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?!?!?

[Broccoli1]

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.

Unfortunately I don't think you can get both and since you threw in the Light weight/portable parameter you didn't even have an option in the Transformer class machine so your only choice was the more expensive Inverter machines.

The good thing is that you did buy quality so iffin' you still feel the need for a long term investment and can live without the portability you could sell both those Inverters and purchase a Transformer based machine and then be all set for the long haul.

[jpence38]

WOW, I feel like I am listening to those "elected officials" over there in Washington.
Talk about overcomplicating things......

[mikesystem]

I just bought a few year old dynasty 350 I still have a transformer machine but I hope it lastes a lot longer then everyone is talking about I could not see spending the money I did for a machine that will die in a few years I kinda think this whole topic is b.s what would happen if I bought a brand new in the box machine and never took it out of the box so if i waited 12 years then unboxed it would it work ???

[BD1]

we have Miller 304's at work. I think these are first generation used daily in the field. They are still running. Like a lot of shops, they don't see service until they are dead.