Hot start and arc force adjustment sold me on the Everlast 210STL. No regrets at all. I enjoy welding with the 210 more than my old Thunderbolt transformer machine.
This video was incredibly insightful, I hadn't even considered many of the things you brought up, most notably: cases in which I'd use the welder, the benefits of hotstart, and duty cycle. One of the things I like most about my current ac buzzbox is that I can crank it up to 150-160 amps and run hot passes seemingly forever with it's solid duty cycle (30% at 225 amps I believe), which is something I feel like I'd definitely be limited by with the titanium. At first when learning about hot start I thought it made only the initial arc strike easier, in other videos the most in depth explanation I got was that once the initial arc struck it the pushed the amperage up and then immediately shot down; what they hadn't explained was that hot start made the beads less stringy in the beginning, something which I thought was caused by me moving the rod too quickly or long arcing in the starts. Lastly, you briefly mentioned in the video that antistick wasn't really a necessity for welding on flat plate, but would have an absolute advantage on in confined spaces. I didn't really think to much about the cases in which I'd be using the welder, but because you brought it up I realized that those are the positions I see myself welding in the future. I've decided on the Everlast 210stl, while im sure your welder is much much better, the features are undeniably better as you pointed out, and I will be taking full advantage of them with the positions I'll be welding in in the future. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to make this very helpful video, I've been considering getting a new welder for almost a month now and I think I've finally decided on the one I should get. Also I've started using normal grinding disks again after your reply, not as bad as I remembered as far as skipping goes and the surface finish is okay for most the work I do, thank you for spreading your knowledge on welding.
No problem and I am glad you found it helpful 😀. I like the titanium 225 and think it’s a great stick welder. The everlasts features cost a bunch more, but you will see use out of them for sure. They won’t make you a better welder honestly, but they will make it easier to put down good welds. Cleaner starts, ability to control your 6010/11 aggressiveness, and not junking rods because they stuck make everything a bit better. I also like digital displays for amperage/controls because I can dial things in faster. I am sure you won’t regret your purchase 😀 Also, to a certain extent slowing down travel or slightly long arcing the rod for the first 3/4 of a inch of a weld can help get the bead to smooth out, but doing so can risk porosity at the start. Without hot start I generally run the welder on the hot side to get the weld to tie in good at the start, and move faster in the middle to compensate. Hot start solves all the issues of poor tie in, roped up bead, starting porosity, stuck rods, etc, and makes it flat out easier to get consistent welds. Little adjustable settings makes for better welds. Just like “run in” control, burn back, and inductance settings on MiG welders can help make more consistent welds. They won’t make a bad welder a great welder, but they make good welds just a bit better.
Hi Greg. I'm glad that you discussed the duty-cycle. When I used my old AC-only welder, and practiced some welding exercises, the transformer thermal circuit disconnected, until the transformer cooled down. Thus, for me the higher the duty cycle the better. The noise of the cooling fan, and how often it starts, are factors that can be important. Cheers.
Yes great points. One of the many reasons why I like fan on demand and welders with solid duty cycles, they tend to be quiet and they don’t give up when you’re ready to keep going lol.
Early on when learning to weld, I never paid any attention to hot start or arc force. I could have saved some real headaches by learning them sooner. Hot start saves from that frustrating sporadic porosity. I always adjust the arc force when I’m runnin 308 for stainless. I don’t even use the stick stuck feature on my Fronius. What the Fronius does have that I’d like to start experimenting with is the pulse stick feature. When I get more time im gonna dive into it. It seems like it helps with 6010 and especially when welding any sort of thinner gauge material.
Fronius is one of the few that will pulse on stick, that’s a feature I have never used (never owned a welder that could) but have heard can help. Hot start is a definite must have, it makes tie ins better, and like you said it really helps with the starting porosity.
Ive had the titanium 225 for about 2 and half years. Its been a really solid machine for me . And one point i let it sit for like 6 months and still worked great. Id upgrade the stinger and the ground clamp though.
Those 225s are awesome welders. Despite being simple they flat out weld good and actually run 6010. The stinger and ground clamp upgrades are 100% worth it. What I really like most about that welder is that I can tell people who want to learn to stick weld to go out and buy one, and I know its capable of running any rod and welds great. Not to mention they are available everywhere for a very affordable price. Prior to the 225 there weren't many affordable options that had at least 150 amps of output on DC, could run 6010, and were available everywhere for reasonable money.
Yeah they weld really good 😀. I bought one when they first came out years ago and when I saw 6010 on the dial I laughed because I thought it would never run 6010. Yet it does, and it welds far better than I expected.
The Titanium 225 really is a solid stick welder. It runs 6010 very well and is excellent with 7018. It is every bit as good or slightly better than my Syncrowave 180SD for stick welding even though the SW has adjustable dig. I can also lift the Titanium 225 without an engine hoist! 😂
Everlast 210 STL $449, Everlast 200 STi $349 and Titanium 225 $319.99 (members only deal is $279.99 right now). It's a tough decision!😂😂. I really enjoy the videos. Thanks!!
