211 gun

[OWTLAW]

Does anyone make a replacement gun for the Miller 211? Maybe one a little longer than the m-10 gun? Bernard? Tweco?

[Maineiac]

I have a M211 welder. I also bought a Spoolmate 100. I haven't had the chance to use it yet. I used the M211 today and I love it. I bought the spoolmate 100 series strickly for aluminum.

[davedarragh]

M-10 MIG Gun

Does anyone make a replacement gun for the Miller 211? Maybe one a little longer than the m-10 gun? Bernard? Tweco?

Outlaw: The drive roll system on the 140, 180, & 211 models are a "single" type and are designed for the 10' gun.

Dave

[davedarragh]

"Westward Ho"

I have a M211 welder. I also bought a Spoolmate 100. I haven't had the chance to use it yet. I used the M211 today and I love it. I bought the spoolmate 100 series strickly for aluminum.

Mainiac: On your way to Yuma this winter, look me up.

Dave

[OWTLAW]

211 gun

If the 211 has a single drive roller does this create wire feeding problems compared to the 212 or 252's?

[Desertrider33]

My friend just bought a Millermatic 211. The machine appears to have the same wire drive mechanism as my Passport and Millermatic 175.

I use a 15 foot Bernard Q-Gun (Q400) on my Passport with no feeding problems with .030 or .035 self shielding fluxcore wire (a soft wire) using the .030/.035 VK knurled drive roll. I run the .035 liner with both wires. The job I'm using it on now, I go through about 1/2 of a 10-lb roll of wire per day and use the torch in all sorts of crazy positions. You should be fine with a 15 foot gun on your 211, provided the gun has the right size liner for the wire size.

I highly recommend Bernard Q-Gun mig guns.

[FusionKing]

My friend just bought a Millermatic 211. The machine appears to have the same wire drive mechanism as my Passport and Millermatic 175.

I use a 15 foot Bernard Q-Gun (Q400) on my Passport with no feeding problems with .030 or .035 self shielding fluxcore wire (a soft wire) using the .030/.035 VK knurled drive roll. I run the .035 liner with both wires. The job I'm using it on now, I go through about 1/2 of a 10-lb roll of wire per day and use the torch in all sorts of crazy positions. You should be fine with a 15 foot gun on your 211, provided the gun has the right size liner for the wire size.

I highly recommend Bernard Q-Gun mig guns.

I agree the Bernards are great and with everything you said. My question is why the 400? My 350P came stock with a Q300. It is the only one I am familiar with and am wondering what would the difference be? Is the Q400 even MORE heavy duty?

[Frank Motoweld]

Spring for the right gun!

If you want that machine to come alive,give it the gun it should have from the start:Bernard Q300 15 foot with Centerfire consumables.The 360 degree swivel goose neck and contact tips that you almost have to do it on purpose to kill,Yes sir! I have one on my 252 and my 180 for which it did wonders,
Frank

[Desertrider33]

I agree the Bernards are great and with everything you said. My question is why the 400? My 350P came stock with a Q300. It is the only one I am familiar with and am wondering what would the difference be? Is the Q400 even MORE heavy duty?

Hi Fusion, I have a Q300 on my 350P too. So far as I can tell, the main difference between the 300 and 400 is the size/weight of the cable and some of the parts for attatching the cable inside the gun. The guns themselves share many parts and appear to be basicaly the same. I often interchange parts between them.

I got the 400 because I wanted a gun I wouldn't be able to overheat or kill. It is indeed a very tough gun. Heavy, but tough, although not all that noticeably heavier than the 300. I have a leather cover on my 300 but not on my 400, so they feel the same to me.

If I were to do it over again, I would probly go with the 300 instead. I'm sure I could get away with a 200 on the Passport, but it is nice to be able to interchange parts easily. If I had the 200, I think alot of the parts would be different than the 300. The parts diagrams and part number lists for the Q-Gun series on Bernard's site suggests that the 200 is a different animal than the 300/400.

