Almost 1 year review ESAB rouge 200, is it any good?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2024
- In this episode we look at a 1 year review on the Rogue 200.
Original review: • New welder in the shop...
Actual efficiency testing:
• Cheap HF vs expensive ...
0:00:00 Intro
0:03:01 Things I like
0:08:50 Things I don't like
0:17:05 Conclusion
Im with you on that, a good smooth arc start is super important, I don't know if you remember me but I got that first welding job and they gave me a Lincoln precision tig 375, and its got the worst arc starts ever and I fucking hate it. It starts so piss poorly that half the time it doesn't arc at all, you end up having to scratch start it, and the AC mode is horrendous. Moral of the story is this welder seems nicer than the $14,000 industrial sized watercooled welder I use for work. Thank you greg.
What’s weird is the esab uses a traditional points style arc starter, which seems to work really good. Most points style machines I have welded with (new or old) tend to have a much snappier arc (like a 20amp start). 90% of the time the rogue 200s arc starter is a light 10-15amp hit. My dynasty can light the arc at lower amperage, but not reliably. The rogue also tig welds down to around 10amps but it seems more like 5-7a. It’s honestly better than it needs to be for its intended purpose.
Speaking of arc starters, I bet that aspect 375 has points that need to be cleaned. If you look up the manual for it it will tell you how to do it. Basically you pull them out, sand them down, and set the clearance/gap between them. It should drastically improve the arc starting 😀
I think the stick mode thing is because you need to remove the TIG torch anyway, which normally means the footswitch or TIG torch plug as well. So it shouldn’t be an issue. As far as the memory goes, I’m surprised it doesn’t have that. All the other ESAB’s I’ve owned, as well as the 205 I use now, has memories. I’m convinced that ESAB makes very reliable machines. I haven’t had problems with any of them, including my plasma cutter.
The lack of memory surprised me as well. I have owned 5 esab machines and all of them have been really good. I owned a rogue 180, rebel 205, rouge 200 I have now, the rebel 235, and technically the firepower fp200. They all worked well and I never had any issues with them. They seem to have a better sense for making rugged welders than most of the other companies too, which I appreciate.
Love the no nonsense info
Congratulations to the ESAB. 🎉🎉
You could get a sticker for rod size vs amperage and stick it over that sticker, I'm sure these exist, simply a google search away. Love your channel and thank you for all your great content
Definitely can. It’s just odd that they chose part numbers for filler rods with tig rather than a stick chart like their other machines. All esab machines generally have excellent charts/labels that are useful, the rogue 200 not so much lol.
That plate weld looked sweet cool review thanks for sharing ……..
Happy 4th !!!!🇺🇲🇺🇸
Happy 4th to you too 😀
Happy Independence Day Greg, I bought an ESAB Rogue 180 4 years ago and love it.......even bought a foot pedal for tig......cheers, Paul
Definitely an awesome welder as well. I had one for a year and built a ton of stuff with it 😀. So much better than trying to move something like a Lincoln tombstone around lol.
I've been looking at this machine just cause it can run on a regular generator. Thanks for the review! Definitely want it now
Due to power factor correction and its high efficiency (over 90%) it can run off a generator better than most any conventional welder. To put it in perspective I ran the rogue 200 today on a 120v 20a circuit at work and welded 20 rods in a hour at 95a (7018) without a breaker trip. A older transformer welder would need a 30a 240v circuit to do that. Generator wise you still want a pretty solid output wattage if you want to weld with it above 140a. It is possible to stick weld with 3/32 rods on a 3500 running watt generator on 120v. For bigger rods or amperage over 140 you should be in the 6500 range for stick. To me that’s the biggest deal with the welder, I can literally use it to weld on any 120outlet in a pinch, and it’s small.
Happy 4 July . Inside view please ... ( you can dust if off, at the same time) My China Tig had a bad HF start but after cleaning and adjusting the spark gab , it works very reliable. Back in the days with the first PCs you could buy at noise killer circuit board for the power supply . It would be so cool , if the same circuit would work for inverters that sound like warming up engines on a C-130.
Happy 4th 😀. If you want to see an inside view of the machine I believe in the video I linked in the description I opened it up and showed what’s inside. It’s a well put together machine and they took a lot of effort to make it resistant to elements.
thank you for that review
No problem 👍
Great video, I have many welders ”mostly Millers” and currently use my Dynasty 280 for most of my tig work…I’d really love to buy on of these mini machines and this is the one I’d most likely get thanks to your excellent breakdown of the pos and negs.
