Millermatic 211

[BukitCase]

@Jackfre - "Can you please expand on that a bit Steve? What did you see as shortcomings and what were the mods Miller made?"

Read post#197, here
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/387658-container-weld-shop-build-20.html

Covers most of the changes. That thread is several pages long, prior few pages covers "offroad" cart I built for the inverter MM211.

Kinda busy atm, ask if you need more and I'll get back... Steve

 

[brownbagg]

those multi process welders are nice too

 

[That Guy Scott]

No, not for me. IF you want a import check out Harbor freight. I'd buy from a brick and mortar store before online. Harbor freight has extended warranty.
Depending on what you decide, I would buy from local welding supplier. Get machine, a tank, and accessories as a package deal.
As for cylinders, call suppliers before buying any privately . Find out what their policies are. This can be a frustrating experience. Just saying.
If you buy new you'll have it for a long time.
Choose wisely. I had to choose wisely five times so far. [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know what your saying, but.......
I’m not a Miller fanboi anymore. I, along with many professional welders I associate with, have lost faith in ol blue. One guy actually replaced all his tigs with 3 new miller dynasty’s but only because of biz dealings, Motorsports sponsorship etc, and he’s had warranty issues. No on harbor freight- no support. Everlast has been upping their support game. For the price, home use, I probably won’t buy another Miller. And welding shops in my area ****, No deals to be had. Maybe the Covid hoax has changed that, I don’t know.

 

[ez-duzit]

...I’m not a Miller fanboi anymore. I, along with many professional welders I associate with, have lost faith in ol blue...

That the best you've got?

 

[Wrench97]

I know what your saying, but.......
I’m not a Miller fanboi anymore. I, along with many professional welders I associate with, have lost faith in ol blue. One guy actually replaced all his tigs with 3 new miller dynasty’s but only because of biz dealings, Motorsports sponsorship etc, and he’s had warranty issues. No on harbor freight- no support. Everlast has been upping their support game. For the price, home use, I probably won’t buy another Miller. And welding shops in my area ****, No deals to be had. Maybe the Covid hoax has changed that, I don’t know.

Which Everlast model is comparable to the Miller 211 the Imig 200?

 

[PhantomEB]

My current one is a 175 with no auto set. My next one will be a 212 or 252 with auto set. Better off if it’s 110/220.

 

[BukitCase]

Phantom, might wanna re-read specs; the mm252 doesn't HAVE autoset - AFAIK, if you're looking for a miller that will let you keep mig gun AND spool gun attached with automatic switch by touching the desired gun's trigger, the 212 and 252 are your only choices - and of those, only the 212 has autoset... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Oh, also the 212 has the SIMPLER version of auto-set, .030 or .035 wire and C25 gas ONLY. The inverter mm211 has "advanced" auto-set, .023/.030/.035 wire, co2 OR C25, and several OTHER options the previous auto-set version does NOT have.

And yes, this is from EXPERIENCE - I have had the transformer MM211, currently have the inverter MM211 AND the MM252 with both guns, have probably run between 2 and 3 hundred pounds of wire thru 'em so far... Steve

 

[On-Wheel]

The 212 30A spool gun will cost you.I usually don’t use auto set.Probably because I haven’t taken the time to see how good it works with flux wire.

 

[BukitCase]

You're right, the 30A is a bit over the hobby/homeowner stuff; I was looking at the 212/30A combo when I found the MM252/30A/3 tanks on CL for $2200 - the 30A was un-used, 252 had about 29 lbs of a 33 lb spool left (IOW, machine had run about 4 lbs TOTAL). Last time I looked, the 30A gun was well over $1000.

I still have a hard time NOT smirking every time I use 'em... Steve

Oh, and the early autoset works fine as long as you stick to its capabilities - anything exotic and you have to go manual anyway.

