mig welder upgrade help

[Skeans1]

@YellowHammer 3/16 down to sheet metal yes short circuit mig is fine, but with a switch of drive rolls and wire you can easily burn hotter and faster with dual shield flux core. https://youtu.be/6XD2gpCKK-E

[sarahduke78]

Thanks for all your input.the welder comes complete with gas tank 50%,extra roll of wire,gloves,cart,Hawk welding helmet and 23 foot extension cord.It is clean and has very little use by a little old lady who only welded on Sundays.
Might be my Christmas present to myself.

Came across this thread. Was wondering if you purchased it. If so, do you like it?

[47sawdust]

Yes I did buy the welder and will get some pictures to post.The difference in the quality of welds between the 135 Hobart(110) and the Lincoln (220) was a real nice surprise.No matter how hard I tried with the 135 my welds didn't seem to be as smooth as I wanted.First attempt with the Lincoln and I felt like I finally learned how to weld.

[Crusarius]

Hobart sells cheaper because it doesn't have the Miller paint scheme

Actually the hobart has plastic gears insider where the miller has metal ones. Thats the big difference. You are correct though, most if not all parts are interchangeable. So if you strip a plastic gear you can replace it with a miller metal gear.

[sarahduke78]

Yes I did buy the welder and will get some pictures to post.The difference in the quality of welds between the 135 Hobart(110) and the Lincoln (220) was a real nice surprise.No matter how hard I tried with the 135 my welds didn't seem to be as smooth as I wanted.First attempt with the Lincoln and I felt like I finally learned how to weld.

Oh, glad to hear it. I was debating between Hobart 210 (dual voltage) and Lincoln 180. They are both the same price, and tbh I was leaning towards Hobart, but now I'll pick Lincoln probably. Thanks!

[Bandmill Bandit]

Consumer Hobarts seem to be a box of parts left over from the assembly of the comercial Hobarts. There is a big difference in performance and quality even though the hobarts and miller are built in the same plant. I have a miller 210 and love it. 

The Lincoln 180 is *DanG good welder as well. I'd take either one in that model range but my closest dealer is a Miller dealer and I can swap my gas bottle at local NAPA so its 5 minutes away.

Tryed a 110/220 model before I bought my miller 210. That is a no go for me! just not enough welder.   

[Walnut Beast]

Now you need a Hypertherm plasma cutter 😂

[Walnut Beast]

I bought a Hobart MIG 185 about 8 years ago that I've been happy with.  When I bought it I compared it to the same size Miller.  The Miller had steel rollers and components in the feed which was a plus over the Hobart plastic rollers.  The Miller had more electronics and a higher price both of which were negatives for my planned use.

If you ever think you might weld aluminum a slightly bigger machine that would accept a spool gun would be in order.  I do aluminum with my Lincoln TIG.

Good luck with your choice and don't burn down the Christmas tree playing with it!

Fronius mig welders like are one of the only ones that you can run aluminum wire effectively in and don't need to change anything. They are the real deal

[Walnut Beast]

Anybody have a miller 350p or Lincoln 360 pulse and if so how do they like it

[moodnacreek]

It's all about duty cycle.

[Sedgehammer]

Anybody have a miller 350p or Lincoln 360 pulse and if so how do they like it

These are my 'mig' welders. I do have one. Haven't used it yet. I need to change the plug out. Bought it a few years from a friend and hadn't used it for several years. Has the spool gun. He said they didn't use it much, as his business closed when he got hurt, but he said the guy using it loved it.

The hobart is a dream to weld with, i'll say that though. The miller 210 is a nice machine, but not near as smooth as the hobart.




 

 

[Sedgehammer]

It's all about duty cycle.

If welding long beads, agreed, but in a small self fab shop, doubtful that will be an issue. I have no idea what Walnut plans on using it for though.

[blackfoot griz]

I have a Lincoln powermig 215 and haven't been happy with it. For some reason, it doesn't feed consistently. I have replaced liners, tips, cones, drive rollers. I can weld 10 perfect welds, then it will get funky for a while  jumping, spitting, farting for a while on the exact same settings without moving or pushing capacity. 

It gets the job done, but, there is some feed issue I haven't been able to resolve.

