC only welder will do very poorly on aluminum TIG work. The AC helps cut through the aluminum oxides that form instantly on bare aluminum.