So the titanium 225 is a great stick welder and I honestly don’t think you can find a better stick welder for the money. Going to the 200sti would give you more ability to adjust settings (adjustable parameters for arc force and hot start). Going to the 210 primarily gives you better tig capability with built in gas valve. From a stick perspective it also has “stuck stick” which can come in handy. My suggestion is if money is tighter, buy the titanium 225 and spend the difference on rods and practice steel. Practice will make a far bigger difference than the upgrade in machine will. If you have a bit more money I would suggest going for the 200. The main benefit in my eyes is better performance on 120 volt, the rest of the stuff isn’t really a big deal. The harbor freight will only weld up to 70 amps on 120v, the 200 everlast will hit 120 (supposedly). The truth is at 120 it is actually pulling 30+ amps out of the wall (on a 20 amp circuit) and it’s relying on the thermal trip curve of the breaker not to shut off. In simple terms you won’t get anywhere near 120 if anything else is on the circuit or you weld more then 20-30 seconds in a row. Also, you may have 240 at your place but someday you may need to go someplace to weld something (be it a friend or a job). I rather have atleast the ability to run a 3/32 7018 at 90 amps than being stuck with 6011 3/32 at 70. Hope that helps 👍
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I was wondering if you could explain what this means. On The 200 STI: Max Inrush (I1MAX) Amps: @120V: 39.2A. Maximum Rated (I1EFF) Input Amps: @120V: 24A. Max Inrush (I1MAX) Amps: @240V: 36.8A. Maximum Rated (I1EFF) Input Amps: @240V: 22A. Would/could a dedicated 30 amp plug with 30amp breaker (for travel trailer) run this 200 STi set at 120 amps?
@@bryanthornton6787 surely I can explain those 😀. So they actually seem to have believable specs listed. Max inrush is the maximum power it will pull out of a circuit. In my testing most stick and MiG welders will pull 32-38 amps on a 120 circuit when maxed out. They are telling you that welder should not exceed 39 amps on 120 and 37 on 240 (obviously on 240 the output power is far greater). Now the rated amps is the power output it has at its rated power. Rated power is typically not at max, but less. Doing the math of a 7018 run at 120amps, that’s about 2,400 watts (120a x 20 volts that a 7018 would run at). That welder at best is probably 60-65% efficient so that puts input power around 3700 watts to get 120amps out with stick. At 120 volts that is 30.83 amps (3700w / 120v). That’s a whole lot of info but what it means in simple terms is that welder (best case scenario) will need 31 amps input to output 120 amps. On a normal house circuit a 20 amp breaker will allow 31 amps through without tripping for probably one minute. So a normal dedicated 20 amp breaker would handle welding at 120 amp output intermittently without issue provided you weren’t burning up rods constantly. A 30 amp household breaker would handle that welder indefinitely at 120a output without ever tripping because that welder is unlikely to exceed 40 amps draw and a 30 amp breaker will allow 40 amps to be pulled for minutes at a time without tripping. So basically if you have a 30 amp 120 circuit you’re good to go and will get 120 amps of output off that welder on 120. I have personally used both a esab rogue and a miller 161 maxstar on 120v 20 amp and they both will weld 1/8th 7018 at 120 without issue. I would assume the everlast would be the same and even more so with a 30 amp breaker. If you are limited to 120 volts the modern inverter welders can actually weld a 1/8th rod which is awesome. The only real downside is the duty cycle is generally lower and the hot start may be slightly less when maxed out. Hope that info helps 👍
great video, I finally upgraded and my Primeweld mig180 is on its way to me. It comes with a spool gun and it also has a CC mode & comes with stick leads. I'm still going to keep my buzzbox in the corner just in case tho. On a side note last night I was padding beads running 7014 DCEP on my buzzbox. Anyway It didn't feel like I was getting any penetration, the slag was all gummy like a 6013 and the molten metal just blobbed up on top of the plate, TBH someone could have told me it was DCEN and I would have beleived them.......any thoughts? It might just be how 7014 is since I have never really tried them before.
The 7014 seems to take more amperage than 7018. Based on my testing it doesn’t like to penetrate much. I have ran 3 different 7014 brands/rods and I rather run 7018 10 out of 10 times lol. For 1/8th in rods try 130 amps (depending on steel thickness).
@@makingmistakeswithgreg THANKS, yeah I probobly wont buy anymore 7014.....they are ok I guess but I would almost rather have 6013 or 6011 in an AC only situation.
@@yurimodin7333 yeah, after running a bunch of 7014 it seems to me it mostly would benefit thin metal because it’s penetration seems to be minimal at best. I have some 5/64 7014s I am going to fool around with on 1/8th metal this weekend and see how those run (I did run them to decent success in the past on thinner material). What I find interesting is I really like 7024, but despite 7014 having the same flux it doesn’t produce as good of welds for me.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I got my PrimeWeld in a day early so I was trying it out and it runs the 7014 MUCH better than the buzzbox did......I am thinking the buzzbox is just super weak on its numbers vs output (its the old crank style) or possibly something in the DC rectifier is getting wonky. I actually didn't mind the 7014 on the inverter. After talking with my dad (retired factory maintenance welder) I think the appeal of 7024 is that sweet sweet slag peel.
The 210 is worth it just for the features. Antistick and hotstart are great for beginners and arcforce with help you for welding thick metal or doing your hot pass. But even those feature aside, let's say you're all old school guy that doesn't need that fancy bs, everlast has a 5 year warranty whereas the titanium only gives you 90 days unless you pay extra for either the 1 year or 2 year warranty
I definitely agree 👍. The 210 makes stick welding easier and you can tune it to the way you want. If the budget allows for it that would be the way to go between those two 😀
