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help me decide please.....

ryoken

ryoken

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ok, I've decided to buy a new welder for the house...

after researching a new welder for work, I picked out a Miller 252 for us, spool gun, etc... Tho the pencil pushers haven't come thru with it yet, I should have access to this at some point.. But as many would be, I don't want to have to bank on being able to borrow it, etc, and want my own for the house...

I have Tom's 110 Lincoln unit here that needs repair, but that wont burn deep enough for what I want to do..

soooooo, I've been shopping.... Honestly, for as much as I want a Miller, I was looking at the new Millermatic 180, I can't justify the near grand costs...

sooooo, I knew of the Hobart Handler 175's rep, and have used one and started looking at the current similar model, the handler 187.. ok, decent looking 220 welder in the 650 range, cool...

well, after looking around, I'm really leaning towards one of the many 175+ amp Lincolns... all the different models out there, homo depot specifac names, etc, I'm really looking hard at them...

the mig pro 180's, sp 175's, weldpak 175's, etc are all readily available in the $400 range on the bay.... and I'm now really leaning towards the lincolns, mainly because of price... under 500 would be freakin awesome as opposed to 800+...


I know, waiting and stepping up to a 200+ amp machine is the way to go, but with a 7 to 8 g shopping list for the truck, I really want to keep this under $700...

I'm thinking all these 180ish lincolns are all about the same.. just a model/year/store thing mostly... most of the duty cycles look similar.. is stepped really that bad as opposed to infinite? the mig pro 180 was the one I've mostly been eyeballing...

your thoughts, opinions and expert advice is greatly appreciated... :bow:
 
I don't know how I welded before infinite control. I can have such precise control over my heat in so many situations. I have often changed heat level by just .2 volts and made a big difference in penetration and weld quality.

That said, a good welder can make a stepped machine work out just fine. I did fine with my Lincoln 175 before I knew better. Luckily that machine was stolen and after using nothing but Lincoln 255sp machines at school I was spoiled and had to buy one for myself.

In my opinion, owning an infinite machine, yes it is that big a deal. Before I played with one, I likely wouldn't have cared.
 
thanks... I seem to remember using both over the years, and may have been downplaying the limitations of stepped... in that my bouts with them where quite productive and just justifying it in my head..

honestly, I'm just looking for something that I can put a nice weld to 1/4" to 3/8's in a pass, or 2... preferably single... ah see, it's all about the grunt, need more power, grrrr, grrrrr...

now I'm knowing better that I should just wait, spend over a g and go 200+... dammit, I'm usually quite decisive, but trying to convince myself to go less than optimum is hard...
 
My 175 would weld 3/8" in a pass or two depending on the weld. 1/4 was no problem. So it is up to you. Those machines are nice and will do what you need, it is your call as to what you want to spend. That is what it really boils down too. I guess for you I'd probably say just get the smaller machine and spend your money on the project. Probably should have done that somewhere along the line, but I LOVE my welder.
 
I have a MM200 that is stepped. Our miller 252 is infinate at work and I don't find the stepped to be an issue at home. I love having a 200+ welder. But my last one was a 110 volt. Multiple passes with the 110v would net 5/16 penetration. Now I can burn 3/8 + in one pass easily. It's definetly a time saver.. I haven't had it set on the hottest level yet.

Ask yourself, are you going to be happy with a 175. Or will it just do for now.

You could always sell the 175 when your ready to step up to a 200+ machine.

Bruiser
 
If I buy new, thats the one I'm really leaning towards... I WILL be buying something mid-next week...

I need to stop by my steel supplier/welder friends shop monday, lots to talk about... topics of discussion...

1 - does he have a mig he'd like to let go... this guy is pretty badass.. an older guy I met thru the marine biz, about 68... tho sick lately, still slinging steel around... the most anally organized worker you've EVER met... probably drive ya nuts if ya worked with him! :haha: BUT, he keeps his sh*t immaculate... :bow: iirc, he has 4 or 5, 200+ amp Millers kicking around.. A devout Miller guy... I'll have to snap some pics of his shop... tho he's gonna look at me like I'm a kook.... :doah::haha:


2 - pick up my 3/8" plate steel for the bumper center/ winch mount...

and put in a DOM order! :saweet:
 
I don't need to tell you that you generally get what you pay for...but the cost of having something that was 'cheap' stays around a lot longer than the 'pain' of paying for quality in the first place.

I have a 135 amp Millermatic...I could not have a 220 machine when i bought it. For a 110 volt machine the infinite adjust is a blessing, and makes it that much more usable. Fortunately if I ever need to weld more than my little Miller is good for I'll just take it to work. Plenty of 500+ amp machines around there. :D

Rene
 
just the man I was looking for for some insight...

ebay makes this so hard! lots of deals out there on refurbs, etc... you can pick up the Hobart 187's for like 4, 500...

right now, I'm leaning towards the millermatic 180 if i go new.. $800 comes with cart.. but boy, there are tempting deals out there... theres a hobart 210 on there for 750..

the other one i'm strongly considering is going off tonight.. I'd have to drive down to maryland to get it... couple hr ride.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330248807129

but thats alot of welder for $800, and it comes with a foot pedal which has got to be a 2,$300 add-on.. never heard of using a pedal for a mig... :confused: would that give you variable control of amps?
 
as of 9:45 he updated, it doesn't come w/ a pedal. that was for another welder

for the same $$, i'd get the miller w/ the auto adjust and cart.
 
yeah, that was due to me asking him about it... I put a bid at 800, but it ended up going for 900.. still a pretty smoking deal...

I've been soooo torn on all this.. hung out with my welder friend last night.. he didn't have one to sell...

for as much as I want a 200+ machine, I just can't justify $1400 right now.. so I'm thinking the miller 180 is the route I'm gonna take...
 
The Miller 180 should be a good machine. A lot of guys don't want my advice on welding machines because I hate Hobart with a passion. Miller may own Hobart now, but that doesn't mean the machines are identical. Even in commercial applications Hobart is the red headed step child...

I have two home machines here...one I bought when I was broke as a joke and needed to rust repair on the Jimmy. 80 amp, gasless only, wire was always live. It got the job done, but what a POS to use. When I got the 135 Miller I could not believe what a dream it was to use in comparison.

Rene
 
I purchased a MillerMatic 210 when they had a free spoolgun offer going about 3 years ago. Great step welder for what I do. Unlike some of the real welders here I've not had the chance to use much else. If I were to purchase something today I might go with the miller 252.

Good luck on your purchase.
 
thanks...

oh, yeah the 252 is sweet.. it's actually the welder i picked out for work with the 30 amp spool gun... but i certainly dont have 2500 to spend...

i ended up getting the Milllermatic 180 with AS and a cart for $805, should be here tomorrow...was gonna go for the 212, but the cheapest i found it was $1500.. couldn't justify it.. the 180 should get me by.. worst case, I can hit my welder bud up for anything thicker than I can burn in with the 180...
 
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