[Tom King]

The 350P is a great machine, but for a little more than what they're going for used, you can get a new, and newer model 255 Millermatic.  Check out the youtube videos.  It's a spray arc machine.

I have a 251 that has just developed their common circuit board troubles.  I had some scientist friends help me troubleshoot the board, but rather than being a common problem with a Capacitor, or Transistor, it has an IC issue.  A new board is close to $500, so rather than put that much back into that machine, I'm getting a new 255.

The 255 has pulse, and other adjustments that the 251 didn't have.  It's the only machine that our local welding center keeps in stock, and they say it's the only machine anyone is buying.  It will also take a Push-Pull gun, like the 350P, if you have much aluminum welding to do.

I also have a little Lincoln 120V Mig machine.  It's handy to have, but with amperage, and duty cycle limits, it will not put enough heat into anything but small stuff.

Watching that video, I can hear my teacher and now gone dear friend, who was President of the National Welders Association (or something like that) for two terms, and has stuff sitting on the Moon that he welded, telling me that I'm putting too much "metal in the weld".  Penetration is a good thing, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

[farmfromkansas]

Been looking at Lincoln 180's and 140's.  Have several bale feeders that need repaired, and using my stick welder with tiny rod, just burn holes in the thin metal.  Would a 140 work for that or would a 180 work ok? The 140 is 120 volt, the 180 is 220-240.

[Walnut Beast]

Anybody have a miller 350p or Lincoln 360 pulse and if so how do they like it

These are my 'mig' welders. I do have one. Haven't used it yet. I need to change the plug out. Bought it a few years from a friend and hadn't used it for several years. Has the spool gun. He said they didn't use it much, as his business closed when he got hurt, but he said the guy using it loved it.

The hobart is a dream to weld with, i'll say that though. The miller 210 is a nice machine, but not near as smooth as the hobart.




 

 

Have you used the 350p

[Walnut Beast]

The 350P is a great machine, but for a little more than what they're going for used, you can get a new, and newer model 255 Millermatic.  Check out the youtube videos.  It's a spray arc machine.

I have a 251 that has just developed their common circuit board troubles.  I had some scientist friends help me troubleshoot the board, but rather than being a common problem with a Capacitor, or Transistor, it has an IC issue.  A new board is close to $500, so rather than put that much back into that machine, I'm getting a new 255.

The 255 has pulse, and other adjustments that the 251 didn't have.  It's the only machine that our local welding center keeps in stock, and they say it's the only machine anyone is buying.  It will also take a Push-Pull gun, like the 350P, if you have much aluminum welding to do.

I also have a little Lincoln 120V Mig machine.  It's handy to have, but with amperage, and duty cycle limits, it will not put enough heat into anything but small stuff.

Watching that video, I can hear my teacher and now gone dear friend, who was President of the National Welders Association (or something like that) for two terms, and has stuff sitting on the Moon that he welded, telling me that I'm putting too much "metal in the weld".  Penetration is a good thing, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

The inverter machines are kinda taking over. That 255 is a nice machine. Nice info Tom 👍

[Walnut Beast]

I would get the 180

[Walnut Beast]

I would get the 180

Farmfromkansas. The 140 would be fine for thin stuff. But if you want to do a little extra you will be wishing you would have went with the 180

[Crusarius]

If you have 220 available get a 220. Do not even think of anything less. everyone and I mean everyone that starts with a 110 machine eventually gets a 220 machine. Do not buy twice!

Miller does have the ones that run on both that is a great option if you need 110 for any reason.

[thecfarm]

 everyone and I mean everyone that starts with a 110 machine eventually gets a 220 machine. Do not buy twice!

Where was you when I bought a 110 about 25 years ago!!  :D  
The duty time is bad. About 15 minutes, than wait for it to reset for 10.  :(  I am only a small time welder, so I would use that wait time to cut more metal.  :
No duty time on a 220.  ;D
I do 99% of my welding outside. I use a 2 wheeler with a big box to keep all the welding stuff inside. Welder on the bottom and what ever corded wire wrapped up on the back. If I need 10 feet I unwrap 10 feet, I need 50 feet, I unwrap 50 feet. That corded wire is not cheap.   But has paid for itself every time I weld.
Also with a 220 I can weld thick stuff or thin stuff.

