Which to buy: MM210 vs. MM251

[87GLHS465]

Hello all, Im new around these parts, but Im liking what I see so far.

Im in need of some guidance from those who know much more than me on welding. Im what you call a hobby welder I guess. I weld mostly automotive type stuff, frames, sheet metal, exhaust, etc etc. I do on occasion welding some 1/4" plate, and once or twice 3/8".

Up until now, Ive never owned more than a crappy Craftsman/Clarke MIG, but I am going to upgrade, and soon! Ive run some large Millers and Hobarts are the rolling mill I work at, and love them both, and after looking have decided on a Millermatic. Now, this welder will be one of those "life long" purchaes. IE, I dont plan to buy another one for a LONG time. Im a young guy though (27) so a long time may not be my life time, but it will be for a while!

I thought I had determined I was going to buy the MM210, but as always, since there always seems to be the occasion to need something bigger, Im now wondering if the MM251 would be my "ultimate" welder. Welding everything I could ever come across in a garage, or is it TO MUCH of a welder for what I do? I mean, the $500 price difference could go towards something different if I dont really need it.

So what say ye? 210 or 251?

Thanks!

Clay
[email protected]

[wrench3047]

Welcome to the board.

If 3/8 and 1/4 would be not often you could get the 210 and do the occasional thicker stuff with bigger taper on the joint. The 251 is great though if you can afford it, I've used it at work. The digital meters are a cool feature too. If you search and read through the posts on those two machines on this forum you won't find many if any bad things about either of them.

[Haz]

Hi, Clay

I say if you can afford the extra $500 and it's not going to take food off your table get the MM251. If things are kind of tight financially, like they are at my place, then get the MM210. The MM210 will do all the things you discribed. the duty cycle is 60% at 160amp and it will weld up to 3/8 in a single pass. I have one and I haven't had any trouble with not having enough power.

[Danny]

I own one of both units. They are both very good units. The MM 210 is a simplier unit to dial the arc in on due to its tapped voltage design. The variable voltage control on the 251 give you quite a bit of range for dialing the arc in with. However, the variable voltage control can be difficult for the inexperience operator to deal with. The 210 has an awesome low end arc for sheetmetal. You realistically could probably get by just fine with the 210. However, like others have stated, if you can financially afford the 251, it would definitely be the ultimate MIG welder for a hobbyist. You would more than likely never out grow it, and you would never question whether you should have went with the 251 instead of the 210. However, i also look at the fact that $500 difference between the two units would make a good start towards a TIG unit. Sorry for more confusion im just one of those guys who feels you have to have a tig unit in the shop too.

[Bulldog]

Hi Clay,
Welcome to the board! Well, I'm not sure I'll be the popular guy here but it sounds to me that the MM210 would be the machine for you. I sure don't know your opperation but 1/4 - 3/8 is easy stuff for the 210. If you read through some of my post you'll see that I think very highly of the 210. I weld alot and alot of what I weld is 1/2 plate. (about 90%) The 210 handles it with absolute ease. Not all that long ago I bought a new MM251 and it's a great machine. Tons of weld power! It's a little more complicated to set up though. Both machines do short arc nicely but spray transfer is easier with the 251. Now understand this, if your like most of us, once you get the welder and you friends find out you may become very busy... Seriously. If I were you I would go with the 210 and spend the $500 on some other equipment for the shop. (Have you seen the Miller auto darkening helmits)???
Good Luck,
Bulldog

[SoCalTA]

I say the MM210. I love mine and is as close to plug and play as possible.

[imported_Jim]

At one of the Miller Expos in Dallas a few months back I asked if the 210 or the 251 could be run off of a generator. The tech guy said yes for the 210 but because of the electronics of the 251 he wouldn't recommend it.
Just something to consider if you were ever going to do occasional field work or something....

[Scott V]

If you ever wanted to put a quality spoolgun on your machine, I would go for the 251. Look at the machines Dan has, and you will notice he has the 251 also.
He bought it after the 210. Now if he bought a 251 first do you think he would of bought a 210 after the 251? Ask him if he had to sell one machine which one would he sell?

I rest my case!!!!

Ok Dan, you can't sell your MM 175 first either!!

