MTS 200--Some First Impressions

Just setting up my MTS-200 and thought I'd share some first impressions.

0) It's exciting to buy a machine from a company that's doing something about the insane cost of Blue, Red, Yellow and Maroon welding equipment.

When I can buy a microwave or a DVD player for $100, the price of American welders doesn't make any sense. Nor do comments guys make on other forums about Chinese equipment--where do those guys think their big-screens come from? And do they think the new Beijing skyline was welded up with Blue?

1) What computer makers used to call the "Out of Box Experience" could be improved. A printed manual would be nice. Yeah, I know--I can print one, but a printed manual would be nice. So would fittings that would permit connection of the supplied regulator to the supplied gas hose. Why make your new user run down to the hardware store for a fifty cent fitting?

2) The color coding on the supplied power cord should be illegal in the United States, and maybe it is already. Yeah, green's a 240v hot in Europe and green w/ yellow tracer is ground --but we ain't in Europe. One day one of your customers won't read the non-manual, or will get confused, and will electrocute himself. Everlast won't be debating the situation (RTFM, he shoulda read the manual) w/ a bunch of welding geeks like me online. It'll be Everlast's insurers' attorneys debating the situation in court against some very slick plaintiff attorneys (they didn't even care enough about the safety of their customers to use a properly-coded power cord) and a weeping widow in the front row. If the ensuing judgement blows out the policy limits--and it could--(this is America, fellas), it'll be goodbye Everlast.

3) The fan noise is horrendous, and it's not on demand. (I wonder if you could design a noisier system if that was your intention?) Sure other guys say just crank up the rock-and-roll--those are the guys who'll be getting fitted for hearing aids in another ten or twenty years. Or they say, well the other shop noise is so loud it doesn't matter. It matters to me--I want to be able to hear my baby call my name in future.

The engineer who designed the MTS-200 cooling system obviously didn't ace fluid dynamics at Berkeley, or in all fairness he didn't have the budget to develop a quiet system. Perhaps there's no room in the price for an on-demand system--but look at PC's and just about every kind of office equipment now days. Other company's can do it--it can't be any harder than designing an inverter power supply. Almost nobody runs fans anymore when they don't have to run.

4) It'd be nice to be able to use the little spools of wire on the MTS-200. Why? As a recreational welder (and that's gotta be the company's major market niche) I don't burn that much wire, and when I do I'd like it to be fresh--not all oxidized. And just saying, Well run copper-plated wire," isn't the right answer. Copper oxidizes too--ever see a not-shiny penny? And sometimes you don't want to contaminate the weld w/ copper.

5) Has anyone put a pedal on the MTS-200? Half the fun of owning import tools is hot-rodding them. One boneheaded way would be a simple mechanical connection, like a flexible control shaft, to the amps-control. Or one could rig a little motor to spin the amps control and put a switch on the torch handle or a pedal. Or maybe there's just a simple pot behind the front cover that could be relocated. Sure, that'd blow out the warranty, but ya gotta pay to play.

6) If there is just a potentiometer amps control behind the front panel, one could replace it with a _programmable_ pot and with the help of a simple micro-controller, rig up a rudimentary pulse system. Anyone tried it?

7) Just out of curiosity, can I use the HF (hi-freq, not Harbor Freight) box that's buried out in my garage somewhere with the MTS-200, or will it blow out the electronics (of the MTS)? It's one of those old-school boxes guys used to attach to tombstones to make 'em into DC TIG's. It impresses HF on top of the DC weld current.

*** Finally, thanks, HF for a heckuva bargain. ***

Jack,
Thanks for the post. I will reply point by point.

1) Sure, we could but then again we could charge a lot more for this machine...say 2 grand? Sound good to you? Give us another few hundred, and we'll work on it.
2) The color coding is fine, and in reality isn't all that unusual. Its not illegal. With manuals, and a staffed tech support line, that are manned, an answer is but a call away.
3) Actually the fan noise is fairly quite all things considered. I can tell that you are not used to welding or welders in general. This is a quite fan all things considered. The designer of the unit is actually a lot more experienced than you could imagine, and its easy to armchair a product like this. MANY MANY US welders do NOT use fan on demand. The few that do sacrifice duty cycle. We have discussed this many times here. For us, it is a closed discussion as we want the duty cycle over a little noise. This is the most compact 200 amp MIG on the market. Its a revolutionary achievement and I'd say the designer has made an excellent product. Who really cares about a little wind noise? Its a welder used in a much noisier environment.
4. If you won't be using the standard rolls, then you may have over bought a welder. 10 lbs won't last two days in my shop. This is a 200 amp welder, not a 100 amp flux core. At 200 amps, wire doesn't last long. A roll of wire if it does oxidize will usually oxidize the first wrap or two...After that, they should be a bright as a penny. Most un-coated wire has a slight "coating" designed to resist rust. Also, you may not be aware, but the copper in the wire, is used as a deoxidizer during active welding...It's not part of the weld material, so unless it rusts through the copper its not a problem. Anyway, as I said, if you spool off a few feet, it will be as good as new. I have been welding for years, and never had an issue with any of it, even if it was a little oxidized. If you are doing code work (and from your post I'd surmise you are not), then it MIGHT be a concern, then again, if you a doing code work you'll be using a lot more than a 2 lb roll on a project. Overall, its a fairly moot point.