[Walnut Beast]

The 350P is a great machine, but for a little more than what they're going for used, you can get a new, and newer model 255 Millermatic.  Check out the youtube videos.  It's a spray arc machine.

I have a 251 that has just developed their common circuit board troubles.  I had some scientist friends help me troubleshoot the board, but rather than being a common problem with a Capacitor, or Transistor, it has an IC issue.  A new board is close to $500, so rather than put that much back into that machine, I'm getting a new 255.

The 255 has pulse, and other adjustments that the 251 didn't have.  It's the only machine that our local welding center keeps in stock, and they say it's the only machine anyone is buying.  It will also take a Push-Pull gun, like the 350P, if you have much aluminum welding to do.

I also have a little Lincoln 120V Mig machine.  It's handy to have, but with amperage, and duty cycle limits, it will not put enough heat into anything but small stuff.

Watching that video, I can hear my teacher and now gone dear friend, who was President of the National Welders Association (or something like that) for two terms, and has stuff sitting on the Moon that he welded, telling me that I'm putting too much "metal in the weld".  Penetration is a good thing, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Tom are you going to go with the Millermatic or Multimatic 300 bucks diff you get the stick but no tig. I'm leaning toward the Millermatic really hard. When compared to the transformer 252 which I really like. It's tuff to beat the 255 with pulse. And that's what I want. I've got a Fronius TransSteel 2200 so aluminum, stick and tig are covered there but it's not good for 1/2 inch and now I need that. I had a Miller 250 before. With the pulse you get several benefits the two biggest less spatter and excellent penetration without the heat distortion you would get with a 252. 

[Walnut Beast]

 

 The bigger Fronius welders only come in three phase 

[Sedgehammer]

Anybody have a miller 350p or Lincoln 360 pulse and if so how do they like it

These are my 'mig' welders. I do have one. Haven't used it yet. I need to change the plug out. Bought it a few years from a friend and hadn't used it for several years. Has the spool gun. He said they didn't use it much, as his business closed when he got hurt, but he said the guy using it loved it.

The hobart is a dream to weld with, i'll say that though. The miller 210 is a nice machine, but not near as smooth as the hobart.




 

 

Have you used the 350p

unfortunately I haven't. i need to change that plug out. I'll prolly do that this week. Maybe even today. i'll use it on my welding trailer remodel.

[Tom King]

The 350P is a great machine, but for a little more than what they're going for used, you can get a new, and newer model 255 Millermatic.  Check out the youtube videos.  It's a spray arc machine.

I have a 251 that has just developed their common circuit board troubles.  I had some scientist friends help me troubleshoot the board, but rather than being a common problem with a Capacitor, or Transistor, it has an IC issue.  A new board is close to $500, so rather than put that much back into that machine, I'm getting a new 255.

The 255 has pulse, and other adjustments that the 251 didn't have.  It's the only machine that our local welding center keeps in stock, and they say it's the only machine anyone is buying.  It will also take a Push-Pull gun, like the 350P, if you have much aluminum welding to do.

I also have a little Lincoln 120V Mig machine.  It's handy to have, but with amperage, and duty cycle limits, it will not put enough heat into anything but small stuff.

Watching that video, I can hear my teacher and now gone dear friend, who was President of the National Welders Association (or something like that) for two terms, and has stuff sitting on the Moon that he welded, telling me that I'm putting too much "metal in the weld".  Penetration is a good thing, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Tom are you going to go with the Millermatic or Multimatic 300 bucks diff you get the stick but no tig. I'm leaning toward the Millermatic really hard. When compared to the transformer 252 which I really like. It's tuff to beat the 255 with pulse. And that's what I want. I've got a Fronius TransSteel 2200 so aluminum, stick and tig are covered there but it's not good for 1/2 inch and now I need that. I had a Miller 250 before. With the pulse you get several benefits the two biggest less spatter and excellent penetration without the heat distortion you would get with a 252.

Millermatic.  Just have too much stuff piled in the mechanic shop to get anything else in it right now, and have a few jobs to finish up, and get out of there before I bother to bring it in.  My welding shop matches online prices, and keeps one in stock.