Which Miller Welder Do You Recommend?

[DOHC330MustanGT]

Which Miller welder do you recommend for welding roll cages, stainless turbo system and exhaust, and some steel body and suspension work? Where is the best place to buy with good pricing?

Regards,
John

[DOHC330MustanGT]

Would this one work fine? http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/econotig_ac_dc/

[Grampa]

Experience??

How much welding have you done..?? I would recommend one of the small GMAW process wire feeders for general body work and such..Look for one that you can turn the heat down on to a level that allows you to weld sheet metal without burning through..I have one similar to the Miller SP135 running 75/25 argon co2 that works well for lots of general stuff..

Whe you get into life safety stuff like suspension components and roll cages then I think most of the guys will Recommend GTAW/TIG for that..Then you are looking at the Maxstar or dynasty series..We seldom get any thicker than 3/16 or 1/4 inch anywhere on a car so that is a factor in the selection of a welder..

Hope this helps

Grampa

[DOHC330MustanGT]

I have zero experience unfortunately. I will enroll in some classes of course before I use it. My project is a Mustang GT that I'm building up myself - 5.4L DOHC with a single T76 turbo to run NMRA drags.

So Maxstar or Dynasty will serve all my purposes? Which model exactly do you recommend? I'd like to go ahead and get the welder so I can practice with it while enrolled in some welding classes.

Regards,
John

[arcdawg]

dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

prepare to clean out the savings account, for anything stainless, or aluminum the BEST way is t.i.g. (my opinion) and if you are going to invest in a tig machine go with someting with some GUTS,

an ecotig is a good machine and so is a 180 syncro but when you crack a head or bust that exhust manifold you will need a more powerfull machine,

is this something that you are really commited to doing ?

its a big purchase and tig is a art, you arnt going to open the box and be a TIG WELDER....

so between a $1500.00 to 3500.00 investment and about 3 to 6 month training time. is it going to be a worth while thing ?


just my thoughts, good luck either way, brian

[Grampa]

My choice

My choice is the Dynasty 200 with the hand controller..not the foot style of controller..will do everything I need to do..I also have the MIG wire feeder as well..so I am covered..

The key thing is to practice practice practice and when you are tired of practicing practice some more..

To give you an idea..the preparation to pass certification is somewhere in the area of 2200 to 2400 clock hours in school to learn how to weld..Covers stick, gmaw, gtaw..and learning to do horizontal,vertical up,verticle down,overhead,out of position,as well as process selection,edge prep,all one needs to learn about in order to be successful at this stuff..I am still learning new things about welding and fabrication..

Grampa is a bit fussy about all of this stuff as I have seen some folks get hurt real bad when they got ahead of themselves and built life critical components..

[DOHC330MustanGT]

Originally posted by arcdawg
prepare to clean out the savings account, for anything stainless, or aluminum the BEST way is t.i.g. (my opinion) and if you are going to invest in a tig machine go with someting with some GUTS,

an ecotig is a good machine and so is a 180 syncro but when you crack a head or bust that exhust manifold you will need a more powerfull machine,

is this something that you are really commited to doing ?

its a big purchase and tig is a art, you arnt going to open the box and be a TIG WELDER....

so between a $1500.00 to 3500.00 investment and about 3 to 6 month training time. is it going to be a worth while thing ?


just my thoughts, good luck either way, brian

It's worth it to me! I have $15,000 in this engine alone. I was quoted $7,500 - $8,000 for the custom turbo system. I'd rather put the labor cost in to my own tools so I can do what I need when I need it done. Waiting on shops for six months to get to your car and then two or three months to do work sucks. I'd miss the whole race season if I farmed out all this work too. I will have more freedom and less limits to what I can do by learning how to do my own welding anyway. Besides, that's the fun part to me - doing it myself!

Regards,
John

[DOHC330MustanGT]

Re: My choice

Originally posted by Grampa
My choice is the Dynasty 200 with the hand controller..not the foot style of controller..will do everything I need to do..I also have the MIG wire feeder as well..so I am covered..

The key thing is to practice practice practice and when you are tired of practicing practice some more..

To give you an idea..the preparation to pass certification is somewhere in the area of 2200 to 2400 clock hours in school to learn how to weld..Covers stick, gmaw, gtaw..and learning to do horizontal,vertical up,verticle down,overhead,out of position,as well as process selection,edge prep,all one needs to learn about in order to be successful at this stuff..I am still learning new things about welding and fabrication..

Grampa is a bit fussy about all of this stuff as I have seen some folks get hurt real bad when they got ahead of themselves and built life critical components..

