looking for input on a 175

[bill5674]

have a chance to do some work for a local steel yard.don`t want to take my shop machine on the road,have access to 220v at site.welding 1/8 mild steel.have a cst 250 stick machine(,very portable) just prefer the speed and look of the wire feed.having never used flux core,question is how is the apperince of the weld .or stick with the solid wire and get a small bottle of mix.would also be nice to have another wire machine i could set up for thin materials and leave set up with 023 or such. anybodies two cents ?? thanks

[KB Fabrications]

I don't have any experience with the 175 but I think the new model is being updated for 2006. I do have a MM passport 180 and i think it would be the perfect machine for the kind of work your talking about.


http://millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_passport/


Works off of 110 or 220 with just the swap of a plug end. Also has self-contained co2 bottle or can also be used with flux core or mixed gas. It would be worth a look.

[90blackcrx]

I have seen decent looking flux core welds, just have to prep the metal and maybe get sone anti spatter spray.

I will try to find pictures that I came across.

[90blackcrx]

Not saying there the best, but if give you an idea

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/WhiteSol/gemini_july/gemini_July084.jpg

[bill5674]

thanks for the response.not bad looking beads with the flux core. thanks kevin you really got me thinkig about the passport...twice what i wanted to spend !something to think about.another reason to spend money on toys thaks bill

[unixadm]

I've owned both the MM 175 and now own a Passport. To me, there is no comparison. The Passport is a much nicer machine. The arc quality is excellent and the portability is very nice. It welds for a good long while on a single 12oz bottle of CO2 and the welds are beautiful. It does not get much better for a 120/220V MIG machine. I never cared for the Wire Speed Tracking feature on the 175. It was hard to dial in - the Passport is very easy to dial-in, in my opinion.

[bill5674]

thanks for the feed back.i am now leaning toward the passport,like the idea that i can tap into a bigger bottle in the shop.just hope that miller does`nt come out with somethiing updated for 06.

[bill5674]

oh well ,i bit the bullet and ordered the passport.i`ll keep you posted