Miller 211

[dime]

help me pick a new welder

Ok so I'm in the market for a new welder. I'm not new to welding at all but I haven't been able to use the 211. I'm wondering if I will outgrow it at home because I don't realy wanna have to buy another mig welder so I'm looking for opinions. My uses at home I do alot of suspension work rockcrawling suspension type things, alot of tractor stuff, and some sheet metal. another thing I'm liking the idea of it is I can get it with a cart and a spoolgun in my price range. I'm not expecting to weld aluminum everyday but it's nice to know I would have the capability at home. so I need your opinions on it and if you think I would outgrow it recommend me a machine. anyway thanks in advance

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

If you plan on doing production welding of structural steel, it's not the machine for you. For what you are describing however, it should be fine. I use mine for similar items and don't have a problem with it. It does not have the duty cycle that some of their other welders do but I am welding my own gear, take my time to make sure it is right and like the portability of this welder.

It can be taken on the road and with a change of the plug end, be used on a 115 outlet. There are a lot of us on here with that machine and I have not heard of anyone having a problem with it. If you want a heavier duty machine, take a look at the 252 but it will be a bit more money.

 

[dime]

Alright sounds bout like what I am expecting just wanted to make sure that such a small machine (211) was realy as good a welder as it seemed. Also just to check has anybody messed with the Hobart 210 tsc has a realy good sale on it right now just wondering if the miller is worth the few hundred extra I know there very similar

 

[dime]

Another one I'm throwing in the decision is the Lincoln 216 if anyone has tried it let me know what you think too it appears to be a big boy machine with a good duty cycle and Lincoln is running a deal ware you can get a spool gun with it do you guys think this would be a better option then the miller 211 I'm not realy brand loyal as long as it's one of the big main brands

 

[sberry]

I have a HH210, very good machine with exceptional arc quality. There could be some debate but might be even better than the 211. Its 240 input only but in shop it wouldn't matter to me. Good alum unit also, I have ran it a lot on steel but primarily it stays with spool gun for alum these days as I have another similar unit loaded for steel. Good for single pass work to 1/4 with solid wire.
As you see cleaning the steel first would help a bit but this has good wet out along edges. Lots of test info over at Miller and Hobart forums with these units.

 

[dime]

So many decisions I was dead set on the 211 yesterday when I posted this up but then I found tsc is selling the Hobart 210 with spoolgun for $899 wich seems like a pretty assome deal. I'm trying to talk myself out of the money for a big machine like the 252 255 or the 216 because it would seem the 210 or 211 would do anything in the automotive or motorcycle fab world just about as well at half the prices and come with a spoolgun and the Hobart is even cheaper so I'm definitely open to any advice I can get here I know the old buy as big as you can afford but the 211 or 210 seem to take the place of the big machines in a portable much less expensive package so what's everyones thoughts on that

 

[dime]

Lol I just noticed you made your cart out of a Lawnmower deck I bet it works great but wow very original

 

[dime]

Has anybody used a Lincoln power mig 216 because licoln has a deal ware you can get on for around 1500 and they will send you a spoolgun with it but I can't seem to find any helpfully reviews on it appears to be a full size machine though with 30a to 250a and 50-700ipm with a 60percent duty cycle at 170a and 30 percent at 216 what do you think worth the price difference?

 

[sberry]

I think the 216 is a different class of machine, really a way better unit, more top end and higher duty cycle. Miller 212 is in this class. You can do some different things with it, for automotive shop where its 1 wire 1 gas type low use.duty cycles not that much of an issue. I have 250A machine, use the 180 class about 90% of the time.
Use 250 for more structural work, have 035 wire, still use C25 as most of it is out of position, machinery stuff. If I has a regular diet of it I would change gasses for spray or go to some kind of dual shield.

 

[sberry]

The mower deck was kind of a joke for Hobart, I field tested the 210 a year before it was on the market.

 

[dime]

Those are some good looking welds with that hobart so to get it straight your recomending to get the hobart as far as it vs the miller? So what do you think as far as the 216 worth the price to have all that headroom? Mostly worried about outgrowing whatever i buy i am hoping this is the last mig i buy do you think they would all be ok for that with the work i do with them? Also if theres is another welder or model you think i should be looking at too please chime in.
Prices the lincoln 216 is about $1550 with spoolgun
The miller 211 is about 1150-1200 with spool gun
And the Hobart is 900 with spoolgun

 

[gsport]

i've had my 211 about 10 months, and i couldn't be happier... it's a great machine, and i've had no problems at all with it... good luck on your choice...
here's mine sitting on my home made cart..

