Which MIG?

[Ogier]

Greetings all,

Well, we just about have the TIG all paid off so it is time to start looking at a MIG to go along with it.

I am thinking of the Millermatic 251 with a spoolgun for Aluminum. Also, I think I will be getting a coolmate 4 for the TIG. I am getting tired of slowly roasting my hand with the torch.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Ogier

[Glenn B]

Mm 251

COOL DEAL those 251's w/ spoolgun are the setup. Buy the one from miller with the dual cyl rack & accys. its not fun changing bottles every time you wanna do Aluminum if your welder only holds 1 bottle.

[Ogier]

I already have a welding cart made with room for the cylinders. It has the Maxstar 200 on the top shelf(I will put the coolmate up there as well) and I left room on the bottom shelf for the MIG.

I am thinking that I may extend the back out a bit and put my OA setup on the cart as well. Not sure though.

Ogier

[HAWK]

Ogier,

The MM251 is a great all around MIG machine capable of critical work with the standard torch and spoolgun. You won't go wrong with this one. Very nice choice! You may get a killer deal by purchasing the complete package with spoolgun, argon bottle for AL, and bottle of choice for short arc MIG. I prefer the 92%argon/8%carbon dioxide. It is a good hot gas with little spatter. It is very clean and readily available. You can also use it to spray arc around the 28 volt setting.

[HAWK]

Ogier,

I use the Coolmate 4 on my 200 DX with a 250 water cooled torch. Man what a differenced it makes!

[Paul Seaman]

Ogier:
I have had my mm210 for about 2 years and it is fabulous, Definantly get the spoolgun option package. My mm210 is slightly less machine but I've pushed it and it just rocks on! I would recomend any of the Mig machines to anyone any day. The spool gun for the mm251 is built better than the 3035 I have but in a more comercial environment the 3035 wouldn't hold up well, I am the only operator and I am the only one to blame if it breaks!

Good luck with the mm251,

[Alex]

While I'm sure the spoolgun (15A or 30A) is the way to go if you're on a budget, I'm savin' my pennies for the 251 push/pull module and an XR Python gun. Just can't get used to spoolguns.

Weld on,
Alex

[HAWK]

Alex,

That's a nice combination. Have you compared that package price with the MM350P and the Python? That would be a nice upgrade.

I like my spoogun 30A for the amount of aluminum MIG I do. However, most of my Al is TIG.

[Alex]

HAWK,
As far as I know, the MM350P didn't even exist when I bought my MM251. In any case I couldn't have afforded one. I took an advertisement from BR Welding in to my Praxair dealer and told him if he couldn't beat their price, I was going to buy from them. Short story shorter, I loaded a brand new MM251 in the back of my pickup and smiled all the way home. For the welding I do, I think the 350P would be overkill anyway. You and some others in this forum have convinced me I need to learn to tig. So, before I even think about a bigger mig machine, I gotta get a GTAW welder (Dynasty 200DX).

Be cool,
Alex