Renegade1LI
Well-known member
Bakers has the Lincoln 215 for 1999 $ and get a 400$ rebate plus free shipping.
Buying a new MIG, which one??!!
- Thread starter PoorUB
- Start date
seber
Well-known member
The rebate is direct from Lincoln so you can buy it anywhere for that price.
vpd66
Well-known member
Your right my bad. Their 200 amp mig welder is synergic but not pulse. I would guess in the next year or so we will start seeing pulse mig welders out of China.
speed bump
Well-known member
Looks like the Miller weighs about half as much and has auto set if either of those things matter to you. I haven't used either but the guys at work like the 211 for portable work.
If I was in the I'll throw $500 away mood I would drop it on a yes welder (primeweld without 3 years of warranty and US tech support) and if it sucked move over to a Hobart.
If I was in the I'll throw $500 away mood I would drop it on a yes welder (primeweld without 3 years of warranty and US tech support) and if it sucked move over to a Hobart.
Aaron_W
Well-known member
You don't.
I used a Miller 252 MIG with knobs in class and I managed just fine.
I'm an inexperienced welder so the digital display helps me better understand what is going on.
I'm surprised how much emphasis there has been on digital readouts in this thread. Do we need a Bluetooth feature as well? 
I obviously don't know what I'm missing, I have a ~30 yr old Lincoln MIG, and 50? year old Miller stick welder with dials, but I cannot see how this is that big of a deal. MIG welding steel is very forgiving, if you're moderately competent, and you should be able to figure out settings very quickly with a simple printed chart. I worked in a factory in the early 90s that did lots of MIG welding, and we hired lots of women that had NO prior knowledge of welding; they could be trained to horizontally MIG weld satisfactorily within one day, max, but 90%+ by lunch. Even though this was for repair and touch up welds, the main process was robotic, they did one day of training, and the welds were cut apart and had to pass a penetration test. They had no prior knowledge, no digital readouts, but almost all of them could figure it out by lunch and do nice welds. Any of them that were former seamstresses said it was much easier than making a shirt.
I obviously don't know what I'm missing, I have a ~30 yr old Lincoln MIG, and 50? year old Miller stick welder with dials, but I cannot see how this is that big of a deal. MIG welding steel is very forgiving, if you're moderately competent, and you should be able to figure out settings very quickly with a simple printed chart. I worked in a factory in the early 90s that did lots of MIG welding, and we hired lots of women that had NO prior knowledge of welding; they could be trained to horizontally MIG weld satisfactorily within one day, max, but 90%+ by lunch. Even though this was for repair and touch up welds, the main process was robotic, they did one day of training, and the welds were cut apart and had to pass a penetration test. They had no prior knowledge, no digital readouts, but almost all of them could figure it out by lunch and do nice welds. Any of them that were former seamstresses said it was much easier than making a shirt.
Jswain
Well-known member
Most people think more knobs = better. 75% of them won't know what half of them do, or which ones to use and which ones to leave off without looking at the manual.I'm surprised how much emphasis there has been on digital readouts in this thread. Do we need a Bluetooth feature as well?
I obviously don't know what I'm missing, I have a ~30 yr old Lincoln MIG, and 50? year old Miller stick welder with dials, but I cannot see how this is that big of a deal. MIG welding steel is very forgiving, if you're moderately competent, and you should be able to figure out settings very quickly with a simple printed chart. I worked in a factory in the early 90s that did lots of MIG welding, and we hired lots of women that had NO prior knowledge of welding; they could be trained to horizontally MIG weld satisfactorily within one day, max, but 90%+ by lunch. Even though this was for repair and touch up welds, the main process was robotic, they did one day of training, and the welds were cut apart and had to pass a penetration test. They had no prior knowledge, no digital readouts, but almost all of them could figure it out by lunch and do nice welds. Any of them that were former seamstresses said it was much easier than making a shirt.