[Desertrider33]

If you want that machine to come alive,give it the gun it should have from the start:Bernard Q300 15 foot with Centerfire consumables.The 360 degree swivel goose neck and contact tips that you almost have to do it on purpose to kill,Yes sir! I have one on my 252 and my 180 for which it did wonders,
Frank

I agree. The great thing about the Bernard guns is their customizability. I have several different length/curve necks for them and also have the flexible neck on the gun on my Passport.

The flexible neck is great and has been a real time/effort saver on the job I'm doing now, where I have to fit the torch in some awkward spaces. It is a bit delicate though for hard use.

The Centerfire frontend is great too, with so many different gas nozzle sizes and styles to pick from. I keep an assortment of nozzles around. I converted the frontend on my Spoolmatic 15A to Centerfire too, so I can share consumables with the guns on the Passport and 350P. I am going to convert my Python push-pull gun to Centerfire as well.

The fluxcore nozzle eliminator setup is another winner. I use that on the Passport. The new Suitcase feeder I got comes with a Q300 with Centerfire and I got the fluxcore kit for it too. I think I may swap guns with the Passport and put the 400 on the Suitcase and the 300 on the Passport.

[OWTLAW]

211 gun

What is the going rate on a Q-200 or 300? I have read a lot about them and they seen like a really nice upgrade compared to the m-10. How do they handle .023 wire with a 15 foot gun on the 211? I don't usually use wire that small but I was just wondering.

[Desertrider33]

What is the going rate on a Q-200 or 300? I have read a lot about them and they seen like a really nice upgrade compared to the m-10. How do they handle .023 wire with a 15 foot gun on the 211? I don't usually use wire that small but I was just wondering.

I paid about $300 for my Q400, however, I have seen 15' Q300's on ebay for as little as $100.

The Q300/400 are not made to work with wire smaller than .030". Bernard doesn't have an .023" liner available for them. I do not know if they make an .023" liner for the Q150 or Q200 or not. A call to Bernard will answer that question though. Bernard's customer service dept is GREAT, every bit as good as Miller's.

[davedarragh]

"Make it Alive?"

If you want that machine to come alive,give it the gun it should have from the start:Bernard Q300 15 foot with Centerfire consumables.The 360 degree swivel goose neck and contact tips that you almost have to do it on purpose to kill,Yes sir! I have one on my 252 and my 180 for which it did wonders,
Frank

Why would you want to put a 300 amp gun on a 150 amp machine?

The single drive roll system of the MM 211 is designed to push the wire through a 10' gun.

It's nice to have the smaller gun when using .023 wire, in tight places.

Dave

[SpcR]

Why would you want to put a 300 amp gun on a 150 amp machine?

The single drive roll system of the MM 211 is designed to push the wire through a 10' gun.

It's nice to have the smaller gun when using .023 wire, in tight places.

Dave

X2, don't waste your money on these bigger guns when a Q150 would work just fine.

[Desertrider33]

The single drive roll in my Passport, which is the same wire drive mechanism and drive roll as the 140/180/211 machines, pushes soft .030 & .035 fluxcore wire through my 15' gun with no problem, in hard use, with the torch in all sorts of crazy positions.

The key is having the right liner size for the wire size. Try pushing .030/.035 fluxcore wire in an .045 liner through 15' and yeah, it will give problems. Wire snaking in the liner results in erratic feed speed. Very frustrating.

I agree, a smaller gun and lighter cable can be nice. I needed a TOUGH gun though and I'm glad I got one, cause I would have killed my M10 gun 3 times over by now had I put it through what I put the Q400 through. I put up with the larger gun size and heavier cable cause the excellent dependability is worth more to me than the comfort of the smaller gun. If I was just using the machine occasionally as a home hobbyist, I wouldn't want such a heavy gun. When equipment failures cause downtime and downtime costs money, you go with the equipment that you know wont fail....