Hitbox AC/DC welder from Amazon - Worth a try?

Should I get one of these on Prime or save up 10x as much before starting to learn TIG?

  • Sure, why not. What do you have to loose

    Votes: 7 63.6%

  • Maybe, but it'll probaly be a boondogle

    Votes: 2 18.2%

  • Forget it, just junk that'll waste your time

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • Total voters
    11
matthewsx said:
Yeah, not many reviews yet. One said it’s “Basically an everlast clone”

Who knows if that’s correct but we all know how things work in Shenzhen….

John
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Being an Everlast clone isn't really a good thing. I have a LONG history with Everlast, and it's not good. My first inverter machine was an Everlast. Within weeks it developed a problem and it took over 50 (yes, I have them saved) e-mail, multiple phone calls and at least five tries sending me parts before they offered to either replace it or give me full purchase price credit towards a more expensive machine. Heck, twice they sent me parts for the wrong machine and this was a brand new machine. It wasn't until I got on the phone with Oleg (the owner) and pushed a bit that things got resolved.

I've got fairly expensive machines...Miller Syncrowave 250DX TIGRunner and a Millermatic 350P on the upper end. If I was looking for a value welder right now I'd buy a Primeweld in a heartbeat. I've recommended them to a number of friends and coworkers and they all love them. I've actually thought about selling my Everlast PowerTIG 210EXT for whatever I can get out of it and buying a Primeweld 325X as companion to my 250DX.
 
markba633csi said:
John: I don't have a tig yet but the AHP and the Primeweld are both on my list
I can't believe how many cheap inverter welders there are now- probably junk for the most part and little to no support
Disposable goods
Take me to the pilot (or landfill)
Click to expand...
I'd skip the AHP. AHP is owned by the same folks as Everlast and they're out of the same building with one suite being Everlast and the other AHP. Going off memory it's Oleg's wife (he started Everlast) who is listed as the head of AHP. They're known to have even slightly slower customer service than Everlast...which is saying something. You can do a search on their address and then use Google maps to get a street view of the facility and it seems certain it's essentially the same company with two suites in the same building.

Forgot to mention....If you go to Amazon and look at the AHP Alpha TIG 203Xi and read the reviews (which includes the previous version), look at the 1 and 2 stars....26 of them! There are 585 total reviews, so the score looks decent as a whole, but not if you're one of the 26 people.

On the flip side, the Primeweld 225X has 1242 total ratings and only 8 that are 1-2 stars. In the 8 some even clearly point out the company was very professional and gave them an immediate refund. Most seem to be early failures, which is what you'd expect with any inverter machine.
 
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IMG_3578.jpegWell, it’s here.

Waiting for my argon regulator to fire it up.

Looks like it takes a 5 pin foot pedal, open to recommendations. Is this something that makes a big $$$ difference or will the cheapie be okay?

John
 

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matthewsx said:
I like the looks of this Eastwood, and the price is low compared to others.

www.eastwood.com

Eastwood TIG 200 AC/DC Foot Pedal (20565)

Replacement Foot Pedal for Eastwood TIG 200 AC/DC Welder (20565)
www.eastwood.com www.eastwood.com

John
Click to expand...
There's more to it than just having the correct pin configuration, so there's no way of knowing if that would actually work with your machines. I doubt it, but the manual might specify pedal requirements.

Quite honestly, the pedals with a dial adjustment on them are largely junk and cheap foot pedals are incredibly annoying. The kind specified for your welder is the old tall box style that means you'll have your foot perched up in the air. The old Miller boxes were like that and I can't stand them...no way to get comfortable. I've put SSC controls foot pedals on both my TIG welders and it's a huge upgrade. Many companies are copying that style pedal (lower, wider, more stable)...worth the upgrade if you can find one to work with your machine.

Hopefully you got a flow meter, not an actual regulator. For MIG a regulator with two gauges is fine...one is pressure and the other flow. For TIG it's a lot better to get a flow meter with one round gauge and a vertical tube with floating ball that indicates the flow rate. The other thing to check is the delivery pressure the flow meter provides. Most of the inexpensive flow meters (and regulators) are set to provide 50PSI, which is fine for MIG, but for TIG when you hit the pedal you get a blast of 50PSI gas that's annoying, and wastes gas. 20-25PSI flow meters are a lot nicer to use, save gas, and don't have to be expensive. I've put about 20 of these on welders in the past couple of years....inexpensive, but work pretty well.

 
G-ManBart said:
There's more to it than just having the correct pin configuration, so there's no way of knowing if that would actually work with your machines. I doubt it, but the manual might specify pedal requirements.

Quite honestly, the pedals with a dial adjustment on them are largely junk and cheap foot pedals are incredibly annoying. The kind specified for your welder is the old tall box style that means you'll have your foot perched up in the air. The old Miller boxes were like that and I can't stand them...no way to get comfortable. I've put SSC controls foot pedals on both my TIG welders and it's a huge upgrade. Many companies are copying that style pedal (lower, wider, more stable)...worth the upgrade if you can find one to work with your machine.

Hopefully you got a flow meter, not an actual regulator. For MIG a regulator with two gauges is fine...one is pressure and the other flow. For TIG it's a lot better to get a flow meter with one round gauge and a vertical tube with floating ball that indicates the flow rate. The other thing to check is the delivery pressure the flow meter provides. Most of the inexpensive flow meters (and regulators) are set to provide 50PSI, which is fine for MIG, but for TIG when you hit the pedal you get a blast of 50PSI gas that's annoying, and wastes gas. 20-25PSI flow meters are a lot nicer to use, save gas, and don't have to be expensive. I've put about 20 of these on welders in the past couple of years....inexpensive, but work pretty well.

Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback, I figured there was a reason that used red or blue pedals were selling for $$$ on eBay.

This is the flowmeter I’m getting, looks like it’s adjustable.


Will keep looking on pedals.

Thanks,

John
 
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