another miller 211 vs hobart 210 question

[shocker998md]

Alright guys my Lincoln 135 is on its last leg. I've narrowed it down to the miller 211 or hobart 210. Is there any difference aside from the color and I think the feed roller? It's a 200$ difference right now. I'm just welding automotive stuff in the garage, I'm in between a beginner and a novice skill wise.

Looking to pull the trigger in the next week and I already have the gad setup.

 

[sberry]

The 210 has a couple less features, I don't care for them anyway, the Hobart is a super machine, great arc..

 

[bcradio]

For your use I'd say go Hobart. You will be very happy with it.

This is from a guy with a 211

 

[03protege]

Is miller running any of their mail in rebate or cash back promotions currently?

I know I have seen promotions where you could get $200-300 back or if you buy $200-300 in Miller accessories with the welder they would reimburse you for them.

The Miller is supposed to be a little better at fine tuning the arc than the Hobart (set number of settings) and the Miller may hold it's resale value a little better. Other than that they are both excellent welders.

 

[rsanter]

Miller 211 has the auto set feature. I love it and I have been welding for years.
Using the auto set will make you think you are actually a good welder, makes it very easy to use

Bob

 

[shawhite]

Miller 211 has the auto set feature. I love it and I have been welding for years.
Using the auto set will make you think you are actually a good welder, makes it very easy to use

Bob

I was going to say the same thing

 

[zkling]

How is your lincoln 135 "on its last leg"?

 

[BD1]

I have not seen or heard of any rebates or deals on MILLERS. Farm and Fleet has the Hobart on sale for , $794.99
http://www.farmandfleet.com/product...gclid=CMeKxbW5nsQCFQyqaQodwQQAeA#.VP88XfzF-mA
Hobart Handler 210MVP MIG Welder
Blain # 678611 | Mfr # 500553

★★★★★
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. Read reviews.
4.9

$894.99
Sale $794.99 through 3/15/2015

 

[cspcrx]

I was in the same boat as you. I'm going with the 210mvp, and getting it from famer and fleet as BD1 posted.

My thoughts were I am just going to use it a little for projects and not my profession. The money saved is going to go towards an upgraded hood, gas, 230v outlet and some classes at my LWS. You may have some of these items already.

 

[alan camby]

I was going to say the same thing

I have the 212, not 211, with auto set and use the feature all the time.

 

[03protege]

I have not seen or heard of any rebates or deals on MILLERS. Farm and Fleet has the Hobart on sale for , $794.99
http://www.farmandfleet.com/product...gclid=CMeKxbW5nsQCFQyqaQodwQQAeA#.VP88XfzF-mA
Hobart Handler 210MVP MIG Welder
Blain # 678611 | Mfr # 500553

★★★★★
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 stars. Read reviews.
4.9

$894.99
Sale $794.99 through 3/15/2015

Type "miller welding promo" into a google image search and you will see some of the Promo flyers from previous years.

Looks like they do one around summertime most years.

 

[srmofo]

Alright guys my Lincoln 135 is on its last leg. I've narrowed it down to the miller 211 or hobart 210. Is there any difference aside from the color and I think the feed roller? It's a 200$ difference right now. I'm just welding automotive stuff in the garage, I'm in between a beginner and a novice skill wise.

Looking to pull the trigger in the next week and I already have the gad setup.

Ive read on numerous occasions the rollers have been upgraded to metal on the hobart

 

[shocker998md]

I decided on the miller. With rebates I got it for a grand along with a miller digital elite helmet. I love this setup.

 

[sk farmer]

the miller 211 is the way to go. good choice.

 

[davewo]

When were the feed rollers not metal? My first welder was a Handler 140 bought in the mid 90's, and now I have a 210MVP. Both have metal rollers.

 

[zkling]

Good choice, that is a very nice setup.

 

[Montosi82]

Currently a $200 rebate on the machine and another 200 on accessories. I'm ordering mine tommorow. Lowest price I found was $1079 with free shipping. Anyone found it cheaper?

 

[sberry]

You cant go wrong here. This is one of the super useful tools they ever invented and the competition in this class has really pushed it to affordable, not real big, adequate and affordable.

 

[Daniel_DePetro]

A few weeks back I bought a new in box Lincoln 180 HD for $450. Then I noticed Miller had the rebate (which has been going on since January and will continue through the remainder of 2015).
I sold the Lincoln 180 HD for $550 and immediately bought the Miller 211 below.


I ordered the Miller 211 week ago from WelderSupply.com for $1,079.00 shipped (BEFORE $200 cash back rebate for buying the machine alone) with a free pair of leather welding gloves. I ordered it at like 3:00am on Saturday, however as soon as business hours opened a salesman (Dave) called me with an order confirmation. I told him I was going to print out my own rebate form from their link online so I could get the money back ASAP. he immediately gave me the serial number of my machine and the rebate form was sent out in the mail that same day! The machine was deliver a few days later on Wednesday.

This is the second Miller 211 AutoSet I have purchased.
I bought one back in 2009 (or 2010?), however when I moved away from my hometown, I left all my shop equipment with my dad for his new shop.

Sitting atop it's perch:

 

[sk farmer]

my exact same setup.^^^^^^^

i know there are other options for welders/carts, but for a compact welder/cart combination i don't know of anything better. you can't go wrong with that setup.

 

[Daniel_DePetro]

I (obviously) concur.