 

[dime]

Nice cart gsport could you put a pic up of a couple of your welds with it maybe some thick stuff and some thin how do you feel about the possibility of outgrowing it? Also have you run into the duty cycle at all? And how's the headroom on power as in are you cranking it when you weld thicker stuff or do you feel like you could do whatever you want with it with confidence? Thanks for the reply by the Way

 

[jakeb]

I really like my MM211. The autoset feature is really nice... I leave mine set on autoset and just turn the heat adjustment up and down. I have welded mostly exhaust and 1/4" plate with it. It has no issues at those thicknesses. I used a older 110 miller before the 211 and I prefer the 211. I wouldn't call myself a great welder as I have just taught myself for the most part but the MM211 makes me look like I sorta know what I am doing. I haven't had any issues with the duty cycle.... If you get the 211 you will not be disappointed.

 

[dime]

looks good were you set pretty high for that 1/4 or did the welder have alot left if you needed it? most anything i weld is gonna prolly be 1/4 or thinner but every once in awhile i end up doing thicker stuff. also have you or anybody got the spoolgun with it id love to here what people think of aluminum with this welder and a spoolgun and ofcourse i love pics. thanks again for the reply.

 

[Travis E.]

I went from a Lincoln 180 to a Miller 252 and could not be happier. I was always overworking the Lincoln and it would become very inconstant.

 

[dime]

ya i dont think i can afford a 252 but man i would get one without question if a deal came up

 

[jakeb]

I have the spoolgun but I have not used it yet. I might make a Supercharger manifold this winter/spring and would use it then. I have yet to buy another bottle of straight argon for alum.

I used the EZ set thing and it worked fine for the 1/4" plate. The welder is rated for 3/8 at a single pass...... So if you are going to be welding something thicker than 3/8" a lot then you need a bigger machine. I think it could do thicker if you just slowed down a little bit but not something that you would want to do on a regular basis.

Have you watched the videos over at the Miller Site? I think there is one showing the spoolgun.

 

[pirana]

Here's my 211 & cart I made for it. I plan on making another cart for it with pneumatic tires for wheeling around outdoors & using fluxcore. This has been a cool little machine & I got a spool gun too.

 

[sberry]

There is no doubt the 216 is a better unit, Miller has 212 worth looking at also and I believe it has auto switching for gasses and spool gun like the MM210 had, similar machine to the 212 just older model and was a very very good unit, never met someone that wasn't happy with it. All these machines from the major mfgs work exceptionally well, there is stiff competition among them not only on price but for quality of construction and operating characteristics, very high level.
Having said that I don't have experience with the newer Linc models but they are good as any, much of mine equipment is red as in the older days my local dealer was Lincoln, I have kind of spun over to Miller and Hobart lately, as a company I like the way they do business, some of the best support in the industry with great forums that are a lot of help.
You can actually talk to the engineer that designed it if needed, don't get switchboard, they are very good with service "if" needed which is actually rather rare. Many companies could learn a lot from those guys. They never try to pass the buck when issue solving, they try to fix it as fast and easy as possible. I had a stripped connector on fairly new machine, didn't give a pitch about sending it off to service center, simply sent me a part in mail next day, seen them do it more than once especially when its fairly obvious the customer had a grip on the problem.

 

[sberry]

For normal work the small units are fine, bigger ones allow for big spools of wire and have higher voltage on outputs for different processes which are not typically used in small shops, they do require another gas too. Mainly used for production of structural components, etc, usually in flat position. The 211 and HH210 will not do these but as in my case don't use it anyway as most of the work is rather light and not worth the effort or expense of a different set up. In some cases flux core can be used to overcome these issues although dirty and smoky.

 

[sberry]

The machines you are looking at perform best with 030 on solid wire, I like it for general light work, can be dialed down for sheet and allows heavier work than 023 does without wire changes. Hobart changed the model line, discontinued the IM250 and come up with HH230 which is a good compromise, will run 035 well for bit heavier work too. The 250 was never a big seller and the people interested in the 250 class often wanted a bit more in the feature dept than the bare bones unit that it was. Use of larger wires allows for more current "heat" than smaller wires but on smaller machines they are often not tuned to take advantage of it, they lose arc quality at higher outputs and the smaller wire has better arc density to some extent, reduces the potential for some cold lap issues.
As always these are generalizations to some extent, so,,,,

 

[sberry]

Whhops, I think the 230 Hobart is an IM230, not HH.

