Fantasy JET III TIG AC / DC 200 3in1 WELDER PLASMA PFC IGBT

[blenkie1]

Wallace, it was what swayed me as well. I got the 256 TIG. A lot of people on here seem to have R-Tech and like them but think people should have a look at something else as well. I do try to buy British gear wherever I can. My Tec Arc just seems more beefy. The casing itself feels like it would take a knock or too.

 

[hotrodder]

Type JLT into the google search box at the top of the page (the forum search needs more than 3 letters to work) and you should get results like...
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/search.htm Might not be the origin of the machine in question as they don't list an AC/DC TIG with built in plasma on their site and the front panels are different however JLT do like naming stuff 'Fantasy' by the looks of things

About foot pedals rather than machines but shows the "workmanship" and customer service that a couple of members have got from a certain UK brand that's been mentioned... http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/non-r-tech-foot-pedal.47212/

Thermal Arc don't make kit either, some of their models are made by the big players but then unsurprisingly they're priced similarly...
The predecessor to their AC/DC 202 was double the price and made by Sanrex in Japan who are an electronics giant that have been about since the 1930s. Their DC only (TIG and more basic inverters) are, colour aside, suspiciously identical looking to similar kit with Parweld or ESAB written on the side. Some of their MIGs are made by Lorch, http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/new-tweco-thermal-arc.47682/

Granted i'm probably being harsh given the price of the thing but FWIW despite all their claims of 'new standards' they don't do anything that wasn't available a decade or two ago, my 15 year old Lincoln v205t (actually made by Selco in Italy) is 9kg lighter and specced for a 16A fuse instead of min 20A and will hapily run from a 13A plug with everything turned upto 11 for example

 

[Wallace]

I've not seen that post about the Tec Arc pedal before, what an absolute load of sh**e. Mine has a linear pot actuated directly off the pedal and none of that Meccano, always thought it was overpriced though. At a guess, perhaps the linear pot became unavailable or was too expensive and that's now the lash up replacement. Must be an unbelievable mark up or is that the cost of UK manufacturing now? I wonder who's car they nicked the timing belt off.

 

[Richard.]

Type JLT into the google search box at the top of the page (the forum search needs more than 3 letters to work) and you should get results like...
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/search.htm Might not be the origin of the machine in question as they don't list an AC/DC TIG with built in plasma on their site and the front panels are different however JLT do like naming stuff 'Fantasy' by the looks of things

About foot pedals rather than machines but shows the "workmanship" and customer service that a couple of members have got from a certain UK brand that's been mentioned... http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/non-r-tech-foot-pedal.47212/

Thermal Arc don't make kit either, some of their models are made by the big players but then unsurprisingly they're priced similarly...
The predecessor to their AC/DC 202 was double the price and made by Sanrex in Japan who are an electronics giant that have been about since the 1930s. Their DC only (TIG and more basic inverters) are, colour aside, suspiciously identical looking to similar kit with Parweld or ESAB written on the side. Some of their MIGs are made by Lorch, http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/new-tweco-thermal-arc.47682/

Granted i'm probably being harsh given the price of the thing but FWIW despite all their claims of 'new standards' they don't do anything that wasn't available a decade or two ago, my 15 year old Lincoln v205t (actually made by Selco in Italy) is 9kg lighter and specced for a 16A fuse instead of min 20A and will hapily run from a 13A plug with everything turned upto 11 for example

It's a good point. My fronius acdc is the best part of 15 years old and I'm pretty sure it does everything these new inverters do. Mine is not lighter though

 

[hotrodder]

Probably doesn't like this shambles inside either (pic nicked from http://welders.tokentools.com.au/tag/chinese-welder-repairs/)

JLT appear to at least lay things out a bit better inside but it looks like they're still blowing (dusty/probably metallic) air directly over all the delicate boards
http://www.spaw-serwiscz.pl/zagraniczni_JLT.php

more pics from the same source here... http://www.spaw-serwiscz.pl/zagraniczni_JLT.php

Here's the insides of my Lincoln, http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/protecting-welder-from-grinding-dust.47763/#post-533021
With the covers on the PCBs are sealed off and the fan blows through a large finned ally 'tunnel' to which is the main heat sink

Mine predates 'fan on demand' which is pretty much standard from all the big players these days, the 'wind tunnel' thing is done even better nowdays and they often include dust filters too

 

[Richard.]

Yeah mine looks similar in the respect it's vertical boards and a channel through the machine, fan on demand. Mine is not as compact it's quite big and hefty though. With the cooler I can nearly lift it. I do love the v205t . World class machine.

 

[Wallace]

This is the inside of my Tec Arc pedal bought back in 2009, Still don't see why it was £200 unless the linear pot was expensive.

 

[Jan]

Both parts of Sod's Law cover this:
a) The more there is to go wrong, the more will go wrong.
b) If nothing has gone wrong, you've probably missed something.

