Differences between earlier Dynasty 200DX and the current model (2009)

[piniongear]

to FusionKing and all others who are wondering......

got anything yet??

Yes FusionKing, I do have something. Not good either.
Yesterday I learned Paypal/Ebay has made a ruling. That ruling is that I return the welder in the same condition as I received it, and also that I pay the UPS shipping charge.

Long story made short, I talked with a supervisor at Paypal and he said since the seller is willing to take back the machine and give me a refund there is nothing they can do. They tell me they are not the police and I certainly can understand that.

So I had to think it over a bit.

I decided that if I return this stolen welder to the thief, he will simply sell it again (on Ebay most likely) to another poor dupe like myself.
Then the new buyer will go through the agony that I have been through when they discover it has no warranty, is a stolen welder, and does not have a legal serial number at all.
I do not wish that on anybody!

So, for me to return this to that thief...... well, it is something that I cannot do.
By the way, the thief is:

S. Hester (The name on Paypal account is Sheila Russell)
1200 Bay Ave.
Columbus, GA 31829
He (she?) goes by the name of... stufseller0069 on Ebay

If anyone knows this guy (gal?) or lives nearby I suggest you stay clear of him/her. Just an out and out thief!

A word about our AskAndy is in order too......
Andy jumped in with both feet to help me with this and has done everything possible to bring this to a successful close.

Andy has provided me with the documentation of the serial number assigned to S/N LH250512L.
That is the serial number that was stuck to the back of my Dynasty 200 DX.
This number is assigned to a Millermatic 350 built in June 2007. Not even the same type of welder.

I removed the case cover with Andy's direction and found where the single serial number tag inside has been removed by the thief or thieves.

The tags attached (date/serial codes) were still left in place on the circuit boards though. These numbers show that my machine was made in May or June 2009.

So I do not know how to thank Andy for his tremendous help! I guess all I can say is a heartfelt THANK YOU ANDY! for a job well done and encourage all readers of this tale to consider buying Miller products in the future. I certainly will!

I have a brand new, but stolen, Dynasty with no warranty. I can only hope it continues to run for 3 years without problems. My other great hope is that the thief will someday (and sooner than later) get a payment delivered to him. I am sure it's on it's way at this moment!
Thanks to all who provided help and took an interest in my plight....
pg

[FusionKing]

any news yet???

got anything yet??

[piniongear]

Wow, when I started this post I didn't think it would end up discovering a stolen welder. I hope that all works out for you Piniongear. Thanks to all who posted.
Looks like the 200 DX im going to look at today is an earlier model built in 2003. It does have the Auto-Line input voltage feature, and HF start - but not the new Blue Lightening feature as that came out in 2008, and it does have an AC waveshape control on it. The seller took it to a Miller dealer to have it checked out and is providing the service ticket. It sounds like a pretty good deal at 2500 bucks for the 200dx the coolmate, foot pedal, leads, hoses, and torch. If all goes well I could be welding this evening. The to do list has been piling up since the maxstar died.

Toolmantk.......
I do feel I owe you an apology, so here it is.
It was not my intention to hijack your thread, but that is what happened. Sorry.

For those following the tale, Andy has been a tremendous help with this matter. He and others at Miller are working to solve the problem.
Best customer service I have ever had the pleasure to receive! Great work guys!

Toolmantk, I am glad to hear you found a Dynasty and with the included extras it sounds like a good deal.
I have had mine but a very short time, and simply love the machine. I think you will too.
Good luck with it............. pg

[Toolmantk]

I have a Maxstar 91 parts machine....

GTA/SPEC - I PM'd you.

I need parts for the Snap-Start II unit that attaches to the bottom of the Maxstar 91. It was an add on feature for hi freq, and preflow / postflow capabilities.

Anybody have one lying around??

Here's a link to the owners manual - http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o629c_mil.pdf

Thanks

[Toolmantk]

Hi All,

New member here but I have been using Miller products for a long time. I'm looking at buying a used Dynasty 200DX that was manufactured in 2003. (I Need it to replace my Maxstar 91 that died and needs a new board that is no longer available ) I was wondering if the Dynasty 200DX changed much since then? The current models have the "blue lightening" arc start and the auto voltage sensing for 120 and 240 volts, and the AC waveform select. Anybody know what year model these features were introduced on?