 

[bry@n]

I decided on the miller. With rebates I got it for a grand along with a miller digital elite helmet. I love this setup.

Where did you end up buying it?

 

[DekeT]

Sitting atop it's perch:

This is how I want to set my stick machine. Have you found this setup top heavy at all?

 

[Daniel_DePetro]

No, the cabinet weighs 95 Lbs. empty, with the bottle sitting on the bottom plate, that little 75 lbs. welder doesn't have a chance of being top heavy.

 

[shocker998md]

Cyber weld had the best price I found.

 

[Daniel_DePetro]

As stated, the lowest price I saw was from WedlerSupply.com $1,079 shipped, which make is "only" $879 after rebate. They also include a pair of gloves.

Cyberweld.com is at $1,099

 

[tedsters]

A few weeks back I bought a new in box Lincoln 180 HD for $450. Then I noticed Miller had the rebate (which has been going on since January and will continue through the remainder of 2015).
I sold the Lincoln 180 HD for $550 and immediately bought the Miller 211 below.


I ordered the Miller 211 week ago from WelderSupply.com for $1,079.00 shipped (BEFORE $200 cash back rebate for buying the machine alone) with a free pair of leather welding gloves. I ordered it at like 3:00am on Saturday, however as soon as business hours opened a salesman (Dave) called me with an order confirmation. I told him I was going to print out my own rebate form from their link online so I could get the money back ASAP. he immediately gave me the serial number of my machine and the rebate form was sent out in the mail that same day! The machine was deliver a few days later on Wednesday.

This is the second Miller 211 AutoSet I have purchased.
I bought one back in 2009 (or 2010?), however when I moved away from my hometown, I left all my shop equipment with my dad for his new shop.

Sitting atop it's perch:

thats a good deal, and the carts nice also

 

[sk farmer]

the cart is nice. i have nothing against harbor freight but if you sat the hf cart and the northern cart next to each other you would never buy the hf model. the northern is heavier in every way and i can't see trying to shove my helmet in that compartment every time i wished to store it. the other drawers are rarely used. the helmet drawer is used every time the switch is turned on.

 

[Daniel_DePetro]

from the only person I know that has compared the two side by side, says there really isn't any real gains from one to the next...

Take it for what it is worth.

 

[sberry]

I havnt ran the new mvp but ran a few machines over the last few years and all of them work good. It a scientific fact there aint much difference but it gets a lot of debate anyway. About like the tips on some uppity screwdrivers or adjustable wrench.

 

[ProCharger]

The 210mvp uses a metal drive roller, the drive mechanism though is a polymer. The miller 211 is all metal driver and drive mechanism. Very little difference but it is there.

 

[west_perf]

How about today?
There's a 50lb weight difference between the two.
Hobart 210MVP is 829 and Miller is 1500.
Is the 211 worth the premium?

I'm replacing/augmenting a Handler 140.

 

[BukitCase]

Depends on what you use it for - the transformer 211 was the first mig I bought, worked great but wasn't very "portable", even WITHOUT moving a cart and gas bottle - also, the older 211 AND the Hobart 210 MVP were NOT intended for anything longer than a 10' gun - my solution was to buy a MM252 with 30A spool gun when I found one on CL for slightly less than HALF the going price - that way I didn't even need to PRETEND it was portable

Later on I decided that the newer MM211 had fixed pretty much everything the old one DIDN'T do, so I bought one and built an "offroad" cart for it - the newer autoset has about 3X the choices as the old one, the wire feed IS designed for a 15' gun (altho Miller makes you pay for the included 10' gun, I had to buy a separate 15 footer when I bought mine), it weighs about HALF what the transformer version does - while the Hobart STILL has step changes instead of continuously variable settings.

If I were ONLY doing relatively heavy fab work I could get by with the Hobart, but the 10' gun length would put me off - if I were into thin stuff like body work, the 211 would be my ONLY mig choice under $2k or so.

In all fairness tho, the ONLY Lincoln welder I've ever used was an SA200 ... Steve

 

[west_perf]

Yes, I plan to do some auto body and light steel work.
Also want to use it for mild-steel work (farm implements, etc).
I'd rather spend $900 vs $1600, but if it's well worth it to spend the $1600 I'll buy once and cry once.
Already bought a Handler 140 that just doesn't have enough juice, but will be a good backup welder.

 

[IndyGarage]

I went through the same decision a couple years ago. I'm sure the HH is a good machine, but I bought the newer Miller 211 and it is excellent. I really like the autoset. I've been using it this past week for patching some rusty body panels.

I've hardly used my larger miller welder since I got it, and I immediately sold both of my smaller ones, because I would never use them again.

 

[brownbagg]

i got both miller and hobart, but i love the hobart ironman, i think its a 235.

 

[Aaron_W]

Hobart also sells reconditioned machines online sometimes at a significant discount. I recently got a reconditioned Hobart plasma cutter for $250 less than retail. Looks brand new and has the full factory warranty. Just one more thing in favor of cheaper.
I have a Miller 220 and the autoset is a nice feature, but I'm not sure how it works with the analog controls on the 211, the 220 has a digital display. The 211 has more adjustment based on actual numbers (inches / minute, volts), I believe the Hobart settings are just numbers so slower / faster, hotter / cooler not specific settings.

Miller does offer frequent rebates which can bring the cost down some. When I was shopping a couple years ago, they were offering $300 off the 211 which made it very attractive.