Welder suggestion

[chrischew]

I'm in the market for my first welder and need some recommendations on specific models to look at. I've seen on here that some people seem to like the Hobart brand welders a great deal.

I have a little bit of Mig welding experience and that is the type of welder I'm looking at for this purchase.

As far as what I'll be welding concerns, presently both of my vehcles need exhaust work. Also my truck nees work on the rear bumper which is 1/2 steel and welded straight to the frame. I need to somehow adapt a trailer hitch to this bumper.

I just rewired my garage this weekend and I wired in a 220v outlet with a 50 amp breaker and 8-3 wire. So I should be covered pretty well in the power department.

I'm looking for a model that will offer room for me to grow (somewhat). Also a high resale value if new is the way you think I should go. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

 

[e30bradley]

hobart.. a big one.

 

[78Bird]

Hm, I'd say a Miller 211 or Hobart 210MVP.

Lets you have the power of a 240v welder, but in a compact package that can travel and run on 110v if ever needed.

1/2" will take multiple passes, but you'll need a pretty darn big machine to get true 1/2" 1 pass welding, that would be overkill for even a pretty serious hobby/home shop.

 

[chrischew]

Yes I too have been looking at the Hobalt 210MVP as my primary choice. Is it in my best interest to just go out and buy this new or try to bargain hunt and find a used model?

 

[my58]

I love my Millermatic 211 and being 110 / 220 you can take it to other locations and still use it even if they only have 110.

I am sure there are lots of great units by many manufacturers but you can not go wrong with a millermatic 211.

 

[#1SomeGuy]

Millermatic 211 seems quite popular on the welding forums...I hear more about it than the Hobart 210MVP. I've been close to pulling the trigger on the miller a couple times now. That said, both are rated the same (30% @ 150amp, 210 max).

With doing 1/2" though you are slightly beyond the capabilities of either, they're apparently good up to 3/8" but above that you're going to be pushing them a bit. You might be able to find a larger unit used somewhere for the same sort of price.

 

[tarbellb]

Hobart is Miller, just using slightly cheaper components. Not to be confused with a "cheap" welder though. For example I believe Hobart uses a plastic drive wheel as opposed to Millers metal one. Both made in the USA and same replacement consumables.

If your just doing home/hobby use Hobart is a great buy. If you like the idea of buying a slightly better model go with Miller.

Lincoln is basically just as good, but you will find endless discussions on which is better. But when expert welders use both in all fields, its really just opinion.

Def go with a larger model, ie 211/210 or the 252. I bought the Miller Passport Plus for its versatility, love it.

If you dont go to a local welding shop, check out http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com/servlet/StoreFront

 

[BD1]

As stated the Miller 211 is awesome. It maybe a little light for what you want. The duty cycle on the 212 is a major difference if duty cycle comes into
play. Money can be a issue, 211 around 1100.00 ,212 close to 1700.00 and 252 at 2100. It depends on location and local distributor.
Anyone of these will work. If you check craigs list you will see Miller machine sellers try to get NEW PRICES ! If it is a reasonable or low price it is gone right now.
Check the charts on the duty cycle. More power, more money !!!!
here's a couple welding sites you can search or post on.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard/forumdisplay.php?3-Welding-Discussions


http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard/forumdisplay.php?3-Welding-Discussions

 

[Trey T]

I have used transformer type MIG welder but look into those multi-process welder that uses inverter design.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Why would you need a 1/2" steel bumper? You could easily horse shoe the frame in a minor fender bender not to mention the weight of it. I'm surprised it doesn't look like a sailboat going down the street due to the weight.

Get either of the big three welders. If you are using it for your garage any of the comparable 220v machines offered by Miller, Lincoln, and Hobart will work. Resale is probably the best with Miller, and then I'd say lincoln followed closely behind by Hobart.

 

[BreeStephany]

I've always been a fan of Miller welders for mig & tig welding. I have a Millermatic 210 (now 211) and have never had an issue with it.

I got my 210 w/ tanks (filled), OEM double tank cart, auto darkening hood, spool gun, wire, a nice welding coat & new mig gloves for just over $1000 new from Norco after a big sale. Your best bet is to just watch the sales and wait a while for a good deal.

 

[buening]

My opinion, get as big as your budget allows. In order to do 1/2" steel, you'll need something like the Millermatic 251 or 252, Lincoln Power Mig 255 or 256, the Hobart Iron Man 250, or Thermal Arc Fabricator 252i. I personally scrounged Craigslist and Ebay until I found a nice used one at a decent price. This is what I ended up with. The Miller equivalents were going for double that amount, FWIW.

 

[sk farmer]

miller 211 autoset. i have had mine for 2 years and have yet to find a job i have not been able to do. yes, duty cycle can be an issue but the 211 is rated for 150 amps@ 30% duty cycle doesn't sound like much but unlees you are doing some sort of production that is 18 minutes per hour and much more than that at lower amperages.

my only complaint, wich is minor is the 10 foot gun/cable assemnly. having a good extension cord helps but i would recomend that with any welder.