Thanks for the advice! I'll check it out and then find a place to order from.

[arcdawg]

look at tigdepot.com and some voc schools to get familiar with the machines, brian

[HAWK]

DOHC330MustanGT,

I own a Dynasty 200 DX with all the frills. I am very happy with the machine! It makes stainless and aluminum a joy to weld. I believe you been given excellent advice. I have only one thing to add: arcdawg mentioned cylinder head repair. If you think that may be in your future, and money is no object, you might consider the Dynasty 300DX. It will give the extra amps a thick walled head or block may require and a 4 program memory recall button. This feature is nice if you switch between repeatitive applications. The 300DX will push the bank account. It requires a water cooled torch and a circulating system such as the Coolmate 4 for much over 200 amps. It is best to buy in the beginning. Miller does offer a package deal with the D300DX and the Coolmate 3, torch, regulator, etc.

These guys are not fibbing about practice. TIG is an art that is difficult to master. It is even harder without experience with the stick and MIG processes. This is not to say it cannot be done. You sound like a very creative and competent craftsman. I am confident TIG is the route to go.

[DOHC330MustanGT]

Thanks for the input everyone!

I won't be using exhaust manifolds, I will be using stainles tubular headers. I hope I never have a cracked head, but if I ever do I know I will regret not buying the larger 300DX. I think for now, the Dynasty 200DX will fit my needs though.

I got a question concerining the power requirements. Will I need to upgrade my breaker box, or wall plugs?

Regards,
John

[Paul Seaman]

Double overhead cam: Sounds like fun to me My dohc is a 93 mark 8.

Back to the question- If you are a beginner which is what I read then the easiest process to learn is GTAW[mig] You can do most of what you are talking about in mig but when it comes to pressure vessels like Turbo flanges it would be better in tig. That being said you should consider Mig I have a Millermatic 210 w/ spoolgun I am setup to do Aluminum and Mild steel on demand. I also have the Stainless wire and the high tensile wire for cromoly- e70 I think, but I don't do much of that and change over is a 5-10 minute job.

Grampa said many thing that are correct and he uses a smaller 110 wire feed that is very capable but when welding roll cages I prefer the bigger mm210 mig although in nhra pro classes all spec's are for tig welded chassis components.

Whatever you choose you must give it plenty of practice and do many repetitive welds to attain repeatability. Also don't start until you get the proper protection to do it safely. Weld Well, Weld Safe

[HAWK]

DOHC330MustanGT,

I had my D200DX on a 30 amp twist lock plug/wall receptacle with 10 gauge wire from the receptacle to the 30 amp breaker in my box. The receptacle to plug wire length was 3 feet. I used a 100' 12 gauge 3 conductor so cord. I think 10 gauge on the SO is preferable, but I had the 12 and have had no overheating problems. You do need a 30 amp breaker to your plug or disconnect box wire with a minimum of #10 wire. Consult the 2003 NEC codes for wire size versus run length and amp draw. The D200Dx won't ever exceed 30 amps at the max. At least that is my experience. I have since upgraded my circuit to 50 amps with #6 wire to the main service from the plug and a 4/4 SO 100' extenson cord. You won't need this overkill. I had other reasons and run heftier equipment off the same outlet.

[Grampa]

another point

all of these comments are good..Now if any of us is entering competition then go buys the rulebook for your race organization and follow it..

See 40 years ago I could weld up a cage for the drags out of mild steel..weld it with stick and pass tech..Today no way is that happening..

I see a lot of discussion about which process to use and which welder is best and all of that sort of thing..The understanding comes in when we realize that certain base metal weldments require certain welding process to be successful..

See a pro race car shop will have a stick rig for general repairs..making jigs and fixtures and that sort of thing..the mig rigs are used a lot on sheet metal..accesories and that sort of thing..then the TIG rig comes out when we are doing 4130 chrome moly chassis..aluminum..and exotic materials..

Now can one weld successfully with an older model machine..yes of course..the new inverter technologies are easier on the welder and are more consistent..Soo when selecting a particular welder for your shop look at the materials to be welded..factor in the thickness of material and the type and then go for the rig that fits that application..

Spending more and getting a larger machine meand having more capability in your shop..always a good thing..


None of the guys posting here will get much of an argument from me on what they pick for their shop as we all pick what we need for our particular circumstances..

Hope this helps..

Grampa

[H80N]

Tig Machine..

Grampa
have you bought a TIG machine yet?... know you were considering a used Dynasty 200... any luck??? think you will find the world of TIg very different and more fun than just small Mig.. keep us posted..
thanks
Heiti