Or you have on/off, voltage & wire speed. Something don't look right it takes about 3 seconds to figure it out. Some beginners get left in the dust switching polarity from gas to fluxcore and never figure it out, let's give them 25 knobs on the front to MIG weld some scraps.
seber
Well-known member
They are already available but from what I can gather, they work for about one minute. Pulsed mig is complicated and power hungry. If you want it to work, you really need three phase and quality machine. Anything less than $3000 is pretty much guaranteed to be junk.
vpd66
Well-known member
Try the HTP Pro Pulse 220. It has pulse and I like it better then the Miller pulse machines I weld with everyday at work.
we bougth one, its ok, havent found anything bad about it yet
I found an legitimate online seller with the Esab EM210 for 40% off. Very tempting! Like $700 instead of $1100.
ColoradoMech
Active member
I got a millermatic 211 about a year and a half ago and I love it! Just get a miller and never look back. I can turn around and sell it right now for a few hundred bucks more than I paid for it.
Buy once cry once
Buy once cry once
PlanB
Well-known member
I thinking about this to. For the budget, it seems like the finalists are millermatic 211, lincoln power mig211i, esab em210 and Primeweld 180- in budget order. Its hard to argue against blue or red...until you compare the prices. Based on canadian prices, is the miller 3x better than primeweld? Is the lincoln twice as good?
PlanB
Well-known member
Oops fogot hobart for somwhere between red and blue....
Jswain
Well-known member
Price (almost) doesn't matter if you want a machine to have for the next 30 years and don't need every bell and whistle to weld up some sheet metal or yard art.
Saying primeweld is the best welder is like taking a brand new car companies vehicle out for a 10 minute test drive and telling everyone you know it's the greatest car in the world....you really have no idea yet.
PlanB
Well-known member
Never said primeweld is the best....more like I asked is it "good enough" because its way too much if it isn't.
![20231212_151353[1].jpg](/forum/data/attachments/1856/1856998-f4aed667dd19b3873eca3ab3bbf6b617.jpg)
strength_and_power
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2015
- Messages
- 1,405
Out of your indicated price range but I can’t say enough about my Fronius Transteel 2200. 2.5 years of frequent use and I have yet to replace the factory tip or nozzle. Welds great on 110 or 220. Mine went through a shop fire that totaled the building but the Fronius still welds amazing
@PoorUB
Thanks for your photo.
It sounds like your Snap On was manufactured by Systematics in PA.
I asked because some Snap-On and Millermatic mig welders of '80's and '90's were nearly identical.
As an example, I have an orange Airco branded welder that is identical to a blue Miller branded welder.
Anyway, I'm a day late and you're now a dollar short (in that you already bought a new welder), but my goal in searching your welder was to see if you can find replacement parts for your Snap On from alternate sources, and it looks like you can.
The problem with brand new modern welders is the delicate circuit boards that cost more to replace than the welder is worth when the circuit boards need replacing. Since the welder won't run without the circuit board, the manufacturer can charge a mountain of profit for the replacement circuit board.
The advantage of older welders is... they don't have these fancy circuit boards. Instead, they have big, basic, bread board at best components that are readily identifiable individually, and commonly replaceable once identified.
I also have a little known MIG welder that was made in the USA back in 1986. The company that made soon went out of business (probably due to manufacturing too good of a welding machine and not charging enough for it to recoup and sustain their cost of doing business), probably by 1991, so at least 30 years beyond any hope for reaching.
Yet I used this welder just the other day, at a location where only 110volts was available on site. 030 solid core, C25, and pre-heating with a little MAP gas torchette handled 3/16". But the point is, when opening this welding machine up to periodically clean and maintain it, it is as dead simple on the outside (two dials and a power switch, done, no digital displays, no other buttons) as it is on the inside.
A transformer, a large capacitor, a big drive motor, a smaller transformer for the drive motor... you can literally see each component on the bread board that behind the dials, down to counting the colored stripes on the resistors. Everything inside the machine can be found at Mouser or Digi-Key. Everything outside the machine can be found at Tweco or the local welding supplier.
I am thinking you can restore your Snap-On. Look for any wire chafing inside, look for any burn marks. Check the back end of the mig gun for fraying. On USA built machines of this era, it seems like a lot of off the shelf parts were used. I've even found drive rolls online that perfectly matched the original drive rolls that came with my 1986 machine, without any reference or mention of my machine's brand.
I was too late to your party for this encouragement to have saved you from buying a new machine, but don't sell your old machine short. The new machines may have more whiz bang features, and be lighter to carry to boot, but as the saying goes, they don't make stuff like they used to, and the same can be said for welding power supplies.
