Kevin can’t wait to dig into a box from Longevity, Inc. It contains the Longevity ProMTS 200 multiprocess welder that has MIG, TIG and arc (also known as stick) welding capabilities all in one machine. First he shows what comes with the machine. There’s a MIG gun with some extra tips; a good sturdy “stinger,” or electrode holder, for the arc welder; and a nice torch for the TIG welder. Kevin spends a little time talking about the TIG torch, which has some nice features. The amperage control is built right in the welding torch handle, letting you control amperage from zero all the way up the maximum power set on the welder. He recommends getting the feel of the torch handle with your gloves on. He also shows that the switch is removable so you can get the type of control that is best for you, from a slider to a vertical scroll wheel or the horizontal scroll wheel like the one that came with the machine. There are some consumables, too, with a short cap, a long cap, some collets and some torch cups. For the MIG welder, Longevity also includes drive rollers in four different sizes. Finally, there’s a DVD with all of the instructions, warranty information and some videos, so you can take your laptop into your shop and watch the videos as you go. Finally, there’s the 200-amp multiprocess machine itself. Kevin shows each part of the control panel, which includes a toggle to select MIG, TIG and arc, and another toggle for 2T and 4T to enable lift start or high frequency start. Next are three dials. The first controls amperage for TIG and arc, and wirefeed when using MIG. The second offers voltage control for MIG, downslope for TIG, and arcforce for arc. The third dial lets you control your wave form when using AC for welding aluminum. On the right side of the panel is a function toggle switch to indicate whether you’re welding mild steel, aluminum or stainless steel. Under it is the indicator for the thickness of the metal you are welding. There’s an amperage or wirefeed display, and another for voltage. Underneath the control panel is the gas connection for your TIG gun, the positive lead, the negative lead, the MIG gun connection and the electrical connection for the TIG. As Kevin says, “There’s a lot going on.” But, he says, once you “divide and conquer,” everything becomes a lot easier to understand. On the back of the welder Kevin shows the power cable, the on-off switch and the connector for the gas. He notes that the gas connection is a 1/4″ EuroConnector. You can buy this connector from Longevity with the hose ready to go to the regulator on the bottle, but it isn’t included. Kevin then explained that, because MIG and TIG use two different kinds of gas, you can have two different bottles and switch back and forth depending upon the function you are using, or you can have a cart that can hold two bottles. If you opt for the two bottles, you set up argon for the TIG welder and mixed gas for your MIG welder, with two different hoses and two shut-offs that come into a Y that you can plug into the machine so you can switch back and forth from one welding gas to the other. Inside the machine are more MIG welding controls. It’ll handle an 11-pound spool of wire. Kevin shows where the drive rollers go and how to change them. The welder also has a burnback control for the MIG that sets how much wire sticks out of the nozzle when you let go of the trigger. You also have controls for your MIG welding gun that establish whether the gun is local or remote and whether you are using a spool gun – yes, it has an optional spool gun and alsoan optional foot pedal. The machine is currently on sale for $1,100. So you get a 200 amperage MIG, TIG and arc welder that is spool-gun capable for $300 a machine all in a small box you can carry around. It does require 220 power, but Kevin is impressed with how much machine you get for the money. Click here for more information about the Longevity ProMTS 200.
