Considering buying a new Mig Welder - looking at either Millermatic 190 or 211. Reasons for considering 190 are: Don't need multi plug option, will be welding 3/16 on down to 18 ga. Mostly light, so would like to use .023 wire, 190 has inverter which I am told provides a more stable arc. Any and all opinions or suggestions would be appreciated as I am pretty inexperienced at this. Thank you
Miller welders are the best IMO. Constant amperage and voltage and very dependable. No experience with those two types but am sure all their machines are top notch.
IMO, always better to go bigger than you think you need RIGHT NOW, because it gives you some room to do other stuff in the future. I'm sure either would work great, we have a 210 and 211 and the older one, the 210, has laid down weld after weld after weld troublefree for the past 9 or so years. There are other great brands out there, but our favorite is Miller blue. If that 210 died tomorrow it would owe us nothing. Check out Cyberweld. We have bought 4 machines from them over the years and always got the best deal there. Don
Go with the bigger, or you will wish you had. Cant say anything but good about Miller products. Home garage we have had nothing but Miller, Friends own a huge welding shop, nothing but miller (and they use the shit out of them) Miller really impressed me when many years ago they came in, took all the school welders out and replaced them with brand new millers, and a new bay of miller helmets too.
I have the 211 and use only 220,if it died today I would replace it tomorrow with the same thing. HRP
I appreciate all of your replies. No question about Miller or bigger is better. In talking with Miller people, not much difference in capabilities of two machines. Big question is Inverter technology. Does anyone have experience/suggestions of Inverter vs Transformer? It is suppose to run a little more stable, crispier arc with a little better start. Thanks again for the help.
I can't speak to the "inverter" technology comment but what I can say is I highly recommend Miller and Cyberweld.com. I have three miller products, Millermatic 180 MIG, diversion 180 TIG, and 165 xtreme plasma cutter. I have nothing but good things to say about those products. They've never let me down once. Also Cyberweld is a great place to order from. Fast shipping and great prices, good customer service too.
Miller all the way, couple years ago had a out of warrenty issue with my Dynasty- it blew up to the tune of about $2800 worth of parts, Some conversations with them (some of then slighty heated) and they replaced all the parts to which I only had to pay the repair shop a small service fee $125. I will always run the "Big Blue" Cyberweld--- Just found their site and have made 2 big purchases from them. Lowest prices I have found, no hassle ordering(lot of confermation e-mails) and no bullshit free shipping (no internet sales tax a plus also)BBBBut, know what you pay for things at your welding shop befor ordering, some things I can get cheaper at the local welding store and some times it a good idea to just pay a little extra to keep their doors open
Always buy the biggest that you can afford. 220 V is ALWAYS better then 110. It is alot easier to add smaller wire and turn the power down then it is to try and weld larger material with an underpowered unit. I have nothing against Miller. They make a damn fine machine. We have a 1960's vintage Miller MIG in the shop at work. 460 V, 3 phase, it will weld anything from 18 ga to 1 inch with out batting an eye. And talk about smooth, 3 phase and those old electronics, can't be beat.
I agree with the others on the 211 Miller. As a novice starting out on it, it was a great machine to help tune my skills. Have used it on 110v (.024 wire) and 220v (.030 wire) with great results. Malcolm
When ever possible I try to go a bit bigger or better.Not always able to do it ,but with a welder you can never go wrong!! Once you get good you may wish you had the extra capacity
I have a miller 110 Volt welder, and swear by Miller. I wished I had bought a 220 Volt unit, but at the time didn't have the garage wired for 220. This 110 unit has welded everything I have needed, up to 3/16 plate. I have done some 1/4, but have to vee it fairly good. Buy Miller, you won't go wrong
I have a few miller machines and the 210 is a good machine. I have adapted a push/pull Mk gun to it so welding aluminum is another plus. I weld .025-.035 wire with this machine in either the spray mode or oscillating mode, good penetrations.