 

[On-Wheel]

Oh, also the 212 has the SIMPLER version of auto-set, .030 or .035 wire and C25 gas ONLY.
Steve

I haven’t found much info on 212.Are you saying the auto wasn’t meant to work on flux wire. I tried it once and it just didn’t seem right so I dial it in while using flux wire.

 

[rsanter]

Think you are a good welder ? [emoji23]
The auto set provides one control setting. You don't need to adjust voltage and wire feed speed. Set dial on metal thickness as a starting point and increase or decrease.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Doesn't matter how you arrive at end result. As long as you have penetration. That's why we always say to do test run on same material thicknesses , cut apart ,and or do a bend test.

It's a complement not a complaint.
Most people learning to weld struggle with learning the proper settings and then learning to pace themselves for the settings they have set to.
The auto set is great as you step up and with the machines features it helps a person make good welds with fewer variables for them to deal with...
Therefore....they think they are a good welder as they got it done and it may even look good

 

[Jking24]

What about an Everlast welder? Once my shop is done, a new MIG and TIG will be one of my first purchases to replace my old Miller welders.
https://www.everlastgenerators.com/...products/fa57479c13567fb329297e46f4d9c802.pdf

I have a freind that welds in a fab shop everyday using a miller dynasty (at least last time we talked) he does mostly tig stuff. Builds alot of custom boat fuel tanks and stuff like that. He took a chance and bought a Everlast a few years ago for home use and sidework he says he loves it and has zero issues from it. Their is a pretty big online following for the Everlast and the other popular Amazon brand that i think is yellow in color. But both very talked about very well. And bottom line is if you want a ac/dc multi process machine your saving thousands.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, the transformer mm211 and the mm212 are FIRST generation auto-set - ONLY C25 gas and ONLY mild steel using hard wire with either .030 or .035 wire.

The second generation auto-set (go to Cyberweld's site and choose miller mig) - all the newer versions appear to be called "advanced" auto-set.

"advanced" auto-set can do CO2 or C25 gas, mild, stainless, or aluminum and wire from .024 to .035 PLUS flux-core.

Aluminum appears to only work with the optional spool gun.

On the inverter mm211, it can use either the Spoolmate 100 or 150 - The 100 is lighter duty than the 150 and has a shorter 12 foot cable as compared to the 150's 20 foot cable.

Here's the Miller spool gun compatibility chart
https://www.millerwelds.com/support/system-setup/spool-gun-hookup-chart

Not sure if GJ will allow it - if it does, I'll attach the manuals for 211 and 212 - we'll see... Steve

Nope, site limites pdf size to 146 KB. Go here
https://www.millerwelds.com/support/manuals-and-parts
and in the "don't know" box, type in ONLY the number (like 211, 212)

Section 5 (pdf manual) is what you want for the 212, Section 6 for the mm211.

HTH... Steve

 

[Lassen Forge]

It's my go-to for most stuff around the shop. Heavier stuff, I go to my old tombstone. Just be careful of those special deals on group purchases... (Yeah, I remember that...)

The only issues I've had with it is using it as a fluxcore wire machine. But for portability it's hard to beat - I can run it off a generator.

- - - - -

Maybe the Covid hoax has changed that, I don’t know.

Having 2 relatives and a friend die from Covid, and people who damned near bought the farm from it, your calling it a hoax is bull$#!t, pal. Offended? You bet your *** I am.

 

[nadogail]

My only welder is a Hobart Stickmate. It is a Transformer Based AC/DC Stick Welder and I have run it off my generator.

IMHO, the Blue wire feed welder is a machine that can do what it was designed for with very good results.

 

[CGT80]

Phantom, might wanna re-read specs; the mm252 doesn't HAVE autoset - AFAIK, if you're looking for a miller that will let you keep mig gun AND spool gun attached with automatic switch by touching the desired gun's trigger, the 212 and 252 are your only choices - and of those, only the 212 has autoset... Steve

The 211 Inverter will not run the spool gun and mig gun at the same time. The spool gun connects the same way as the mig gun.........same end, but just no wire fed to it.