With or without it is still a great portable machine and the price is right. I welded with a syncrowave 250 for years but that's a bit tricky to get in the trunk of the car!

Thanks!

Wow, when I started this post I didn't think it would end up discovering a stolen welder. I hope that all works out for you Piniongear. Thanks to all who posted.
Looks like the 200 DX im going to look at today is an earlier model built in 2003. It does have the Auto-Line input voltage feature, and HF start - but not the new Blue Lightening feature as that came out in 2008, and it does have an AC waveshape control on it. The seller took it to a Miller dealer to have it checked out and is providing the service ticket. It sounds like a pretty good deal at 2500 bucks for the 200dx the coolmate, foot pedal, leads, hoses, and torch. If all goes well I could be welding this evening. The to do list has been piling up since the maxstar died.

[Desertrider33]

Man I hate this carp of stolen stuff. There are 2 victims here, the person who's welder was stolen, and the person who unknowningly bought the stolen welder. Unfortunately, the only one who made out was the theif. I'm sure someone out there is having alot of fun with my Suitcase 8VS that was stolen off my truck not long ago. Whoever has it probly doesn't know it was stolen either.

[SundownIII]

Piniongear,

May not be the time to mention it but, you can get a new Dynasty 200 DX (not including the pedal) from BR Welding in White Plains, MD, for just a few bucks more than you paid.

You won't see their "best price" on e-bay because by going thru e-bay they have to pay a commission. If you call them direct (800-783-3073) and talk to Brian, he'll fix you right up. They are a brick and mortar retailer and have a full service dept at their location.

Hopefully, you paid for the item via PayPal and e-bay so you have some protection. Also would recommend you contact your credit card company and bring them up to speed.

Hopefully you get to the bottom of this and things work out for you.

[ASKANDY]

Fyi

Just so everyone knows.
We are working with him to resolve the issue. All the internal ser#s have also been scraped off. The component date codes do show it was manufactured in May or June of this year and the ser# on the unit is from 2007.
I am supplying him with the original machine test sheets for him to submit as evidence to get a refund.

Cross your fingers.

Andy

[Desertrider33]

Now that pic looks more like a real serial number sticker.

The problem is you're holding a stolen welder that rightfully belongs to someone else, who is probly very sad about it's loss. Is there a real serial number on the machine somewhere?? You really need to find it's true serial number and Miller can check to see if it has been reported stolen and who it might belong to.

Before I buy any used welding equipment with serial numbers, I call Miller with the serial number to verify if it has been reported stolen or not. I don't want to pay any money to any theives and perpetuate their sleazy acts!! I can't call every police department in the country, but calling Miller is pretty easy and they're very helpful about checking serial numbers.

Hopefully the thief is caught and hopefully the rightful owner is found and hopefully you are reimbursed for your loss of money!

[piniongear]

Oh Wow! Thanks for the pic. Now I see the rounded corners you are talking about. Mine are just square corners!
They sure go to a lot of trouble to make a tag that an expert can identify as a phony with a single glance. I did not know of this difference in the tags before.
Thank you Andy.
I certainly owe you one for this...........pg

[ASKANDY]

Sorry guys...
Been on the road again the last 3 weeks.
The serial numbers of the new style Dynasty 200s are LJ280222L and later.
Happy shopping!
Andy

The above is a quote from Andy made on 8/27/2008 regarding the serial number cut off to determine the Dynasty 200 DX differences when the machine received an update.

The S/N stated is the point that anything later has features not found on models of an earlier serial number.

I bought a Dynasty 200DX on July 01, 2009.
This was a brand new machine on Ebay and it had 'Buy It Now' price of $2850 with free shipping, just like all the rest listed by different people.
What attracted me to this one was it also had the 'Make an Offer' choice.
I made a couple of offers and was quickly rejected.
Then I made a final offer for $2650 with free shipping. The offer was accepted 4 hours before the close of the auction.
I felt like I had made a pretty good deal (at the time) and saved a few bucks.