 

[dime]

Ya I'm definitely gonna be using c25 that Hobart 230 sounds interestin do youknow of anyware ware I can get it with a spoolgun for about the same price as the Lincoln 216 with a gun cuz Lincoln has a free spool gun dealright now on that particular machine is why I'm looking at it

 

[sberry]

I wasn't in on the 230 testing and don't recall the details except for a couple guys that did test this unit, very qualified types that are very critical. A great place to check on some specifics is http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/ one of the best weld talk forums on the net no matter which brand you have, some guys there have the Lincolns I believe. I have the 210 with spool gun.

 

[dime]

Wow that ironman230 looks freekin impressive an u can get them for 1299 do you think I'd be best served with it and just get the spoolgun a little later or the Lincoln 216 or ofcourse I'm still interested in te 211 or hh210 but you definitely threw another one in there with the 230. Any thoughts as to getting 230 the Lincoln216 or the 211

 

[sberry]

They all work well, some take more floor space but use a larger spool of wire, really only important in continuous use though. I do know a couple with the 230 and they love them. Personally I wouldn't weld aluminum unless I had to, I would find a friend with one or a tig, do all the fit and have it welded when I needed it. My own case I have about 10 miles of alum pipe and need to make fittings, do repairs so I need something and the 210 with spool gun has nearly replaced tig in our application. Other than that its pretty rare I have to deal with alum. Pretty much a steel world out there, much of it lighter than ever before especially for the hobby types, salvage is a huge part, used materials, sheet metal, etc.

 

[dime]

Well I got the go ahead money wise from the old lady so whatever I buy will Probly be in the next week I think I'm leaning towards the miller 211 but can't quite decide between it and the Hobart 230. I'll Probly just go into my lws and see wich one they will give me the best deal on and go that route unless they can't come close to the online prices then it will realy be decision time if I need to order one

 

[gsport]

Well I got the go ahead money wise from the old lady so whatever I buy will Probly be in the next week I think I'm leaning towards the miller 211 but can't quite decide between it and the Hobart 230. I'll Probly just go into my lws and see wich one they will give me the best deal on and go that route unless they can't come close to the online prices then it will realy be decision time if I need to order one

check out Airgas.. i got my 211 there for $877, that beat on line pricing by about $50.00... good luck

 

[dime]

Wow that's a good price what di you have to tell them to get them to go that low also does anyone know if airgas does any kind of black Friday sales?

 

[lethal-6]

Tractor supply should have the IM230 in stock also northern tools I think has them. Good luck on your purchase you can't go wrong withany of the one you are looking at. I purchased the HH187 and I'm well pleased.

 

[dime]

Thanks ya still mulling over the 211 or the iron man 230 I can't seem to get anybody to say anything bad about either so it's making it tuff

 

[pirana]

Here's a pic of a project I welded with my 211 & a spoolgun. This was the first time I ever welded aluminum with mig.

 

[dime]

Hey happy thanksgiving to everybody that's been helping me decide I hope u and your families have a great day!!!!!

 

[gsport]

Wow that's a good price what di you have to tell them to get them to go that low also does anyone know if airgas does any kind of black Friday sales?

i had actually been to another welding supply store in town that said they could get me one in by the next day for (i think) $922.00.. i said i'd take it but then while waiting i decided to check out Airgas.. i told them what i was getting and they said that was their sale price on it right now.. so i asked if they wanted to take a sale from their competitor, and can you beat it? they looked up on the computer and asked how $877.00 sounded... i said you got a deal.. ended up buying a new helmet and 150 cf cylinder of argon/CO2 mix too....

 

[dime]

What did they charge you for the bottle and gas?

 

[dime]

well i just bit the bullet and ordered the ironman 230 just seemed like the most welder for the buck i got it for 1299 from northern plus they gave another $100 gift card back too im freeking excited

 

[sberry]

You are going to love it, by all reliable accounts it really flys.

 

[dime]

Thanks sberry I realy hope I do I honestly couldn't find anybody to say a word bad about it. I'll post some pics up when I get it in and some first welds. anyway I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who had some input and helped me out with my decision!!! If anybody has any after thoughts about it post em up!

 

[sberry]

That is the only unit in the Hobart lineup that will actually spray weld, using a different gas. Not something that is commonly used in home shops though, mostly for heavier structural or production type projects.