Dynasty 200 DX length of service.

[old jupiter]

The "Blue Lightning" enhancement was developed to make arc starting easier... and has nothing to do with reliability]

Yes, I do understand that. I mentioned it because in my memory it was about the time that the Blue Lightning version came out that I stopped seeing as much discussion here of owners having problems with the Dynasty 200. And yes, I do understand that any machine can have problems, also that some percentage of complainers either don't read or understand the manual or are otherwise creating their own problems, and finally that some these guys' problems were with arc starting, not any machine unreliability. But given all that, I still recall there having been what seemed like a lot of questions about whether the Dynasty 200 was reliable. I'm not inclined to do all the Searching necessary to "prove" that my memory on this is at least partly right. But I looked a little bit and found a post that would indicate the tone then:

Big D replied to 200dx
in Welding Discussions

12-23-2008, 07:13 AM
{C} I have been reading this board for several years and the HF problems on the 200DX and been mentioned many times. At one time Miller even admitted there was a run of 200dx's that had defective HF boards. However I wonder if there was more to it than bad boards, maybe more like poor design? What make...
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Last edited by Big D; 12-23-2008, 07:17 AM.


And again, you know more about the machine than I do (I'd be delighted to own a Dynasty 200, and would get one, but I have enough TIG equipment to do what little of that work I get). I was NOT and am NOT arguing about the merits of the machine, H80N. I have always appreciated the experience and intelligence you bring to any of these discussions, and wish I knew as much as you do. My whole point (and I probably should have just minded my own business, LOL) was that if the OP had had gotten the same impressions that I did, that would explain his doubts and questions. Whatever, you all have surely given him what he needs to know by this point.

[H80N]

old jupiter

was not hammering on you... any model from any maker will have some failures... and those are the issues & loud squawks you will hear about..
. the success stories will soldier on silently .... from what I have heard and my experience with the Dynasty 200DX model.. old and new... they are one of the more robust and reliable designs...
Unlike the Dynasty 300DX whose design and introduction predates it ... and has gained reputation of being hard to service if it fails.... do not know the details.. percentages..(.Cruizer might comment on that..).... and then there are a bunch of 300DX units that have served admirably without a hiccup for the last 15 years.... go figure...(ask "Portable Welder" he loves his)

On "Industrial & Heavy Duty"...................
seems that every time we hear some variation of the OP's question.... there is the assumption that the equipment should withstand abuse like steam locomotive... or at last an "SA-200"..... While designed for heavy and continuous use... they are a precision instrument..and do benefit from less harsh environment...

Pre "Blue Lightning"..... they do have some arc start quirks... in my experience they perform fine....
IF you maintain a clean sharp tungsten...... touch it to the workpiece and withdraw before hitting the pedal
and in some cases ... increase the "Start Amperage"... (lots of threads on this)

[jmpgino]

My question was akin to asking who had the most miles on a truck with a Diesel engine. As simple as that, did not expect a Donald Trump to be............

[Don52]

I have had my Dynasty 200 DX since 2008, so it is a pre Blue Lighting version. I won't win the high mileage award because I only use it on weekends every week or two. Not every day. I did want to share my experience because it might help someone else.

Are you guys being quite fair to the OP? It seems to me there used to be a number of users that were having real problems, that a lot of units had to be returned.or repaired after very little use. My neighbor was one.

When I got my welder the high frequency for starting the arc was weak. Sometimes I had to rub the tip of the Tungsten to get it to start. Then one day after I had the welder for two years the HF quit entirely. I brought in in for warentee service and they replaced the HF card. The HF has been great ever since. The arc will jump 1/2". Last winter I started getting strange problems. Between one aluminum weld and the next I got an error message that said that there was a problem with the foot pedal. I turned the machine off and disconnected the connector to the pedal. Then I turned it back on and it was ok. I turned the machine off and re-connected the connector to the pedal. I turned it back on and it was fine for awhile. Then it happened again. I removed the cover for the welder. It was very clean, but I took it outside anyway and blew it out with compressed air. While I had it apart I checked the connectors as Cruiser recommended, but they were all tight. I put the cover back on and it has been fine ever since. I probably have ~100 hours on it without any problems since then. I love my welder, but it did have these two problems.