Frequently Asked Questions
Customers already in our "Golden Circle" are already familiar with our product and how AHP conducts business. But for discriminating new comers, purchasing a new product may be intimidating and filled with questions. We've sought to answer the most common questions about our company and our Products below. If you don't see an answer, give us a call. We'll be glad to help address your concerns.
Q: Where is AHP product made?
A: The simple answer is China. The more complex answer is that it is assembled in China, with name brand parts from worldwide manufacturers, including product from US based companies. Even though most of these parts are made in China, these are quality, name brand parts that are found in many other everyday commercial products. All welder manufacturers are currently building a large percentage of their equivalent product overseas, usually China, or in Mexico (from Chinese-sourced electronics) and bringing them in in knocked down form or in sub components and making a few connections and installing the shells, on finishing assembly lines. An "Assembled in USA" sticker is then added. In some cases however, these manufacturers are bringing in a few models directly from China, or have a second line that is mostly made in China.
Q: Is AHP a Chinese owned and operated company?
A: No. It is owned and operated from North America and home headquartered in California. It would be similar with any other name brand welder manufacturing company in the USA but under private control.
Q: When was AHP founded?
A: AHP was founded in 2014 by people dedicated to offering a more affordable and quality welding product that would give hobbyist and small operators an opportunity to establish a toe hold in the industry without having to pay the staggering prices required to buy name brand welding products.
Q: Is the AHP product a copy of a name brand product or a clone from some other factory? In other words, are they the same as other Chinese manufactured brands that have popped up in the last few years?
A: No. AHP currently features original products of its own design and specifications. The products are produced in manufacturing facilities that exclusively manufacture AHP's products and do not self-market or sell any other similar product in the North American Market. Many of the popular brands that have popped up to try to compete with AHP are currently from the same factory or from similarly copied designs however. So if a popular tool company, "pro" welding line or a certain "prime" line of welders look sort of similar, there's a reason for it. Rest assured, you are getting a top quality, specialized product, not an off-the shelf product from a factory with a different color and rearranged control knobs.
Q: Why should I choose AHP over similar priced products? There are several reasons.
Top in our minds would be the fact that we provide full tech support and warranty for our products through factory trained and equipped staffed and facilities right here from North America. There's no outsourcing of tech support to other countries. We specially train our personnel for supporting the product. Our repair facilities even have factory built diagnostic equipment specialized in repair and testing of the equipment. And we don't just have a "guy" who answers phone calls. This is a multi-membered and growing staff. Rest assured behind AHP, there is a team in place, and it isn't just a one man show.
Another issue that our competitors like to side step is that AHP manufactures to ETL standards. Duty cycle testing, Amp output ratings, labeling etc., are designed to conform to these stringent and expensive standards. A word to the wise: If you are comparing duty cycles of the machines, make sure they are rated at the 104°F (40°C) standards. There's a lot of trickery regarding duty cycles. Our duty cycles are posted at maximum output, not an an arbitrary number or arbitrary temperature. If you see a duty cycle posted at something like 77°F, it's not a standard or meaningful rating, and certainly not to ETL standards,
Q: If you manufacture in China, how do you ensure quality control?
A: We maintain our own offices in the manufacturing facilities and staff it with North American personnel during development and most manufacturing runs. Additionally, International certifying agencies can make regular drop-ins to check on manufacturing standards and facilities. Being a privately owned factory in China actually makes it come under more scrutiny than a state owned facility.
Q: How long does the warranty last and what does it cover?
A: For more details about this question, see the warranty section on this site. But to sum it up, the warranty full 3 year parts and labor warranty. In most cases, due to the modular design of the unit, with plug and play components that cover about 80% of each unit, there is a good chance that you won't need the labor side of our warranty. In most cases we can send you a board that takes 15 minutes to access and replace, without any need to send your unit in, saving you precious down time as opposed to sending it in and loosing money while you wait on your repair. Don't worry, we have full directions on repair and replacement and won't leave you high and dry. In the case that it cannot be fixed either over the phone or with a simple board exchange/repair, our technical support department will authorize shipment back to our repair facilities at our expense for the duration of the warranty.
Q: Do I have to buy AHP brand consumables and accessories like torches for them to work with AHP product?
A: While we'd appreciate your buying consumables and accessories from us, (especially buying high quality NOVA accessories from us) there are plenty of after-market suppliers that offer them that fit our products. TIG torches are universally sized as well as the connectors. We use standard DINSE type connectors for TIG and Stick connections (just pay attention to the size, which is listed on our product pages and in the manuals). All torch manufacturers have these available for their torches. For MIG, the torch connections are the universally available Euro-quick connector that is the widest used connector for MIG torches in the Industry. It is not a proprietary connection. Again, almost all MIG torch manufacturers offer this connection. The MIG torch itself is a common type manufactured and used by many different OEM and aftermarket suppliers in the industry. These are well established, trusted designs that are "open-sourced" designs. This translates you being able to find nozzles and tips at a location that is probably near you.