So the miller maxstar 161 sth is my favorite small welder of all time (I owned one and regret selling it lol). It is a better overall welder, however the price is way over double what the esab is, and honestly not worth it. The rogue 200 is honestly one of the few welders that I think is 100% worth it. When you look at how good it is on 120v, the portability, the build quality, and how well it welds, there aren’t many other options out there that match it. The fronius 180, and miller maxstar are both as good, but at significant higher costs.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Your reply is greatly Appreciated
Hello, been watching your videos for a few days now, subscribed as well. I am hobby welder + electrical engineer, in the UK, been welding for 15+ years for casual repairs and for the calming effect of hood down 11,000 C arc controlling zen state you can get with welding, also father was a pipeline engineer ( so root pass,caps, coat n wrap, x-ray, pigging etc were dinner conversation set topic as long i could remember) . With intro out of the way let me jump right to the comment, I see you mentioned not liking the remote current control being active in MMA mode. Actually I have seen a hand held remote being used by a welder to control the current during a 7016 root pass it was orange kemppi machine, the guy welding was swedish, but in the UK. I suspect ESAB might have it for that option. you could check that out on the web and by using the dial on the tig torch as a remote while stick welding
You and another person mentioned the portable hand held amperage control, and I believe I have seen that in Esabs catalog but never used it. I still find it odd because the unit is designed to be portable and doesn’t have super long leads, so having remote amperage control isn’t a big deal when it’s 3 feet from where I am welding lol. On an engine drive or long cables run from a power source absolutely. Apparently the dial on the tig torch will work like an amperage control, which is pretty cool I guess.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg actually the dial can be used during the welding, that what I mean. what i saw was the guy controlling the keyhole with the remote dial adjustments, on the fly, not stopping and adjusting. one hand with the stinger the other with the dial, just welding. 7016 is not fast freezing so that might be the market, stainless steel stick would also make sense, i.e. finer heat control during welding, controlling current as the heat builds up. come to think of it, a manual hot start with the remote dial
I use a CK style 20 water cooled touch on my Everlast. A game changer. No more hot hand.
Water cooled is the way to go 100%. Especially with aluminum. Waiting around to let the torch cool is no fun.
I want the Transpocket(now called Ignis) or Artis for stick and tig, the Fronius seem to have a better reputation here in the UK. I know the Fronius do remember settings, work with 6010 and work off a 100M extension lead!.
No doubt I would put fronius at the top of welders. Based on my experience here in the U.S. fronius makes the best portable stick and tig welder with their trans pocket series. Don’t get me wrong, the esab rogue 200 is less than half the price and is excellent, but the fronius is a more polished overall package.
As a new welder, I agree with you on the memory issue and stick welding chart. Annoying as hell! Seems to run stick a little hotter than my Miller 255. As always, thanks for posting!
I amp clamped it and it tends to favor 5-8 amps over the setpoint. That’s not just hot start, it’s steady amperage. The miller is probably calibrated dead on and the esab is a bit hot. My miller 350 at work I always run 7018 1/8th at 130a, the esab 200 130 amps is arc blow city lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I GREATLY APPRECIATE the amp info!!! I know each machine has its own personality, just gotta figure out the differences. I wish you would've warned me that after I got my first welder, I'd want five more! 😉 Keep up the great work! You're making the welding community a better place. Happy 4th!
Side topic question for ya or maybe one of those viewer question thing!!!
What do you think of parallel welders welding practices to boost up output?
Miller has a guide line on how to do that in the fileld which they explain the hook up and the set up to achieve almost double output, I guess this is common in arc gouging!!. There is some info out there, I just figured this might be a good topic to discuss.
I have heard other people mention it, and I have never heard of such a thing prior to starting this channel lol. There are a lot of thoughts I have as to how that would work (or not work lol). Considering half inch carbon rods exist at 600+ amp setpoints, it would be far less taxing on two welders vs one. 600a+ at 50+ volts is a unbelievable amount of power so two machines might work. I wish I had a way to try it. I do have a big blue welder at work that has atleast 500a output, but no second one lol.
I'm saving up my money for the ESAB 215- for the money it seems to give me what I need in stick, wirefeed and TIG (although I absolutely suck at TIG at the moment) .
The 215 is a great welder. It basically welds the same as the 235 I have. One option you might have is to buy one used. You can generally save more than a few hundred bucks. They have been very reliable so I wouldn’t worry too much about the warranty.
You could also consider buying the rogue 200 and a separate mig welder that has 220a capability. The rogue 200 has high frequency start for tig, over the rebel has lift start. It also is slightly better of a stick welder (runs 6010 better). Having two machines would take up a bit more room but you would gain capability I think. Regardless the rebel series is worth the money, they flat out weld excellent and are not frustrating to use.
I wonder if they deliberately did the stick mode thing. With the caveat that I am a complete novice, but maybe it could be useful with a pedal if you're transitioning between different thicknesses on a single weld pass.
