Which welder?

[HJT]

I have been looking at welders for while. Checking out the sponsors also. If I choose a millermatic, which would be a better choice, the 190 or the 211? hjt

 

[Shield Arc]

When it comes to Mig welding, there is no substitute for power! .035" wire will do the majority of the fab work members here will do. But is nice to have a machine big enough to run .045" wire too.

 

[LD1]

Pretty much the same, the 211 offers a little more amps.

Or another way of looking at it is a little more duty cycle at similar amps.

Just what do you plan on using it for. If you never plan on going over the limits of the 190, the 211 dont offer anything more for the extra ~$200

 

[Farmall45b]

Miller 211 might be fine for light sheet metal repairs, but it won't weld 3/16 metal. We got one at work last year and it got used for the first month and has not been used since. Even while turned all the way up and slow travel speed it won't penetrate very well. We returned it to the welding supplier we bought it from and they tested it and said it was working as it should. The 212 or 252 would be a better bet in my opinion. We have 2 252's and a 350P and just ordered another 350P. Only me and one other person use the 350P but everyone else uses the 252s and likes them and makes decent welds from all skill levels.

 

[IslandTractor]

Miller 211 might be fine for light sheet metal repairs, but it won't weld 3/16 metal. We got one at work last year and it got used for the first month and has not been used since. Even while turned all the way up and slow travel speed it won't penetrate very well. We returned it to the welding supplier we bought it from and they tested it and said it was working as it should. The 212 or 252 would be a better bet in my opinion. We have 2 252's and a 350P and just ordered another 350P. Only me and one other person use the 350P but everyone else uses the 252s and likes them and makes decent welds from all skill levels.

Beg to differ. The 211 has no difficulty at all with 3/16 when used with 220v power. Even with 110v it comes pretty close to doing 3/16. Of course the bigger and considerably more expensive 212, 252 and above will allow faster welding but then you lose the flexibility of 110v.

 

[newbury]

I have been looking at welders for while. Checking out the sponsors also. If I choose a millermatic, which would be a better choice, the 190 or the 211? hjt

More info needed - What's your power source(s)? If it will always be 240V either will do. If you might have to use 120V the 190 won't work.
How tight is your budget? The 350P mentioned lists at about $5.5K.
What do you want to weld?

The 211 would be more flexible.

 

[HJT]

Mostly used for home use on mild steel, 1/4 " or less usually. I have 240 in garage
for my miller thunderbolt ac/dc, but like the idea of 120 or 240 if needed I hate to
pop for even a 211 so bigger is out of the question. A 190 would be big enough, but
like the 120 capability of the 211. Pretty much convinced myself to get the 211. Just
looking for some more experienced welders info than what I have. Any difference
in quality or is the 211 more apt to have problems with more electronics and switches?
thx hjt

 

[Oldpath05]

I've had Millermatic 211, 3 years now. I use mostly .030 70s6 wire, it's good for light duty work, 1/16-1/4", .023 for body work/exhaust pipe. On steel that's thicker than 1/4", with a few inches to weld I leave a gap and go/weave vertical up. When buying a mig welder, I suggest getting a knurled feed roll for it, size bigger contact tip then the wire, felt wire cleaner, anti-spatter/weld jelly.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've had a 211 for a while now no issues and have welded 18ga to 3/8".

 

[LD1]

I've had Millermatic 211, 3 years now. I use mostly .030 70s6 wire, it's good for light duty work, 1/16-1/4", .023 for body work/exhaust pipe. On steel that's thicker than 1/4", with a few inches to weld I leave a gap and go/weave vertical up. When buying a mig welder, I suggest getting a knurled feed roll for it, size bigger contact tip then the wire, felt wire cleaner, anti-spatter/weld jelly.

What wire are you using?

I dont like or use knurled rolls but I only use solid wire. No issues with V-groove. knurled will foul up a liner quicker

 

[HJT]

OK guys, how about gas? I've only used flux core before, never gas. I know c25 welds a little better, but lots of folks say straight co2 works ok and cheaper. As I'm not doing this for profit, am trying to keep cost down and thinking about 80 cf of co2. Any yea or nay thoughts on that? thx hjt

 

[LD1]

I like C25. Cost is minimal for the amount of welding time you get out of a bottle if you have your flow control set right.

I run mine between 15-20 CFH. So in theory, when I spend (IIRC) about $60 to have my 320cf bottle filled, it will give me 20cfh for 16 hours of welding. Thats a lot of welding for little money.

 

[Shield Arc]

I use C25. Someone posted a video from Welding Tips & Tricks. Jody stated when using straight CO2 the window for the sweet spot is smaller than with C25. He said when you find the sweet spot there should be no splatter, or the same as with C25.

 

[Oldpath05]

What wire are you using?

