Buying a Welder, Thoughts? (Page 1 of 2)

Just recently bought my second welder after making the Harbor Freight mistake.

I considered the Lincoln 140, and decided against it for the Miller 211 for these reasons:

The 211 is 110/220V- easily changeable plug.  Yes, you can tell a big difference between the two.  It welds much better on 220, but has the versatility to work on 110 for welding thin stuff or when you are limited by being at a track.
Expensive ($1100), but still cheaper than buying yet another welder that doesn't quite do everything I need
Miller/Hobart parts are easy to find and inexpensive at Northern Tool (a few minutes from my house).
Still small enough to transport fairly easily.

And the number 1 reason: AUTOSET!!!  Turn 1 knob and start welding.  I'm a terrible welder, and this feature makes me look less like a noob.

I looked at the Miller-Matic, loved it but just didn't have the $$$.
Went with the Lincoln 140, very pleased with it.
I can easily lug it over to my buddy's house and weld.
Don't buy an El-Cheapo welder.

'nuther vote for the miller 211.. I just got a new one.  I had a miller "cricket" back in the day and loved it... I have a Miller syncrowave 180SD runner (TIG) too, but hardly ever use it... decided to get the 211 for all the car stuff. My friend has the equiv. Lincoln which I used to show him some tips, but still like the miller better.

Thanks for starting this thread... We're in the same boat.  Between our 3 core team members we can do everything we need but structural fabrication/welding.  We have someone to do that for us, but he isn't always available or timely (although he does great work).  So, the three of us want to learn to do some basic welding at first (not cages).

Is this the welder everyone is talking about?

Millermatic® 211 Auto-Set™ with MVP™
All-in-one wire welder that welds material from 24-gauge to 3/8 in. thick in a single pass.

Base Model Starting at:$1,317.00

I have found a brand new welder for sale privately on craiglist for considerably less ($800 ish), but it is the model below (TIG/Stick)

Maxstar® 150 STL
Light weight and portable DC output TIG/Stick machine that utilizes Lift Arc™ technology for TIG arc starting.

Base Model Starting at:$1,363.00

Can someone reference a thread on TIG vs MIG?  Our current fabricator actually switched from a MIG to a 3 phase TIG because he was having trouble with welding thick to thin.  No trouble with the TIG.  (I am not a welder and don't understand diddly poop)

With sufficient practice (and I can't emphasize that enough) TIG will let you do absolutely beautiful, high-quality welds on just about anything.   But it is slooooooow.   MIG is much more "user friendly", and will let you do acceptable welds in less time, with a faster learning curve.

Personally, I'm a TIG guy and I did the entire Super Snipe cage with it.   Even though it was my first cage, people have told me that it is very nice.   But it probably took me twice (or more) longer than if I had used MIG.

If you are an absolute welding beginner, I suggest that you start with MIG.

If you have a lot of gas (oxy/acetylene) welding experience, you will probably find it easier to transition to TIG.   The skills are very comparable, with the only big difference being the heat source.

And, as almost everyone else says, buy Miller or Lincoln.   It's a bigger up-front cost, but you will be far happier.   Not only in the long run, but during the learning experience.

Also, buy the best auto-darkening helmet you can get (I got the Miller Digital Elite and love it).   It will make your learning experience much easier.

I can't offer an opinion on Lincoln, never had or used one. 

I've had 4 Millers though.  2 were engine powered stick welders and 2 are plugin mig welders.  My first mig was a 110v, .022 gauge welder.  It is called the Sidekick and I bought it probably 30 years ago.  It has never given me any  problems.  I've done 4 cages and 2 flatbed trailers with it.  The above poster is right about the short duty cycle on the 110v models.  It is very good on thin materials like fenders, truck beds and such. It will do the thicker material but is slow compared to a 220v model.  Also, it will run on a Honda 2000i genny on full throttle.  Which is handy at the track.  Sometimes a new build will need extra attention after tech or after a few laps.  I never use flux wire.  CO2 is my choice.  I've seen some on here use CO2/argon mix but I've never needed the argon.

My welder of choice is the Millermatic 180, 220v, .030 gauge wire.  Naturally, it is a hotter setup and it has a longer duty cycle.  It won't do the very thin material but for .095/.120 cages it works great.  It has good penetration and it's easy to adjust the settings.  It's not the auto set but getting the right feed and heat range is not a problem.

I've never used a dual voltage welder.  My concern would be the wire size and do you need to change it when changing voltages and does that require changing the wire housing or are you stuck with small wire even though you are running at 220v.

You know you're opening a can of worms.  Along with a welder you might need a way to form the material like grinders, a cutoff saw, maybe a notcher, also a way to cut plate... a torch or a plasma cutter or a band saw.  We have all 3.  Our choice for cutting plate is the plasma cutter because it's fast and cheap to use as opposed to buying acetylene and oxygen.

Another vote for a miller with autoset.  I have an old heavy 220 miller that has been awesome.  My old boss bought a new a miller autoset 212?, i laughed at the autoset until i used it. It was unbelievable! So nice to have the wire speed vary (to what you need) as you go.  The dual voltage plug option is well worth it.  It does really well on 110 but for cages you should really use 220.  The autoset is awesome unless you are welding upside down.  Then its horrible and you have to learn to weld.  Get the wire speed right and its really really nice to use.

Definitely try one out if you can.  When i was at sema I tried out an ESAB mig (the model in competition with the miller, lincoln, and others) expecting it to be amazing.  The miller was so much better, you could even hear the difference.  The miller has a continuous sizzle, the ESAB had a high frequency/buzzy/almost sputtery sizzle and just didnt weld well.  It was an autoset as well.

Well I have both as well and the only time I use my MIG is to weld on exhaust systems, mostly to just tack them together and then remove and TIG weld them. Welding on my trailers, and welding some parts of roll cages. 90% of the welding I do is TIG as I don't to much exhaust work or build roll cages. I also build aluminum tanks and heat exchangers so TIG is the only way to go.

Millermatic 211 all the way. You WILL use both 110 and 220 plugs, you WILL get great welds, and it WILL last.

i've heard that miller got tired of fixing the plastic bits in the hobart welders, so they stopped putting them in there.

from what i understand, the Hobart is the retail brand, Miller is the commercial brand. aside from printing on the box and the paint job, they are fairly indistinguishable.

i could be totally wrong, but that's the story the pro welding boards are telling.

i liked the fact that hobart's consumables are available at a northern tool for when you are out of town on a weekend, and the local welder's supply is closed.

as for the learning side is concerned......it's all practice. your local vo-tech could be a good step in the right direction, but once you get the basics down, the rest of it is doing.

I have a Snap on 110v that has 100% duty cycle. It never over heats no matter how long I have welded. All I've ever replaced on it in about 5 years are the tips and shield, but for the $$ I put out for it it better be good.