The 211 inverter works surprisingly well on 120v power, but I use 240v when possible. The autoset is great, even with the spool gun. The only thing better would be the miller 220 with tig, but it costs $3000 and I bought my 211 when they were new out.


The 252 does NOT have auto set or 120v capability, but it DOES let you pick up the spool gun or mig gun and use either at the touch of a button. My brother has the 252 setup this way and wishes he had my 211 inverter or a 220 because it is so portable and powerful and it runs great from a larger generator for remote work.



I replaced the work cable on my 211 with a 25 foot 4ga cable and strong hand tools ground hog clamp. The spoolgun is 25 feet and I bought a 15 foot mig gun......never even used the 10'. The 252 has a 15' gun but it is heavier. The 211 m150 15' mig gun is perfect as it is light and gets into smaller areas and it does fine for welding at 3/8" settings for short runs, which is all the duty cycle is good for anyway. The autoset is spot on and is very fast when working on multiple thickness materials or just wanting to run hot and fast by going up a settings.



The 211 inverter lacks real wire speed and voltage numbers, which really *****. The 220 has a digital display with all of that info, so the settings apply to other machines. 10/65 on the dials of the 211 mean nothing on another machine, so you might as well use autoset unless you need to tweak the arc. Even 4043 aluminum with the spoolgun works well on autoset. 3/8" settings with 0.035" flux core, powered by a 20kw generator, were good and hot for some on site welding I did recently. The arc with Lincoln LA-75 0.035" solid wire for corten steel was better on the 211 inverter than the 252 transformer machine. The both did fine, but I just liked the arc a bit more on the 211. The drawback was I had to load my own empty 11 pound spool from a 33 pound for that wire, where it fit right in the 252.


You can't go wrong with the 211 inverter........unless you can afford the miller 220!

 

[BukitCase]

CGT, you AND your brother coulda been the other two brothers I never had - when I found my 252 for about half what it sells for new (and it WAS essentially new) I sold my transformer 211 to a friend (he got almost as good a deal as I had) - like your bro, I missed the smaller machine and DID buy the inverter 211 (less than HALF the weight of the transformer 211, and a LOT more options - and yeah, I still have the mm252 :=)

I too haven't even taken the 10' gun out of the box - one of my beefs with the older 211 was the drive; Miller tech told me it wasn't strong enough for a 15' gun and that would void the warranty...

The lighter weight of the inverter 211 prompted me to build an "offroad" cart - it can be rolled around the shop, tilted onto the 13" no-flat tires and moved like a hand truck, hitch flipped down and towed with my ZTR or golf cart, has its own lifting eye that's adjustable for balance in 2 axes, and the upper frame (besides hand truck and lift functions) acts as a "roll cage" to protect the gauges/regulator. I may add a drawer in the lower section if I ever run low on projects, but ain't holding my breath - oh, and the smaller locking casters retract for "offroad" -

Couple pics ... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Oh, forgot to mention; the cart started out as a piece of a demoed safety rail from work (the yellow parts) - it sat around my shop for almost 10 YEARS after I retired before it "found a project" ... Steve

 

[sberry]

I was wondering if you could turn it up hot and fast.

 

[ez-duzit]

My 211 mig, 200DX tig and Hypertherm 45xp plasma cutter on custom cart with Kennedy cabinet.

 

[BukitCase]

CGT, I have 4 containers that'll need vent systems; is that Lincoln LA-75 more rust resistant on Corten than L56? Price is reasonable enough, $2 a pound... Steve

Edit - nevermind, found the spec sheet - looks like I'll be re-spooling some wire too...

 

[BukitCase]

@qmdv - sorry for all the "thread drift", you should probably link this for your son - it'll help him decide on a few OTHER projects to do :=) ... Steve

 

[TDFbound]

It should be a good one for most small shop tasks. I'm considering buying that one or a similar model in the near future for myself to work on an old Honda!