MM210

[TitansFan]

I have a question concerning the MM 210. I am fixing to purchase my first welder. I have been welding for about 6 years and have never owned my own. A little back ground, I started out welding for a company that makes petroleum and dry bulk tankers, did loads of Tig/Mig on aluminum piping. I now work for a company that makes auto seat frames, strickly steel mig. Anyway, I am wanting to buy my own welder and have pretty much settled on the MM 210, I like the ability to weld thicker material, longer duty cycle, holds the 44lb rolls of wire, etc. My question is this: the MM 210 has 7 tabs for the heat settings, will I still get all the control I need or will this somehow be a limitation. The 175 does not have this and the 251 (out of my price range lol) does not have it either. I am just going to be using the welder for small stuff right now but plan on expanding my services later, so I need a good machine. I am just concerned about the 7 "tabs". Any and all info will be greatly appreciated.
Mike

[imported_Harold]

Titansfan

I don't believe you can go wrong with this welder. I have one and love it. There has been a lot of praise and discussion on the MM210 on the Hobart welders board.

http://www.hobartwelds.com/mboard/

and some real experts that can tell you much more than I can.
Do a search on Dan and also the Millermatic 210 You will find all you ever wanted to know and then some. A lot of other expert weldors have also commented and praised it along with offering other alternatives.
Harold

[RawkRash]

The amperage adjustment comes from the wire feed speed control. That is your "heat" setting. It is infinitely adjustable. The voltage control helps to adjust the arc length and doesn't require infinite adjustment.

Many welders prefer the arc characteristics of the "tap" type machines to the electronic infinitely adjustable voltage ones.

The arc is generally accepted to be smoother and softer.

[Moe]

RawkRash is correct. You initially set the output voltage on the nearest tap needed(according to the chart), then adjust the wire speed to fine tune. At least that's the way I use it and it works fine like this.

I also have a MM210 and it is a great little machine for the money. For someone who has never welded before buying this rig, I found it easy to use and easy to control, especially on steel. Aluminum, now that's a whole nutha story for me. Still in training on that one...

Good luck!

[TitansFan]

Thanks

Thanks for all the info, guys. I am use to using just the industrial machines, Deltaweld 302's and 452's, M60 series wire feeders and the like. The 7 tab kind of threw me for loop. The guys at the local supply store, Holston's, have been really great and helpful as well. The MM210 is definantly the way to go, for me anyway. Right now most of my welding will be hobby/craft type welding but I plan on expanding into more heavy type welding later and the extra juice will definantly come in handy. I will be coming back often to check up on whats going on and to gather any info I can and asking questions. Thanks again for all the help.
Mike

[RawkRash]

BTW, the correct term is "tap", not "tab". Not trying to be critical or anything. The term comes from the way the transformer coil is wound. They wind the coil for the maximum amount of voltage and "tap" into it at various places along the winding to pull out a wire with reduced voltage. They sort of eliminate some of the windings to prevent them from contributing to the output.

So when they say that the MM210 has 7 voltage taps, they mean that in addition to the full coil, they've tapped into the coil at 6 other places to pull out a reduced voltage to make smaller wire or thinner material happier.

Hope this layman's explanation makes at least a little bit of sense.

[TitansFan]

"taps"

Thanks RawkRash. The info is invaluable. I plan on welding on thin (around 20 ga.) to the max, 3/8. Does the MM210 handle the thinner material as well as it does the thicker stuff, if you use a smaller wire?
Thanks,
Mike

[xseabee]

What part of southeast TN are you in? I am in crossville

[TitansFan]

TN

Hey xseabee,
I live half way between Knoxville and Chattanooga in a town called Etowah. How do you like Crossville?
Mike

[RawkRash]

Re: "taps"

Originally posted by Titansfan
Thanks RawkRash. The info is invaluable. I plan on welding on thin (around 20 ga.) to the max, 3/8. Does the MM210 handle the thinner material as well as it does the thicker stuff, if you use a smaller wire?
Thanks,
Mike

I don't have a 210, but my 251 does a great job on the thin stuff. Last week I fabbed up a new rear corner for my '49 Jeep CJ-3A and welded it on with the MM251 and was astonished at how easy it was to control the weld.

I've heard from some other folks that the 210 has a softer arc than the 251 and that makes the thin stuff easier. I was using 75/25 gas and .030 wire. The panel warped very little and I had no trouble with burn-thru. I was really impressed.

Just turn the wire speed down and then adjust the voltage to a tap that results in the nice sizzling sound.

[TitansFan]

Thanks RawkRash. I will most likely be using the thinner material for most of my projects. I need to finish my cyclone dust collector's clean air discharge and will be using around 20 ga.

Just turn the wire speed down and then adjust the voltage to a tap that results in the nice sizzling sound.

LOL. That reminds my of what my welding instructor told me: "When it sounds like bacon sizzling, you have it right."
Thanks,
Mike

[xseabee]

Crossville is ok . Iwould like to go with a portable welder , but I don't know if there is enough business...

Gregg

[TitansFan]

portalable welder

Iwould like to go with a portable welder , but I don't know if there is enough business...

What kind/type of business are you looking for? Running it out of your house, buying a building? Repair, construction, fabrication? I have been thinking about going back to school and and getting more training. The only weld training I had was the company I worked for (Heil) trained me. The training was pretty good, but I would like to have more in-depth training. I Mig'd/Tig'd on Petroleum and Dry bulk tankers, fab'd all the piping, fenders, manifolds, blowdowns, etc... I weld up seat frames now, an entirely different world.lol. I would like to get in to some type of welding on the side, repair, fabrication, etc... I do wood working right now and sell my stuff at a Flea Market in Sweetwater. If you are ever in Sweetwater, check out Heartland Crafts, they sell my stuff for me.
Later,
Mike

[wooly]

Hi folks.I found out you were all talking bout migs.I just bought me a brand new delta fab system for my fabrication shop.Nice Machine but it's eats the electricity like the monster

[HAWK]

Re: TN

Originally posted by Titansfan
Hey xseabee,
I live half way between Knoxville and Chattanooga in a town called Etowah. How do you like Crossville?
Mike

Titansfan,

I live in Knoxville. I spent several years in Tellico Plains, Madisonville, Sweetwater and around when I was growing up. I still travel the area quite a bit and will have to check out your stuff at the flea market. How did you like working for Heil? Were you migging the tanker bodies and tigging the piping? Just curious what all they tig.