Millers are good machines, and quite popular, that for sure. Myself, I don't own a Miller, but have used them, and like them a lot. My welders have all been bought used till I bought a wire welder a few years ago. I did one helluva lot of car building along with misc. stuff, with a Lincoln "tombstone" 225amp AC buzzbox. Bought it used back in the mid 60s, and used that and a cutting torch I bought along about the same time, with an o/a welding torch also, and I still have them and use them. In the 90s I bought the equipment and inventory of a boat prop repair shop and started a side business. Amongst the equipment was a monstrous old Lincoln Ideal Arc 250 that I kept when I sold the business equipment and inventory several years ago, and I still use it. Later in the 90s I bought a wire welder from HTP 200 amp when I decided to build a hot rod. The HTP line is imported, but not from China, the components are made in Austria and IIRC some if not all, of the assembly is done here in USA. They've been a good company to do business with since, and they back up what they sell. Don't know that I would go with an "off" brand, even of the obvious good quality of the HTP line, as you're limited in repair and parts options, if I depended on it for a living. They will put a tech on the phone who will advise you on diagnosis and repair of their equipment, but you still have to order the parts sent to you from HTP. But IMO, they do a great job of bridging the gap between the high end stuff like Miller and Lincoln, and the low end, often problematic Chinese stuff. Using it in a business? get the best. Hobby work? I think you can let your budget help guide your selection in ANY tool. But yes, inverter technology is the way to go now on any welder operated by 110/220V AC current That big old Lincoln Ideal Arc 250 amp requires a 100 amp/220 volt service all to itself!! Price that with your electrician buddy. Inverter machines draw much less current, consequently don't require such high capacity wiring and breakers, and cost less to operate than transformer units.
I have a Miller 211 and love it. The dual voltage is great to have. It does run a little "hotter" than my Lincoln ProMig 140 i replaced it with (the Lincoln was a great little machine that I have done a ton of body panels with). But the 211 is really versatile and cranks out a great weld. For the really heavy lifting i also have a Lincoln AC/DC Tombstone... The Miller 211 is a great machine, I love it.
the most important part of this whole purchasing process is being honest with yourself. if you can look yourself in the eye and honestly believe that you are actually going to use the thing more than once, then buy the biggest machine you can, wire your garage for 220V and go after it, but if in fact you're doing some garage dreaming then the biggest miller 110V is probably more than enough. i bought both of mine used. both big blue. my millermatic 200 MIG was a piece that had been sitting in the back of a friends shop for more years than i could remember. $700 bucks. my synchrowave 180 TIG had 3 hours on it and cost me $1100. both came with the large bottles.
I did the maintenance purchasing for a large food plant that we were always changing things in or building new stuff in that had more Miller equipment than I could list. The best part of having Blue is that unless it is so old that it is totally obsolete you have no trouble getting parts and or service and sooner you need parts and or service even with the best of machines if you use them. I've been in the welding equipment store more than once when someone wheeled up with one of the cheap offshore units and after the service guy got done laughing told them they would have to ship it back to where they got it to be repaired.
Some of the older MILLER syncrowaves used printed circut boards, and since the machines are so old now , the boards are not available new or rebuilt, so you take your chances when buying a used machine. That was the reason I got rid of my Sync. $700 for a used board and no guarntee's
When I was looking for welder advice I came to the HAMB. I've had it 2 yrs and its still sitting in my living room. I bought the Millermatic 211 Auto. Someday I'm going to learn how to turn it on!!! lol
Go Blue. I didn't follow my own advice, I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a new 210 and my buddy ran across a matco with little use. It's served me well for a couple years and is plenty for the bodywork im using it for, but I'm still looking for a used 210 or 211 in good shape.
I sold off my "old" Miller Synchrowave(transformer-style) and bought a new inverter TIG machine. One of the worst mistakes I've made. Now that I've got it figured out and dialed in, it's OK, but I would trade back IN A HEARTBEAT.
At 77, I doubt I'll be buying another welder in my life, but I'd really like to know more about what inverter machine you bought and why you don't like it. And this thread seems to me to be a good place to have that discussion. My thoughts on an inverter machine were based more on the cost of the wiring setup required for a transformer type TIG, and to a smaller degree the reduced current consumption and cost.
Looks like in the Miller 211 you get a 30% duty cycle at 220v vs 20% duty cycle with 120v. I would do the dual voltage 211 in a heartbeat. Best of both worlds. I have a miller 135 mig and a 250 machine. I love them both. And both were bought used.
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