From a marketing / feature angle, it would also let them put a dial in the stinger. So you can have the same advantages as the tig torch when you're in a position where reaching the controls would be difficult.
That’s an interesting idea on a dial in a stinger. I have never seen that and it actually could work pretty good. I actually looked up the wireless controller for the miller welder I use at work (I am commonly 75’ from the welder and it’s a pain to get up and go to it to adjust amperage). It was over 1k which is crazy. Something like a simple dial in the stinger would solve that. I definitely think esab had some ideas for controls they never fully utilized.
The pedal control in stick mode is because i think you can plugg in esabs normal controls on a cable. So you can adjust the amperage on the fly when welding pipe open root🤷♂️
I could see that working but the stick leads are short and the machine could be adjusted via the dial just as easy as a remote since it’s 6’ away from you lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg if you watch the video: 6g 7018 all the way, by northern sweden welding you will see what i mean. Its hard to explain but almost everyone here in sweden uses the remote when welding
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Greg, when @theo3857 said "on the fly" I think he refers to adjusting amperage as you are laying your bead/pass, could be handy to minimize the risk of burn through on aluminum stick welding, also someone posted a video explaining how you can plug your electrode holder with a pedal/handheld switch control under tig HF and take advantage of the tig capabilities on stick such as pulse. haven't tried that myself because all I have is a cheap flux mig welder lol
Does it have short circuit detect in stick mode? A cheap $70 Amazon welder i started with had it, but my primeweld 325 does not have it and i char the electrode holder when i have to unclamp a stuck rod.
Great question, and I forgot to mention it. Even though they don’t advertise it as having it, when a stick rod gets stuck, it defaults to much lower output. It makes it really easy to break to rod off.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg thanks.
You said you don't like you can't just the amperage for the tip torch is plugged in. But look at it this way you can leave it plugged in and have a remote amperage adjustment
Haha I never thought of that. It totally would work like that. Set it a bit high and you could go up or down a few amps as needed lol.
Looks like a great little machine. Just wouldn't work for a lot of what I do. I routinely run long periods at 200-240 amps. I need the high duty cycle of a big power supply and the comfort of a water cooled torch. But as a home shop AND very portable unit, that thing is a bargain at the price point.
Definitely. When you need power there is no substitute for a 220amp or higher machine. For fast repairs and portability the small rogue welders are awesome. For in shop use a 250+ amp machine is a must have. You never want to be short on power lol.
If money was not an issue, any how thanks for the info .ps i saved my pennins and got me a hb titanium 225 hope to give it ago tomorrow
The hf225 is a great stick welder on a budget. It runs 6010 just fine and 7018 as well. 100% worth the money 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg all couse of U
Any one has an Idea what a small tank of gar my run? Just trying to learn
A small argon tank can be had for 100$ on marketplace. The tanks are rated in cubic feet. A 40cu ft is a small tank, and will last 3 hours of welding. The cost to swap it at a weld store is about 20-30$. A 300cuft cylinder is around 400$, or maybe 230 used on marketplace. A 300 lasts for about 20 hours and costs 75$ to swap around me. The cost is much cheaper with big tanks.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg thank you so much that helps tons
The reason why they probably wont disable the remote completly on stick mode is bcause they sell remote meant for stick.
I took a lot and they want 350$ for the remote lol. I can sort of see the point of that, the only
Thing is the machine tends to be a few feet from me when I use it, so a remote isn’t very useful. If it had 50’ leads absolutely.
I’m in the market for a TIG machine at home. Any experience with Primeweld welding machines?
I have heard a lot of good things about them. I believe I have used the 225x before at a customers shop. They are next on my list to try after I get through some yes welder/amazon specials. Their design is a bit dated with rotary knob controls but that’s honestly not a big deal. I know they work and they have a lot of adjustment.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg
Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate the channel. I really like that you’re not all flashy and more concerned with stupid rock riffs, jump cuts, and being “EXTREME” than just well communicated info and advice. I do a fair amount of repair welding and fabrication at work but am looking for a dedicated hobby TIG machine at home. Jody @ welding tricks and tips recommends the primeweld machines (I like his channel as well) but it’s hard to know if he’s endorsed by them or not.
Hey Primeweld, send this guy a 225x to play with! If you have something newer, send that instead.
I have heard they are solid machines. They are next on my list after I finish testing the janky yes welders/arc captains I am working with now lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I'm very suspect about the Arcaptain machines- they seem to have hit the market hard but I'm not sure about the quality/durability and all that. Plus the wire speed readouts are all metric- I don't like that shit. Speaking of shit- looks like you have some shit accumulating in your work area there...
Face reveal! Show us that beautiful stach!
Haha if I put a paper bag on my face I will do a reveal lol.
They Cost Enough... It Should Be Good & Last...
Definitely.