I dont like or use knurled rolls but I only use solid wire. No issues with V-groove. knurled will foul up a liner quicker

Hey in welding, what ever works. I'd use V-grove for aluminum welding, but on solid or flux core wire, .030-.035 I like a knurled roll on the bottom driver, use a lot less feed roll pressure, similar to life, sometimes there's just to much pressure. Then now and then and again, here and there and after a while, I blow the liner out.

 

[yomax4]

Hey in welding, what ever works. I'd use V-grove for aluminum welding, but on solid or flux core wire, .030-.035 I like a knurled roll on the bottom driver, use a lot less feed roll pressure, similar to life, sometimes there's just to much pressure. Then now and then and again, here and there and after a while, I blow the liner out.

Normally one would use a U groove for aluminum but if you can get way with a V, Cool. As far as gas, 75/25 works for most. Add 3% O2 you can get into spray mode so to speak but I don't like to use O2 in any welding. ( Praxair has Stargon ) . I like 92/8 because I use Pulse and Twin Pulse. Short arc like most of you do works well too with this gas.. But, The newer inverter machines from all over the place are tuned to run straight CO2. I have some imported welders that do not spatter with CO2 providing you know what you are doing with gun angle and stick out. If you do know how to lay a bead, you can expect good spatter free welds with CO2 for 1/3 the cost of C25. It's all about saving money. I am lucky enough to not have to pay for my gas so I go high argon which is above 90%. If you really don't care about a little extra cost, 90/10 - 92/8 is great. 98/2 for SS. Europe and Asia are eons ahead of the USA in welding technology and all they use is CO2..Like I said, There are some lower cost inverters on here and out there that run CO2 very well. Even New transformer machines will of course struggle with CO2 as they are 1970's USA technology ie: miller 252 types.

 

[ericher69]

Miller 211 might be fine for light sheet metal repairs, but it won't weld 3/16 metal. We got one at work last year and it got used for the first month and has not been used since. Even while turned all the way up and slow travel speed it won't penetrate very well. We returned it to the welding supplier we bought it from and they tested it and said it was working as it should. The 212 or 252 would be a better bet in my opinion. We have 2 252's and a 350P and just ordered another 350P. Only me and one other person use the 350P but everyone else uses the 252s and likes them and makes decent welds from all skill levels.

You may wanna read up on specs if not familiar with the machines before bashing them.

The only differences between 211 and 212 are duty cycle , spoil size and 120-230V flexibility.

The 212 will not weld thicker metal!

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[Oldpath05]

Normally one would use a U groove for aluminum but if you can get way with a V, Cool. As far as gas, 75/25 works for most. Add 3% O2 you can get into spray mode so to speak but I don't like to use O2 in any welding. ( Praxair has Stargon ) . I like 92/8 because I use Pulse and Twin Pulse. Short arc like most of you do works well too with this gas.. But, The newer inverter machines from all over the place are tuned to run straight CO2. I have some imported welders that do not spatter with CO2 providing you know what you are doing with gun angle and stick out. If you do know how to lay a bead, you can expect good spatter free welds with CO2 for 1/3 the cost of C25. It's all about saving money. I am lucky enough to not have to pay for my gas so I go high argon which is above 90%. If you really don't care about a little extra cost, 90/10 - 92/8 is great. 98/2 for SS. Europe and Asia are eons ahead of the USA in welding technology and all they use is CO2..Like I said, There are some lower cost inverters on here and out there that run CO2 very well. Even New transformer machines will of course struggle with CO2 as they are 1970's USA technology ie: miller 252 types.

Your right, U groove is what's used for aluminum where I work, I haven't welded aluminum at home for 20 years. 75/25 is the gas I use for 70-S6, but at work it's used for 71T and 101TM .045-.062 duel shield flux core, 95/5 gas for .035-.062 70S3 solid wire.
When I look on Youtube, it appears to me Europe and Asia are light years ahead on everything from welding---tractors and all the accessory's, etc.

 

[dragoneggs]

You may wanna read up on specs if not familiar with the machines before bashing them.

The only differences between 211 and 212 are duty cycle , spoil size and 120-230V flexibility.

The 212 will not weld thicker metal!

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

Yes, and the 211 is rated to 3/8in. Shield Arc tried mine out when I first bought it he was easily welding 1/2in. But of course he doesn't know what he is doing... probably just got lucky. :laughing:

 

[Shield Arc]

Well I' am just a hobbyist!

 

[roadhunter]

I've got a Millermatic 175 and a Everlast I-Mig 200 and the Millermatic is much easier to use and has a much cleaner weld appearance using the same gas and wire.

I thought I would use the 110v option more as I had a little Hobart 125 handler before the Everlast that was really handy but I have found for portable work that I prefer my ESAB 161 because it is so much lighter.