Circuit boards seal the doom of new machines, while older machines without all the circuit boards are more life cycle extension friendly.
Thanks for your photo.
It sounds like your Snap On was manufactured by Systematics in PA.
I asked because some Snap-On and Millermatic mig welders of '80's and '90's were nearly identical.
As an example, I have an orange Airco branded welder that is identical to a blue Miller branded welder.
Anyway, I'm a day late and you're now a dollar short (in that you already bought a new welder), but my goal in searching your welder was to see if you can find replacement parts for your Snap On from alternate sources, and it looks like you can.
The problem with brand new modern welders is the delicate circuit boards that cost more to replace than the welder is worth when the circuit boards need replacing. Since the welder won't run without the circuit board, the manufacturer can charge a mountain of profit for the replacement circuit board.
The advantage of older welders is... they don't have these fancy circuit boards. Instead, they have big, basic, bread board at best components that are readily identifiable individually, and commonly replaceable once identified.
I also have a little known MIG welder that was made in the USA back in 1986. The company that made soon went out of business (probably due to manufacturing too good of a welding machine and not charging enough for it to recoup and sustain their cost of doing business), probably by 1991, so at least 30 years beyond any hope for reaching.
Yet I used this welder just the other day, at a location where only 110volts was available on site. 030 solid core, C25, and pre-heating with a little MAP gas torchette handled 3/16". But the point is, when opening this welding machine up to periodically clean and maintain it, it is as dead simple on the outside (two dials and a power switch, done, no digital displays, no other buttons) as it is on the inside.
A transformer, a large capacitor, a big drive motor, a smaller transformer for the drive motor... you can literally see each component on the bread board that behind the dials, down to counting the colored stripes on the resistors. Everything inside the machine can be found at Mouser or Digi-Key. Everything outside the machine can be found at Tweco or the local welding supplier.
I am thinking you can restore your Snap-On. Look for any wire chafing inside, look for any burn marks. Check the back end of the mig gun for fraying. On USA built machines of this era, it seems like a lot of off the shelf parts were used. I've even found drive rolls online that perfectly matched the original drive rolls that came with my 1986 machine, without any reference or mention of my machine's brand.
I was too late to your party for this encouragement to have saved you from buying a new machine, but don't sell your old machine short. The new machines may have more whiz bang features, and be lighter to carry to boot, but as the saying goes, they don't make stuff like they used to, and the same can be said for welding power supplies.
Circuit boards seal the doom of new machines, while older machines without all the circuit boards are more life cycle extension friendly.
finn
Well-known member
And over that twenty years, your new Miller will have cost you the equivalent of two lattes per month.
Plus’s, likely no maintenance.
Retroman
Well-known member
Love my 211 hope your happy with yours. Some day a AC Tig machine more a want than need.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Great white
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2009
- Messages
- 175
I
I bought my Lincoln 180 at the local welding store so I got the variable setting instead of the 180HD "retail models" stepped setting. The stepped version is a more retail version, the variable is more on the commercial side. But I didn't see any visible differences when looking inside both models other than the variable amp setting. You want the 220v version for all the "punch" the unit can deliver. I'm not even sure if they even come in 110v, but you don;t want that. Every 110v welder I've tried just doesn't get it done for me. I find 110v's not good for much more than body sheet metal. YMMV.
The 180 will also take a spool gun and I've used it to run some aluminum beads. But it's maxed out a that point and the welds weren't what I would call great. Pretty sure it's just straight MIG, no adjustments for cleaning action or anything like that. So you have to have the base material religiously clean and by the end of the weld you can tell you're trying to straight punch though the "reformed" AlO2 coating. It works, but not what I would call great for sure.
I've got a 250 amp TIG for aluminum. Saved a few bucks and went with an Everlast 250EX. I've no complaints for the what I use it for. Might be a different story in a commercial environment.
I now generally use the MIG to position and tack things in place and finish up on the bench with the TIG. Aluminum I go stright to the TIG....
I'm also in Canada, but juuuust a little bit east of you (about 5000kms). I went with Lincoln because parts, accessories and service are available almost everywhere here. Miller you need a specific welding supply store here and I've never seen anyone selling Primeweld or Esab in this area that wasn't mail order.