Before the machine arrived, I D/L'd a user manual from Miller to look at.
When the machine arrived a week later, it had no user manual and it was not in a Miller box, but that did not concern me because I had the D/L'd manual.

Then I recently stumbled on to this thread regarding the differences between the 200 DX models. I go out and look at my machine and see it is S/N LH250xxxx. This is the earlier model.
OK, there goes the so-called 'savings' I got on the deal, I thought.



I put in the serial number at the Miller site and D/L a manual for that S/N and sure enough, I got a different version (earlier).
Comparing the two manuals, there were a couple fewer pages in the earlier manual and there was no information about setting the Tungsten Selections or anything about the setting of AC Waveshape Selections.

So I get on the phone to Miller's tech department and ask about the differences.
Mark tells me that the earlier machine (mine) does not have an ability to select different wave selections on AC and that was about it.

So I go out to the shop and take the newer manual with me. I follow the steps given to select tungsten first, and Lo and Behold........ TUN 094 pops up! This is the default setting for a 3/32 tungsten.
I adjust this to 062 for my 1/16 tungsten I am using.
Puzzled???....... This is not supposed to be available on my machine.

Next, I go to the AC Waveshape Selection page and set the machine to AC, turn it off, then back on and hold down the polarity and AC waveshape buttons.
Now I get the 4 selections for waveshape showing and I scroll through all four types of waveshapes.
I am even more puzzled at this point. My machine seems to be the later model???

So back on the phone to Miller and I give Mark the serial number of my machine. He looks it up and comes back and tells me he has no record of such a serial number!

He also says.......'I do not know what to tell you.'
I ask,....... 'In effect, I have no warranty I guess?' He says that is true.

The machine is brand new. The serial number/product sticker on the back is perfectly attached with no sign of tampering, but there is no record of this number. I am just blown away!

While I am happy to have the later version with the waveshape settings, I am quite unhappy to have a brand new electronic machine with no warranty!

Has anyone run into this situation before? And how could this be so? As I say, everything is brand new. It came with a brand new RFCS-14HD heavy duty foot control, but no cables or torch, which is normal.

Anyway, that is how my morning has gone...... pg

FYI,
Here's an image of one of my Dynasty 200 ser#s.
Notice the rounded corners and straight edges. My ser# tag also looks larger since it completely covers the index lines on the nameplate that your's does not in the upper right corner.

We'll get it taken care of....
Andy

[piniongear]

So what about your action with ebay and making SURE this person is dealt with and you get your money back?
Or have you blown $2600?

Well, I have started taking the necessary steps to make things right. It has been 41 days since I made the purchase. Paypal gives me 45 days to issue a claim. So I squeeked in just under the wire by 3 days, but the claim has been filed.

Were it not for this great forum and other members asking questions about their Dynas I would have been holding a stolen Dyna for how long before I made the discovery? Who knows.
But all things work out as they are supposed to, so I feel good about that.

I will have to jump through the hoops and let things work out.

At present, I have spent $2650 on a machine that was apparently stolen. So I am not out really 'out' $2650, but at the same time I am holding a brand new Dynasty DX that has zero warranty.

So I look at it like this.....
I am out a warranty. The Dyna welds just great! It also is the later model that has the AC Waveshape Selection and the Tungsten Selection features.
The serial number certainly does not reflect that. It is for a 2007 Millermatic 350.

This has been a really interesting day!,,,..... pg

[FusionKing]

So what about your action with ebay and making SURE this person is dealt with and you get your money back?
Or have you blown $2600?

[piniongear]

that's pretty crazy for sure.. The Dynasty 200DX is a machine i'd love to have, but i would definitely want my warranty and not have a stolen machine, but it makes sense why this would be a candidate. cause of it's small body and it's higher selling price.

Yep. First time this has ever happened to me...... pg

[myistar]

that's pretty crazy for sure.. The Dynasty 200DX is a machine i'd love to have, but i would definitely want my warranty and not have a stolen machine, but it makes sense why this would be a candidate. cause of it's small body and it's higher selling price.