 

[Richard.]

Mine has a lot of free space inside. Good for working on not so good for its portability I suppose.

 

[Richard.]

This I like a lot (air channel through machine as hotrodder explained) this is probably the main reason this machine still works after 15 years.

 

[bc30se]

I use the JLT TIG welder and I like it, serviced twice under warranty, the last one is more than I could ask for, works great. I knew what I was buying and for this price you can't complain. You probably found JLT FANTASY at www.fachowiec.com. They are, we could now say, an authorised importer of Chinese junk, but they are really reliable and even provide after warranty service which is affordable.

I myself didn;t have any problems with them, I talked to one of their service people, and he told me that they just replace components inside until it works. The bad one is sent back to China and is either repaired and send back to them, or they are sent new versions of PCBs. Each time I sent mine, I was given a new unit.

And there is a guy on YT who was given a new version of PCB when servicing it after warranty

 

[Richard.]

I'm seeing right here, did you say you have sent it back twice under warrenty.

 

[bc30se]

Yes but I also said what you can expect for less than 1/3 of the price for a brand one?

Do I have to worry you that there is lots of positive feedback from people who bought it and just use it until now and JLT brand has been on Polish market for 5 years now and they have very good reputation for the price.

The guy is considering buying a China toy, so let's make it clear, it is worth buying!. He doesn't want to buy LINCOLN and I am not coming to say... don't do it, buy a Chinese one....

 

[Richard.]

Even at 700 quid it sounds like far too much of a headache. The idea that anything despite how cheap it is won't go through it's warranty without having to be repaired replaced is worrying.
They might be nice people to deal with and they seem to honour there end of the deal but what happens when that runs out. It's basically a throw away unit when the warranty is done. 700 quid every two years. Which is a lot more expensive then the lincoln

 

[Richard.]

I know he dose not want to buy a top brand but I would say he needs to buy a brand with a sporting chance of surviving a few years after the safety net has gone. Which may cost him a few quid more but will save him a fortune in the long run if the fantasy machine is prone to breakdown.

 

[bc30se]

In the worst case, prepare to spend 100 punds each 2 years, as the guy said in the film because the complete interiors of his welder were replaced for such price.... and taking into account the number sold, he, as well as me, is an exception...

again.. not too much..

 

[Richard.]

That's if the part that breaks costs 100 pound. If the whole machine is built to same standard then how can you predict what it will cost.
You said yourself you were given a brand new unit. That says to me the repair on your unit would not of been worth it for the cost of a new one. Which I why I believe these are throw away kit.

 

[bc30se]

Do you believe that the sheer components in Kempi or Lincoln are more expensive? No... And their welders also have after-warranty issues, google will make a good lecture on it, and then it is not 100 pounds for the whole unit, it is 1000 pounds for a single PCB that may fail, and sometimes it does.

And if you hear 1000 pounds for the repair, and a new unit is 1500 or 2000 pounds... you have the answer. I paid 550 pounds for my JLT with a pedal and it has so far done what I have asked her for. Still, 100 pounds is 1/5th of the price and not a half as in the case of the brand ones. More important is the supplier, if they are responsible you cannot be wrong with the chinese junk. I am happy...

 

[mr migwire]

ive got a chinese dc tig sitting under my bench that gives an over voltage warning light as soon as you try to do anything with it, its done 5 minutes work literaly and is as clean as a whistle, no reply from the seller that i bought it from but being chinese its a throw away, and definatley a lesson learned.

buy cheap buy twice.........

 

[Richard.]

Do you believe that the sheer components in Kempi or Lincoln are more expensive? No... And their welders also have after-warranty issues, google will make a good lecture on it, and then it is not 100 pounds for the whole unit, it is 1000 pounds for a single PCB that may fail, and sometimes it does.

And if you hear 1000 pounds for the repair, and a new unit is 1500 or 2000 pounds... you have the answer. I paid 550 pounds for my JLT with a pedal and it has so far done what I have asked her for. Still, 100 pounds is 1/5th of the price and not a half as in the case of the brand ones. More important is the supplier, if they are responsible you cannot be wrong with the chinese junk. I am happy...

It's a matter of opinion. To answer your first question yes I do believe the components in a high end machine are a lot more expensive they are built with design in mind and from higher quality materials. Even things like the dials knobs and switches are completely different to feel and use. The layout in side is designed to protect the boards and electronics.
Yes any machine can have an issue but the chances are other than general maintenance you should not have to spend another penny on it. My machine first come out in 1993, mine was a later version 1998 I think. And it works as well today as it would of when new, I would bet it would cost more to keep your machine the same length of time than it would mine even though mine would of started life with a £4000 price tag. I'm not dissing the fact that people buy them as they are serving some peoples uses just fine but at 500 quid it is a consumable not an investment.