NEW 2013 EVERLAST PowerTig 255 EXT AC/DC DIGITAL TIG WELDER

[DVA]

Just fired up the 255 EXT. This is night and day compared to the 250 EXT. Alex and the team really did a good job providing a great welder.

I was able to run some AC and DC GTAW with some AC pulse on 1/4 inch aluminum. Worked great and the initiation of the arc in DC is extremely crisp. The HF start is much cleaner and no violent like the 250 EXT.

I ran some 1/8 inch 7018, this is again night and day performance over the 250 EXT.

I am very pleased with the new welder.

[jakeru]

My 255EXT arrived today! I'm pretty excited. This has been a long time in the waiting. (It's actually from winning a Forum contest a while back... initially opted for a 250EXT and waited for that, but missed out on that, so now here I am with a new 255EXT Thanks Oleg!)

Although I haven't powered it up yet, so far I'm glad I held out for it. My 2007 Everlast Super200P (which I have put through a lot) is still a competent machine. I probably wouldn't have bought a new machine if I didn't win it - I would have just kept using the '07 Everlast. But I certainly can't complain about winning a new machine!

Observations:
* The Everlast machine packaging is really amazing now, compared to how it used to be. There was a gouge in the corner of the cardboard box from UPS, but it did not penetrate the very high quality and thick foam padding to make it to the machine.


* The machine is really great looking.


* The bare machine weighs 61 lbs.

* There is a 2-conductor "solid state device" of some sort where I expect the spark gap would usually be. (Aside from that the arc starting circuit looks typical tesla coil circuit - no transistor) See picture (white cylindrical thing at right with a lead coming out of each end):


* On the back, near the top on the side opposite of the on/off switch, there is an area where it looks like a cooler power plug could go. (Two pre-drilled holes with what looks like room for mounting a receptacle on the sheetmetal here, and easy taps to the power switch/circuit breaker on the inside of the machine nearby.)


* The new footpedal seems to have an improved (more sophisticated) linkage to the potentiometer by the way, that allows the pedal to move the first bit without moving the potentiometers so that the microswitch can initiate the arc before rotating the potentiometer. I imaging that this may allow "feathering down the throttle" to the minimum amps... (Assuming the pot is indexed/adjusted properly, of course, but that can likely be fixed if it's not.) I can't wait to try it!



The accessories mine arrived with were:
* 14.5' long new-style footpedal (So far looks pretty sweet... can't wait to give it a try!)
* WP-18 style rigid TIG torch (labeled "SR-18")with 13' long, outerbraided-style hoses inside. A nice, zippered denim-type cable cover. Handle diameter = 1-1/16". Includes a zip-tied on switch. Hose diameters inside were 5/16" (for the two smaller hoses) and 1/2" (for the single larger hose).
* sheetmetal ground clamp with 9.5' long cable (not the brass tweco-style clamp, but the plated sheetmetal, albeit a bit better quality than I was expecting for this style!)
* spring-clamp style stick electrode holder with 9.5' long cable
* a very good looking, new-style brass argon regulator (I've had great results with this style from other sources)



I decided I'm going to go through mine and give it some TLC before I fired up, because I figure I have more incentive than the factory assembler/worker to make it all perfect. (This philosophy has worked well for my 2007 Super200P... still firing a reliable TIG arc today). I found and fixed some minor fixable problems so far when going through the machine already - including:
* footpedal arrived with the top moving platform part off one of the pivots pins. It was fairly easy to just snap it back into position, although I don't know if it will be all ready to go after doing just that (may need adjusting to optimize its range... we'll see)

* The adhesive-affixed laminate over the front control panel had a pretty annoying looking "wrinkle", right over the "Normal/AC Easy/DC Easy" button (and it seems like it may have made that button difficult to press):

To fix that, I used a hairdryer to warm up the affected region, peeled the laminate away from the corner over the area, and applied it back on smoothly. I think the top two screws going through the control panel (which are also structural ones for supporting the welder components) seem to grab at the laminate and want to twist it when tightening, so I think I'll trim the laminate away around there to make clearance for the screw heads. I don't want to leave the screws loose here since they're structural for keeping the machine rigid. Unwrinkled:


After I'm done giving my 255EXT its initial TLC, I'll probably try to adapt my CK-Trimline 210 aircooled torch to it to try it out. (Eventually I'll want to get a watercooler, but I haven't figured that out yet, but I know it will be switched by the machine ). I'm thinking I may also need to put a longer electric cord on this machine. (I have a 25' extension added onto my Super200P's factory ~6' long cable and I really appreciate the extra length, although this is only 12 gauge, which may not be quite adequate for the 255EXT.)

[Rambozo]

Just fired up the 255 EXT. This is night and day compared to the 250 EXT. Alex and the team really did a good job providing a great welder.

I was able to run some AC and DC GTAW with some AC pulse on 1/4 inch aluminum. Worked great and the initiation of the arc in DC is extremely crisp. The HF start is much cleaner and no violent like the 250 EXT.

I ran some 1/8 inch 7018, this is again night and day performance over the 250 EXT.

I am very pleased with the new welder.

Love to hear that kind of praise, for the new machine. Thanks for the quick feedback.

* There is a 2-conductor "solid state device" of some sort where I expect the spark gap would usually be. (Aside from that the arc starting circuit looks typical tesla coil circuit - no transistor) See picture (white cylindrical thing at right with a lead coming out of each end)

Thanks for the great first impression and all the photos. That looks like a gas discharge tube, (basically an enclosed spark gap) they are used for over voltage protection on many things. Can't wait for your performance review. Pretty short list of build quality issues, that's always a good sign.

I like your philosophy of; "Don't turn it on, take it apart!"

[Mr120]

Sounds like it was all worth the wait. Truly a flagship product. Good to hear the low amp starts are smooth.

I try to fire up products before tweaking. I never know if UPS did something terminal to the product that I didn't notice. I don't want to spend time on something and then find out it needs to be returned or repaired. I've been there and done that a few times.

[Kempy]

First job for the PowerTig 255EXT did not clean just welded it. Removed some weld on outside to make sure the bolt fit.
Settings: Advance Square wave no pulse, AC Balance 42%, AC frequency 250 Hz., 2% Lanthanated 100% Argon @ 30 SCFH