Inverters have a short life.

[jmpgino]

I had stupidly thought that Inverter welders would last just as long as the old style, meaning a life time if taken care of. Since there are no moving parts and if those parts were of industrial quality, I thought the high cost was worth the long life, it was a trap I think many have fallen into. I have recently discovered that they only have roughly a 12 year life, some say 20 years.
If I had purchased a welder of this style and was using it for a living, then the power savings would pay for the short lifetime, however those of us who purchased one for weekend and a few nights a week use are probably in for a an expensive surprise in the not too distant future. My Dynasty 200DX is four years old, it has only 42 hours use and a lot of that is stick use. I got a CST 280 so that I could use that for stick instead of using the DX, then a 211 for MIG.
So my concern is that the DX and CST have been a bad long term investment for me, choosing a lightweight portable option.
So those of you with more knowledge on this matter, would you please chip in on this matter.

[Rezeppa]

If you get 20 years out of a welder than great but if you just compare it to anything else than your ok. I know I won't get 20 years out of my cell phone so I have excepted that fact and moved on. Just remember that the inverter offers more features than a transformer in arc characteristics so your paying a premium for pulse and frequency. Smile accept it. I don't know if I agree 100% but if its true it is what it is.

[cruizer]

Realistically there is no real reason for the inverters to fail, with common yearly maintenance which no one seems to do. But all the same parts do wear out and 12 years is a pretty long time for anything.

[elvis]

what is the yearly maintenance?

[cruizer]

Well blow em out, hand tighten the phillips head mod or mod screws. Tighten the on/off switch screw and 5/15" head bolts on mother board. Tap the inverter and program boards down. I like to rtv the corners of them so they cant move.

Tighten the backs of the output studs and lock nuts, these I put a couple drops of red locktite on.

Not much else to it. Just a basic inspection

[gkent]

So what you're saying is that regardless of the amount of use, the welder is toast in 12 years or so. Why, does the battery die? Is there a self-destruct timer? When does the clock start ticking, when the welder is made or when you buy it?

Your statement makes no sense. We're not talking about milk, we're talking about welders. Lifespan for the most part is based on use. If you don't use it, what's going to cause it to wear out?!?!?

[jmpgino]

So what you're saying is that regardless of the amount of use, the welder is toast in 12 years or so. Why, does the battery die? Is there a self-destruct timer? When does the clock start ticking, when the welder is made or when you buy it?

Your statement makes no sense. We're not talking about milk, we're talking about welders. Lifespan for the most part is based on use. If you don't use it, what's going to cause it to wear out?!?!?

Food for thought, Miller told me what I have posted here above, the comment in an article below made me search, I then contacted Miller and was told what you have read from my keyboard in my first post, they are aware that these units have a shorter life. It is not about milk but plastic and a number of other items man makes that will breakdown after time. Put that plastic milk bottle outside for a while and it will break down due too heat, light and even the air we all use daily. A comment above talked about a cell phone life, well did he pay $4000.00 for a cell phone, my poxy cell phone is now eight years old and only cost $50.00 and I use it daily, that is value for money, here is the comment that made me search and a Honda tech told me their Inverter generators have short lives as well.............................................. .................................................. ...........................

As far a how long my TIG setup will last ... that remains to be seen. Most likely it will not last as long as a conventional rectifier type machine (and this goes for any inverter type machine regardless of who makes it).

[regal2800]

I dont think it works like that. It is not like these things are sitting out in the elements for them to deteriorate. In this particular case i would think that the life of an inverter is based on hours of use. Plastic doesn't deteriorate after 12 years, sitting in a garage. And there are not moving parts, metal etc which needs to be run every so often like a diesel engine etc.

But in general things are not designed to last as long anymore. Besides technology is moving so fast that after 10 years a given product is not as efficient or capable and you are forced to upgrade even if it still works.

[Helios]

I don't know whether what you're saying is true or not, but it's one reason I bought a transformer-based Syncrowave instead of the inverter-based Dynasty.

The transformer machines definitely have a longer track record than inverters. Time will tell.

[Country Metals]

What about cars and trucks vs welders?

Older vehicles are still out there, they were built with high standards of their time with simple parts. New cars are computer operated, a lot of sensors that can go wrong and cause mayhem but are "eco/luxury" friendly compared to older years.

Older welders are still out there, they were built with high standards of their time with simple parts. New welders are computer operated, lots of doodads/sensors that can go wrong and cause mayhem, but they are "welder/settings" friendly.

They never designed welders to last 25+ years, that just happens to be a quality in each individual machine. Cell phones are not designed to last 25 years, they are designed to last through dropping and bumps that people do before they spend another $400 on the next big thing. As a "side effect" they could last 25 years.