New 205 observations--

[JBnID]

A loose wire in the plug would make perfect sense since I did it but its not the case. 242VAC in the plug and to the power cord. I've rechecked every knob and switch.

These welds were all with full pedal and (not much) 1/16", 312 SS filler. Center right, with the undercut, is full bore and no filler. Obviously very cool. I'll check the hard rod functions tomorrow. If SMAW works maybe the field of possibilities is narrowed?

[JBnID]

I'm pretty sure it's running on half rations. 3/32" E7018 will run (a little hot) at 160 but barely sticks to the work at 80amps. 1/8" E7018 is cold at 160A.

I can disassemble, test and solder much better than I can get back to town and don't mind troubleshooting. See y'all Monday.

[JBnID]

UPDATE-- After determining my machine was faulty, it took four days to get the OK to return it. That was very frustrating. Then it took another week-end and two work days for my welder to get back to Everlast and FINALLY a replacement sent out. On April 4th I had a new machine but that was after spending $400 on a rental to do a job that had to be done on time while mine was caught up in UPS never never land. My letter of complaint of still having an uncertain foot pedal was never answered, but thanks to the work of another forum member, a new potentiometer was installed and for the first time the welder performs as its supposed to.

BUT, last week, while awaiting a new pot but the old was usable at low amps I did two very small and tedious jobs that showed me the welder is fully as good as the Miller I'd rented the week before and certainly worth the money (if not the aggravation).

The first job was pulling a 3/16" ball from a blind hole in a custom rifle part. Arcing to the side of the hole would likely ruin the $350 part. Since the hole had been (incorrectly) staked, the weld would take a lot of tension and impact if the ball would be pulled out passed it. I beveled the end of an 1/8" piece of drill rod and clamped it so the end was against the top of the ball which was just below flush. Using a 1/16" red tungsten and .030 Rockmount Brutus MIG wire (312L), I got a puddle started on the top of the ball and filled the chisel end with a good bead. By holding the drill rod in the vise and tapping the part, the ball wedged through the bad staking and out. The spring wasn't even annealed, but was replaced anyway. With a new ball, spring and a proper staking job, the ball protrudes as a detent ball by the correct .045" and a Jim Wisner 3 position safety for a Sako rifle was salvaged from the ravages of a hammer mechanic.

The second job was simply extending a Tikka extractor by .020 to better hold a .223 case. The extractor is .210 wide and thins down to a .010 edge on a tapered end. I used aluminum 'dams' on both sides and used the same .030 312L wire as filler to extend the bevel and edge out the proper amount, plus a gob that always has to be refiled to shape and polished. 312 SS is plenty hard and tough enough for parts that are usually spring hard like extractors, carrier dogs and cartridge stops.

I've also used the plasma for the first time and think it's about as handy as opposed thumbs. GREAT TOOL!

I was disappointed by Everlast customer service. If you consider the sliding grading scale as one being the worst (if it breaks you own both parts) to ten being something like Cabella's that's so good you wonder how they can do it, I would put Everlast in the middle at about a five. In my case, that became an expensive factor because I ordered the machine with two weeks to spare before it was REALLY needed. Due to UPS losing a trailer which made the welder a week late, then it being a bad welder that had to be physically IN California before a replacement was sent out (the same day) set me back another 10 days and cost $400 in rentals and nearly 300 miles of extra driving. It was during that time I thought it best to just be quiet. I was NOT at ALL happy to be out money and machine and still have to dig up more money to do the job. That was a bad move in customer relations made worse by the sudden stop in communications.

I doubt any of these machines will last long enough to become classics, but they should be easy to pay for with their versatility if they only last a year or so. I would NOT recommend this PP205 to be a traveling machine. Everything inside is crudely attached to very flimsy mounts and the circuit boards look like the typical Heathkit Cub Scout project. Vibration will be an early killer. Mine is wall mounted til it dies.

[inthefrey]

UPDATE-- Everything inside is crudely attached to very flimsy mounts and the circuit boards look like the typical Heathkit Cub Scout project. Vibration will be an early killer. Mine is wall mounted til it dies.

Good review.

[NRM]

It sucks to hear you had a bad experience with customer service and had shipping delays. I've had my PP205 for a year now and everything is working fine. I need to dial in my aluminum skills as I haven’t used the AC function that much. When I did try I was blowing through the material and could not get a good bead started.