5. Playing around and putting a foot pedal on the unit is not advised. This is not a cheap import tool. I can assure you. There are digital encoders under the panel, and not pots. Don't try to adapt this unit in any way...I mean it. Warranty is instantly void. This unit is not like our other units that have some room to make changes. Unless a tech tells you to do something, consider it off limits. We understand some people may want a foot pedal. Its not a current option. But the way the unit works is like most DC tig units...with lift start and a fixed amps. That is why it has 4T control.
6) See above, its a digital encoder. This unit is a digital welder, and microprocessor controlled. Again, DO NOT MODIFY THIS MACHINE IN ANY WAY UNLESS INSTRUCTED. Pulse MIG is much more advanced than a "rudimentary" system.
7) Again, do not modify this machine. HF will screw this machine up...or any MIG process machine. This is not a tombstone, and not even close. We understand what a HF box is...its used for overlaying AC with a HF current for transformer welders who do not switch fast enough to sustain an arc and for starting an arc without contact...Do not use this or even try...or you will not be happy.

I don't mean to take a negative turn on this...but this unit is a VERY advanced machine. It is a VERY well designed welder...and its operating at peak performance...This is not some cheap ebay special unit, and is completely unique and from a special factory that produces high end equipment. It is not some Harbor Freight crap mig that can be modded according to some techno- guys whim.

Mark .. WELL SAID !

you also forgot to mention that this factory build few models for Thermal Arc such as Invertec 95 and Fabricator 181i

I was trying to avoid that, but while I am at it, they build for ESAB as well.

Guess I don't understand why it should require "giving you another few hundred" to have a safe machine, one that comes with a manual, and one that has a gas system that has compatible components required for hook-up. I'd be more inclined to supply the additional couple hundred if the firm was inspiring more confidence. Customers--at least I do--form an opinion about how well a company does the big things, maybe all of which I can't see or don't understand, by how well it does the small things that can be seen.

Well, you don't mind the noise--I do. Noise is a curse of modern life, and it all adds up. I stand by my original observation that your cooling system. designer either didn't know how or didn't have the budget to make a quiet machine. I used to hear the same thing in the computer world--machines couldn't be made quiet and run cool, it'd cost too much to make them run quiet, customers don't care, etc. Well, no, it just took some good engineering and the machines got quieter.

It's not obvious to me that duty cycle is inevitably compromised by fan-on-demand systems. If the machine components have cooled to baseline and is simply idling, what's the point in running a noisy fan? Leaving the on-demand question aside, loud is loud. The day will come when welding equipment and machine tools are rated by programs like Energy Star; maybe then we'll see some quieter machines.

You are wrong about the safety hazard inherent in your non-US standard cords. The plug I bought, made by a US manufacturer, was marked with instructions for attaching a green wire to ground and other colors to hot. It's an accident waiting to happen, and one day it will. Would you want to fly an airliner where the pilot had to translate color codes to make a correct decision. How much would it cost Everlast to supply a properly coded cord, "a couple hundred?"

Thank you for your information concerning modifications to the machine to vary amperage--too bad it can't be done. I'd rather have the pedal; that's why I asked.

I'm not so worried about warranty being instantly void; if the attitude of the warranty department reflects the attitude on display here, I suspect it might as well be void anyway. But I wouldn't expect a modified machine to covered under warranty--didn't I say, "Ya gotta pay to play?"

And thanks for your advice re HF, again that's why I asked. Maybe you should mention this incompatibility in the manual. BTW, it's not only a "MIG process machine" is it? Your advertising material calls it a multi-process machine, it's listed on your web site as multi-process, and there's a TIG (in addition to a MIG) icon on the front panel.

I also stand by what I said about smaller spools. When I do have time for welding, I like to do fabrication projects and I bought the amps required. My welding teachers and texts called out the importance of fresh wire, and there are situations where copper is a contaminant. It's not a moot point to me. Maybe for "a couple hundred" you could offer your customers an adapter kit.

I think a lot a good things come to pass because of the whims of techno guys -- sure looks that way to me when I look around.

Sure it may be an advanced machine, but give me a break. Inverter, multiprocess technology has been commercialized for over 20 years (for example by Powcon) so this isn't wizardry. And it's sure loud.

Finaly, maybe that gee-whiz, unique factory could figure out how to color code its products to comport with local codes.