 

[chrischew]

Ok I've decided between wither the Miller 211 or the Hobart 210 just need to figure out which one I can get a better deal on. The bumper is not quite 1/2" steel and no I don't need the bumper but it came on the truck when I bought it. It was actually all bent to hell because the previous owner hit something. A friend helped me cut it off the frame with a plasma cutter then TIG welded it back in place. We did it real quick in a hurry and always meant to finish it up better just never had time. Well that was over 2 years ago so the time has come to finish that project.

 

[sk farmer]

either is plenty man enough to handle that job.^^^^^^^^

i know they are made by the same company but when i have looked at both brands, the miller just seems like more quality built in. the miller will be more expensive but if you find a welding shop and put a package together, welder, tank lease, gloves, helmets and etc. you can probably narrow that price differance up. more than likely the big box store, discounter, northern tool or other store won't have a tank lease program so you have to find a welding store anyway. get it all at one place and start building a relationship with them as long as you need their consumables.

 

[buening]

I'd choose the Miller over Hobart unless you are really pinching pennies. The miller you can fine tune the voltage, whereas the Hobart you have specific predetermined voltage settings (taps). For the newb it may not matter much but to me I like to be able to tweak voltage settings rather than relying on "setting #3". JMO

 

[sk farmer]

I'd choose the Miller over Hobart unless you are really pinching pennies. The miller you can fine tune the voltage, whereas the Hobart you have specific predetermined voltage settings (taps). For the newb it may not matter much but to me I like to be able to tweak voltage settings rather than relying on "setting #3". JMO

excellant point. the hobart has 7 taps, or non adjustable welding voltages.

the miller has infinate amperage and wire speed adjustment plus autoset. the autoset allows you to measure your material thickness, set the knob and weld. sounds like a gimmick but it works quite well.

hurry up and go buy that miller.

 

[Jose G]

i have a lincoln 225AC (stick welder) and a lincoln 180 (mig welder) and if i had to do it again... i would go with the Thermal Arc 211i or the 252i.

The nice thing with Thermal Arc is it can do 3 types of welding (Stick, Mig AND TIG)..

i have a friend that bough the 211i and I'm jalous... I find my 180A mig machine to be too little and i always wanted a TIG welder...

 

[chrischew]

Just called my local shop and they have the Miller 211 for 1025$ and they discount it further if you do their "package deal". The package deal comes with an 80 cu ft tank, I was hoping for a 125 cu ft. It does not however come with a hood of any kind.
Almost forgot I live in one of those fantastic states that doesn't have sales tax.

 

[BD1]

Just called my local shop and they have the Miller 211 for 1025$ and they discount it further if you do their "package deal". The package deal comes with an 80 cu ft tank, I was hoping for a 125 cu ft. It does not however come with a hood of any kind.
Almost forgot I live in one of those fantastic states that doesn't have sales tax.

Great price. See if they will upgrade to a 125 and buy a hood from them.

 

[knobby97]

Another miller 211 owner here, along with a diversion 180 and spectrum 375. The 211 is a great machine that is still portable and the MVP is an added plus. If I didn't need something portable and/or MVP then I would either pick up a used 251 or a 252. The duty cycle on the 251/252 is awesome and they will weld 1/2" all day long, and the manual wire speed and amperage is awesome too as its infinitely adjustable. The auto set function on the 211 is ok when using 110v, but lacks when issuing 220v in my opinion. I feel that the wire speed is a little too fast for the amperage setting when using 220v, so I usually just go off of the suggested settings under the cover and decrease the wire speed by about .5 or so. Any way, my 2 cents on the subject.


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[chrischew]

Ya unfortunately the 252 is outside of my price range.

 

[BD1]

Ya unfortunately the 252 is outside of my price range.

Yea, you can buy TWO 211 for what the 252 cost. But, it is twice the machine.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

The auto set function on the 211 is ok when using 110v, but lacks when issuing 220v in my opinion.

I agree, but think it's just as useless on a 110v machine. I sold a Millermatic 140 w/ autoset a few months back I bought off a guy which was an hour old. Thought it would be a good replacement machine for my Lincoln SP100 which works 100%, but it's been in use for well over 15 years going WAY above and beyond the duty cycle too many times to count.

After using the MM 140 a bunch of times I didn't think it laid down a hot bead even close to my SP100. Now we are talking about 110v machines so don't start flaming, but it didn't hold a candle to my older Lincoln. I never used the Autoset feature purely because (to me) it was sales gimmick to get Miller into the hobbiest market like lincoln has successfully done. Basically, if you can't read the data sheet sticker which is on the welder to get your settings you shouldn't be using ANY sort of welding machine.

Not bashing Miller at all. Have an older MM 130 at my father-in-laws which I use alot for small projects. Also use my buddy's MM 200 which I absolutely love. We are working out a deal so it may be mine, but he can have visitation rights.