Size Matters?

[novis]

I am a novice welder to say the least. I have built a few projects but still do not feel I get great results each and every time. Projects are bike rack, some sheet metal repair, exhaust work, misc small repairs, storage racks, etc. Often feeling like I am completely incompetent at setting up my welder. Now to the real question.

I currently have a MM250 set up for .035 wire with a M25 gun. This was a usedmachine I bought due to the price. Age is probably 10-15 years. This thing is big, as you all know, taking up much space in my smaller garage. I like the looks of the Miller 211 for both its smaller size, capacity to run 110 if needed, and still being able to weld all the way up to most sizes I would need,e.g. 3/8.

Would selling the 250 to replace it with a 211 for the big reason of size, possibly some help with setup using the auto feature, (I know purist probablythink these are useless but think about the part time welder who uses it once every six months etc.) make any sense? I know the 250 can do anything, but again it's big and probably way more machine than I need. Thoughts?

[Rezeppa]

I like it. I have a 211 and 2 mm250's and 3 252's. at work. My 211 can do ALMOST everything I do with the 250's at work. If I need to weld anything really thick or extremely structural I multipass or stick weld it anyway. Sounds like you have thought it out and know what you want to do.

[kvwall]

I agree with Rezeppa. I've got a 211 that does anything I need it to do so far. If you're just doing some light welding a couple times a year, you can't go wrong with the 211. You can probably sell the 250, buy the 211 and have money left over.

Be advised, the auto set feature on the 211 is ok, but not all it's cracked up to be according to some guys out there. It won't work with flux core or aluminum.

[Broccoli1]

By the time you make a cart to hold the machine and a bottle the foot print is about the same so don't change machines on that parameter.

If you need the Dual voltage of course the MM211 wins.

I don't mind the Auto-Set- it works as it it should and is fine for Hobby work and you can turn it off so the AS feature doesn't really matter, it is just a bonus.

The AS feature will NOT help you learn how to set up the machine since it doesn't indicate what the settings are. You select wire size and then turn the dial to the material thickness.

[novis]

By the time you make a cart to hold the machine and a bottle the foot print is about the same so don't change machines on that parameter.

I'm not sure how this is possible when the 250 is something like 30" long without the bottle and another 8" maybe on top of that for the bottle platform. The 211 is a 1/3 if not smaller than the 250 and you can build a low profile cart to keep things vertical and the foot print down.

Maybe I am wrong and looks are deceiving?

[MMW]

It sounds like the 211 will be what you need. The 110v is a big selling point over what you have now. I think what Broc was trying to say is don't swap machines for the auto set as it won't make you any better at welding. You can build a compact cart for the 211 if space is that critical. The store bought carts for the small migs are basically the same footprint as a 250 size machine.

[Steve83]

Mine ended up being slightly over 1' x 2' on the floor, and it's tall enough to protect the valves even if the covers are off.



The extra length is to make sure nothing ever damages the connections on the front of the box, including me pulling on the leads.

[Broccoli1]

Mine ended up being slightly over 1' x 2' on the floor, and it's tall enough to protect the valves even if the covers are off.



The extra length is to make sure nothing ever damages the connections on the front of the box, including me pulling on the leads.

"The base is 14.5 x 29.5", but the front handle sticks out another 1.5". The tallest point is 50.5" above the floor, without the bottle cover hanging on it."

The M200 is 13-1/2" x 26" x 30" tall without bottle rack. This is why I mentioned that by the time one makes a cart for the MM211 the footprint is pretty close😄

Btw- nice cart

[dondlhmn]

I have owned various welders (both red and blue) and now have trimmed the collection down to one air cooled TIG machine with which I can do stick if needed and one MIG machine and that one is a Miller 211. After having tried a LOT of different machines, I find that the 211 will do most anything I want in the way of MIG stuff. I use it hooked up to 230 most of the time, since I have a couple of 230 outlets (one 30 amp and one 50 amp) and it just welds SOO nice on 230!. The TIG is a Lincoln Precision TIG 225 that will do most anything I want to do in the TIG world except for thicker aluminum as it just doesn't have the oomph and hits the heat limit....also blows the breaker if I hook it up to the 30 amp 230 outlet! On rare occasions I might like to have more adjustability, but that all is really not needed for what I tend to do. Since I don't tend to do longer welds when TIGging, the air cooled (well, actually GAS cooled) setup does a fine job.

The last one I sold off was a Miller 250X that I kept around for quite a while "just in case" i needed to do some heavier stuff or wanted to do spray MIG, which the 211 just won't handle. The Miller 250X weighed, IIRC, around 250 pounds and was a good, stout, smooth welder but I never really had a call to weld stuff as heavy as it would do. That, coupled with the floor space it took up in the shop and the money it represented all came together in the decision to sell it.

I am currently quite happy with the 2 electric machines I do have.....oh, yeah....I do keep an O/A setup for the occasional cutting or heating job, but there is so little money in that rig that I will probably die owning that.

I will stick a picture on here that shows both welders and the carts/racks I built for them.

workshop 18.jpg

Yeah, that aluminum thing on the 211 cart is made to accommodate a cold beer in a MILLER koozie!

[novis]

I like your carts, both of them Don and Steve. I think though the foot print is not a huge savings, you get a lot more out of the cart than you do the stand alone unit taking up the same space, e.g. cord hangers, storage for tools, clamps, etc. With the stand alone car all of this is sitting on top of it, making opening the box a PIA and a cluttered mess. You also get portability, the 250 is not a one man lifting job.

Thanks for the input of all, it does help knowing what folks think and have experienced.

I'll probably sell the big boy and get something smaller more geared toward what I do.