HTP or Miller??

[aametalmaster]

The only thing that keeps Miller going is the arthritic old farts who think they're the same company they were 15 years ago, and young fools like me who take their word for it. It's fitting Miller's are blue, sold their soul to the peoples republic of China just like the Dems. Buying the HTP myself, service has been amazing for me and build quality looks much better than my Maxstar that just failed.

And folks can forget this nonsense about Miller having more service centers. I want to speak to the big dog when my machine goes down, not some "licensed Miller service rip-off-artist" looking for his cut out of the supply chain

Voting with my dollars on this one, and driving one more nail into the coffin of this company.

Miller rips folks off, but because they do it with a smile and they offer emotional support that makes it ok? HAHA!

I don't think you have your facts right but thats just my thought. If you think HTP is 100% USA good luck. I have used HTP parts for almost 15 years and guess where they are made? I personally know Jeff Noland and have talked to him many times about products. So spend wisely...Bob

[LittleBird]

I don't think you have your facts right but thats just my thought. If you think HTP is 100% USA good luck. I have used HTP parts for almost 15 years and guess where they are made? I personally know Jeff Noland and have talked to him many times about products. So spend wisely...Bob

To my knowledge HTP's are assembled in Italy with globally sourced parts, with that in mind I struggle to see a difference between Miller or HTP when it seems that inverters are only as good as their warranty anyway. I have spoken with Jeff, he seems like a straight shooter.

I respect your opinion Bob.

Perhaps you could check out my most recent existential crisis....:

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum/...syncrowave-200

[jjohn76]

Honestly, it's not profitable to repair boards/components. There are stories of rip off tech centers and I fixed one guy's thermal Arc that was kis diagnosed (with a $300 service fee) from Central Welding Supply a few years ago, but when you factor in the time it would take to troubleshoot a machine, not to mention the cost for training and access, I don't think too many service centers rip people off. From what I have seen, the warranty covers bad lots/runs and if a machine is sufficiently used in the warranty period without issue, it will last until the capacitors give with appropriate preventive maintenance/attention/use.

[ryanjones2150]

I can tell you from what I’ve seen out of the service center here, they are completely incapable of repairing or even diagnosing a machine. Their response is to just get a new machine. I’m not even sure the techs know how to make the first weld, which I’d figure would be part of testing a repaired machine. Don’t even try to ask for technical support here, that will be a complete waste of your time. Calling miller direct has been very helpful to me in the past.

[lonewelder]

ok, i was going to let this pass because i went on at some length about my experience with a couple of local service people when i was having some trouble with my 2015 325TB.. in the end i needed a new battery. not a board as i was told by several repair people

last year my xmt 350 with about 400 hrs on it went haywire. this was the second time it had failed. i posted a video on youtube,
called appleton, inquired at several area repair persons/centers. finally i called the guy who fixed it the first time it flashed the help 1 screen.

of course the first words out of his mouth were 'it's a board'. so i asked how much pain was i going to experience from the repair should i decide to do it. $1400 for the board and then labor on top of that he replied. i told him i would throw the fuxxxxking thing in the intracoastal before i paid that and hung up. about 20 minutes later he calls me back and tells me that he just happens to have an extra board that he can pop in for me for $500. so i drive down and give him the machine and a week later i pick it up and it works.

the very next thing i did was put it on craigslist and dumped it. that was the end of miller, now i only have the field unit. i'll never buy a piece of their equipment again ( not that they care) why would i when for the price of a 'board' i can purchase a new replacement unit from another vendor and get a warranty. appleton is hit or miss, with luck i'll never call there again.

in the end i don't even know what i paid the five hundred for but i don't care i was just happy to be done with it.

[ryanjones2150]

That sucks for sure. I, fortunately, have had the opposite experience. I do have my grudges and have had similar issues with other companies that are generally thought highly of, but they’ll never see another dime of my money. Makes it extra painful when the equipment is so expensive. And people wonder why it costs what it costs to have something repaired or fabbed up.