I bought my Lincoln 180 at the local welding store so I got the variable setting instead of the 180HD "retail models" stepped setting. The stepped version is a more retail version, the variable is more on the commercial side. But I didn't see any visible differences when looking inside both models other than the variable amp setting. You want the 220v version for all the "punch" the unit can deliver. I'm not even sure if they even come in 110v, but you don;t want that. Every 110v welder I've tried just doesn't get it done for me. I find 110v's not good for much more than body sheet metal. YMMV.
The 180 will also take a spool gun and I've used it to run some aluminum beads. But it's maxed out a that point and the welds weren't what I would call great. Pretty sure it's just straight MIG, no adjustments for cleaning action or anything like that. So you have to have the base material religiously clean and by the end of the weld you can tell you're trying to straight punch though the "reformed" AlO2 coating. It works, but not what I would call great for sure.
I've got a 250 amp TIG for aluminum. Saved a few bucks and went with an Everlast 250EX. I've no complaints for the what I use it for. Might be a different story in a commercial environment.
I now generally use the MIG to position and tack things in place and finish up on the bench with the TIG. Aluminum I go stright to the TIG....
BigMike782
Well-known member
Great machine for the class it's in.
Sweet arc on both 110 and 230V.
Yup, I'm a Miller fan!
My apologies. I totally misunderstood your first post.
Congratulations on your new purchase!
IRQVET
Well-known member
Miller 211 is a great machine, nice choice!
I have the Hobart 210 MPV, I freaking love that welder. It heavy as hell, but it lives on the welding cart so its no biggie.
I have the Hobart 210 MPV, I freaking love that welder. It heavy as hell, but it lives on the welding cart so its no biggie.
I got the Miller fired up today. It welds a lot nicer then the old Snap-On welder. by the way it sounds I an pretty sure the frequency is higher, maybe 120 hertz instead of 60 hertz.
I like the auto set, just pick the metal thickness and it sets the wire feed. I messed with it manually too so I got an idea what it will do.
I thought is was funny as running on the lowest setting I had to turn the wire speed to nearly the lowest setting. On my Snap-On I run the wire speed between 6 and 7 all the time. That is pretty much the full usable range of the speed setting!
It runs a nice clean bead with less splatter than the Snap-On.
I like the auto set, just pick the metal thickness and it sets the wire feed. I messed with it manually too so I got an idea what it will do.
I thought is was funny as running on the lowest setting I had to turn the wire speed to nearly the lowest setting. On my Snap-On I run the wire speed between 6 and 7 all the time. That is pretty much the full usable range of the speed setting!
It runs a nice clean bead with less splatter than the Snap-On.
larry4406
Well-known member
I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 175 240V that I bought at Home Depot. It has the stepped setting. I would like to change it to variable if anyone knows the part number.
OP - sorry for the slight derail.
Jswain
Well-known member
You'll enjoy that thing for a very long time
A bit more than a year later with the Miller 211 and I am still happy, even without the digital readout. I run the auto set settings most of the time.
I had to do some over head welding and the auto set didn't work well for that position, so I had to break down, flip open the cover, look at the settings chart for a minute, (It took 45 seconds of that minute to fully understand the chart) then set it for voltage and wire speed and run a pass. I had to reach out and bump the speed dial down a tiny bit and it was welding just fine.
I would buy it again.
I run the auto set settings most of the time.I had to do some over head welding and the auto set didn't work well for that position, so I had to break down, flip open the cover, look at the settings chart for a minute, (It took 45 seconds of that minute to fully understand the chart) then set it for voltage and wire speed and run a pass. I had to reach out and bump the speed dial down a tiny bit and it was welding just fine.
I would buy it again.
My Lincoln 175 plus started acting up, picked up an Arc Captain 200 a month or so ago. Was $350.
It's amazing how smooth it welds vs my Lincoln. Almost no spatter, just pssxzzzzzzzzzz vs sounding like I'm throwing ice into a deep fryer.
It's amazing how smooth it welds vs my Lincoln. Almost no spatter, just pssxzzzzzzzzzz vs sounding like I'm throwing ice into a deep fryer.