Mig welder

I have been thinking of getting a mig welder. Have a job coming that I could build the cost of one into, to build a cabinet with. (welder and steel less than cabinet would cost, I THINK)

Question, what brand and model would be best? I have a Lincoln electric welder and a generator welder. Local supply shop has Lincoln and miller. I am partial to Lincoln.......so reccomendations?

Lincoln is a good name in welders. I have a Century that I"m fairly satisfied with. Have welded some pretty impossible things with it, (cast iron for instance.) Father-in-law had a Century stick welder that did well for me, as did Uncle Paul"s Lincoln stick welder. Miller is also a good name. Bought one at a yard sale last summer. Probably need to build up wiring so I can use it...

Whatever you do in a mig welder, buy one with a gas kit. Do NOT rely on the flux/wire, you"ll be disappointed.

Amen on the gas..unless you have to work in windy conditions where it isn't possible to keep it from blowing away from the work area...And don't let anyone tell you it is only good for thin material..With proper beveling you can weld really thick stuff...

I don't know how thick or what you're welding but I'd go with a Miller, common parts. Lincoln will change parts and do weird things to try and make you have to buy Lincoln consumables. On some Lincoln MIG's they completely changed the gun and consumables so if you had an older Lincoln, your parts wouldn't fit on your new machine. The box store Lincoln's are built cheaper than the welding supply machines and they don't use the same parts either. The Miller's up to the 212 have auto set that makes it easier for a beginner to set the machine. Miller's customer service is usually much better too. If you want a bench top model, I'd recommend a 211 cause it will work on 110 or 220 volts. If you're going to be welding mostly heavier steel or think you will be in the future, go with a 212 that has a higher duty cycle and allows you to use the bigger spools of wire. If you're looking at some less common machines, compare the size and construction of the drive roll system.

If you like Lincoln stick with that. I am a true Miller fan and love most Miller machines but my Miller MIG [purchased used] is annoying.It is a 210 model.I am constanly opening the cover to clear wire feed problems. Double if I run .023".

On Mig it is Miller hands down and also be sure you do the gas because the flux core wire is a joke and a real pain in the back sides.

I used Dad's Millermatic 200 for alot of years and it's a great machine. About 8 years back I was looking for a MIG machine of my own. I wound up doing a bit of trading for a Hobart. It's a 200 or 250 amp machine but I only run .035 wire in it so I'm not working it hard at all. Still I've done everything from building a dove tail/loading ramp on the back of a customers truck to building the bale buster with it last year for another customer, and many other projects in between.

Ultimately a welder is a welder, as they all use pretty much the same technology (at least the older ones) and materials. That being the case as long as you find one made by a reputible company like Lincoln, Miller, Hobart (owned by Miller), ESAB, etc you shouldn't have any problems.

Price wise you can get one of the package units like one of the Millermatics for about the same cost as you can find a power supply and a feeder to go with it. My Hobart is a package unit, like the Millermatics, but given a choice, and the space, I would really preffer one with the power supply sitting against the wall and the feeder on a roll around cart. I've used both and both have their own advantages and disadvantages, so in the end it's al just a matter of prefference, and what you can find and/or afford.

Yes, I will be getting a gas one. I have mig welded, and grandpa has a century buzzbox mig. I want something with more capacity than it has. Going to go tomorrow to the weld supply house to see what they have and prices, same place I bought my GXT225 generator welder

We have used both (technology lab) the miller is more stable and less prone to cable chaffing and has great electronic controls. The model (link) is pricy, but the welder is pro quality.
We went through several "home shop" level welders with poor feed performance, and short life. Get a reasonable unit that will handle 1/4" or more or it will not be used much. Jim
A good choice

Anything new with a separate feeder and power source is going to be a HD industrial machine and be a lot of $$$$.

I"ve had a Miller 200 since the late 80s. Excellent machine, only one repair in all those years. Get the Tweco gun with it, instead of the Miller gun.

Look at the duty cycle on the Multimatic 200. It's way too much money for what you get. There sure isn't any demand for them up here. I don't know of one that has sold. Miller generally makes a good product but they're trying to cash in on that one being good for 3 processes. It's kind of a gimmick. A pricey one at that. It won't TIG weld aluminum cause it's only DC and TIG for steel will work on any DC stick welder.

I went to school at Hobart, have owned,Hobarts,Millers,Systematics and Lincolns,and still have a couple or three of each one. Never had any luck at all out of the Miller engine drives. Got 2 sitting here now that won't weld a lick.I've got a 300 amp systematic that is 25 years old and never had the back off it and still runs an Aluminum spoolgun at least once a week.I like Lincoln personally and probably will never buy anything else. But it's Ford versus Chev argument. I'll take a Dodge

I've had several miller welders and the only one I liked was the Vintage that I still use. The others were reliable but harder to use and for aluminum, which I do a lot of, they were crappy. I have a lincoln Square Wave 255 tig and a smaller SP170 which is a 220v mig in the small size. The 255 is a great welder and will do anything I need. The sp170 will weld up to 1/4" but also has a light duty cycle. I used to have a Square wave 175 that was very nice but didn't have enough duty cycle. I would recommend this one. The machanical controls will weld better and unless you are figuring on production welding are very reliable. You don't notice the difference too much welding steel accept for more sticking the wire to the tip, but for aluminum with a spool gun these are much better. You will use many less tips with the machanical adjustments over electronic controls.
mig welder

Flux core is all I ever use in my Miller 135. Never had a problem with it except for the slag balls.

I had a 175 Lincoln that got stolen. I think the one I bought was a Miller 210. Anyway, it does 220 or 110 by changing the builtin plug ends. You put in the wire size and metal thickness and go. Sometimes a larger welder would be nice but I don't weld that big of stuff. If so, I just double or triple the weld. My old Lincoln copper wound stick welder with a freq box is good for rusty material. The crooks didn't take it.

Stick welding's posts has it right. I have just about settled on the Millermatic 211. Not the cheapest model available, but the most bang for a few bucks more.
With the Millermatic 200, they must charge extra for "cute". The TIG will only work on steel, and it generally seems overpriced.
I like the Millermatic 212, but it is larger (and bulkier) than I want to deal with.
The 211 is the cheaper of the three, but has all the features that I could want. Can add a spool gun to it for welding aluminum if I want to do that.

My opinion is worth what you paid for it.

Myron

Yep, but there are still many of the older units available through industrial surplus sites. With the economy like it''s been so many places closed down and sold everything off surplus that the prices, many times, aren't as bad as they are for most of the packaged units.

Check out HGR's site. They have several higher amperage machines with the power supply an feeder seperate for less than $600, as well as a few over that. Too they have quite a few package machines in the $600 range also. For that kind of money you can afford to pick and choose which type of machine you want based on what your using it for, space requirements, output requirements, duty cycle requirements, etc, etc.
HGR

Sometimes you can find good used machines but how do you know? You also need to look at spare parts and consumables availability.

Those are mostly factory type welders that are larger than a lot of people want in the way, and heavy to move around. Also a lot of 3 phase stuff that a lot of people don't have available in their shops.
Also, I was disappointed at the minimal information on their website - might be getting something totally unsuitable for your use unless you really know about the particular unit in question.

Do they guarantee their equipment to be in operating condition?
Prices look great, but - - - -

Myron