[INTP]

I just faced the same decision a few months back. My criteria are essentially identical. (I even started with a 135A/115V Craftsman.)

I almost bought the MM251, but decided on the MM210. I have no regrets. It's a fine machine, and very easy to find a good setting. I was concerned about having a tapped machine, but I really think the ease of setting it is an advantage for me, since I am a hobbyist, and don't weld all day every day..

When I get to the point where I need to weld 1/2" in a single pass, I might want something bigger, but I just don't see that happening any time soon. I have a lot more skills to develop before I make anything that requires that level of engineering, much less that much power.

[Sberry]

If I was in a small shop doing general work it would likely be the 210 for me. One thing , cost, second power requirements and running from light services its going to work well as it will with extension cords, even from dryer recepts. Then there is the V tap issue, guys like Dan and Scott can tune this machine exactly, the rest of us want to fix or build stuff. One out of 10 tops is ever going to be able to tune that accurate or probably even cares. In my shop, I would likely get a 251 but its different than working on a car or 2 out in the garage and power isnt an issue, could run a half a dozen at once. Cost wouldnt be that much of an issue either most of the time. I have only ran one 210 but it really made some heat. If I had this machine in production or ran it in a fab shop 40 hrs a week then I think there would be a clear winner, in a small shop I dont think it would make a difference either way. As Clay said, does he really need it? In his type of shop? Will he notice a difference?

[cope]

I vote for the 210 also. I bought mine in August after trying to decide 210/251/Vintage(found a new one nearby) and I do not regret going with the 210. Not many home users are going to have a steady diet of 3/8" and larger welding, and if they do chances are that it's going to be outdoors anyway.

[Bulldog]

Clay,
I think that you'll notice people seem to like both the 210 and the 251. It really depends on what your needs are now and what you think they are going to be in a few years. Do you see yourself expanding anytime soon? I own both and like them both very much. I have a precast concrete business and I build all my own forms and build alot of forms for customers. The company made some money this year and I needed to re-invest some money into the company or New York was going to get a bunch of MY hard earned money. I bought some new equipment and one of the things was a MM251. It's great! It really is. I just came in from building a window sill mold out of 16 gauge. I used the 251 just to see how it did on the thin stuff. Well it did great! The 251 doesn't start a weld as nice as the 210 and it is a bunch trickier to get set up, but once you've got it it runs great! (Thick or thin) Now back to your situation do you need a 251? Do you need other equipment in the shop? I can tell ya this, if you buy the 210 and keep it in great shape you can sell it if you decide that you need a bigger machine. I put my 210 on here for sale and had a big group that wanted it the day I listed it. Funny thing though - I couldn't sell it. It's just so quick and easy to set up. I use it all the time.One of the reasons that I bought the 251 was I always wondered how much better it would weld the 1/2 plate that I make block mold from. Well I should have tried one first. My opinion if your not going into heavy duty production get the 210 and invest the extra into something else for the shop.
Bulldog

[Paul Seaman]

I am a fan of the mm210, I have done far thicker with it than most would want to try. If 3/8" is the high end than the 210 is the machine for you. This weekend I have gone through 6 lbs. of Aluminum wire with the spoolgun and it is loads of fun. I have welded steel as thick as schedule 80 pipe to 1" plates.

In bang for the buck, the award goes to the mm210!

[Sundown]

I have a MM210/3035 and a Maxstar 150STL stick/tig and feel that for home use that combo is vary hard to beat. The MM251 if very nice if you need it, but I really can do everything I want to with the MM210 and besides the MM210 is dirt simple to dial in and the Maxstar 150 STL or STH is also very simple to operate, all those options just confuse me for the most part and I don't need to pay more to be more confused. Just my opinion.

[KB Fabrications]

Clay,
Welcome to the forum. You have gotten some great advice from a vast base of experience. That will only grow as you learn from these guys.

I make a living with my equipment and whether it has been a piece of welding equipment or a piece of machinery, I always try to buy more machine than I think I need at the time. No matter what, the better you get the more you will do (your customers will see to that!). Yeah you can always sell and move up but that takes time, effort and you never (usually) end up getting what something is really worth (JMO).

If you buy the 251, it might have a slightly steeper learning curve than the 210 but so what. It just means that when you master it you will be all the better for it. As for the $500 savings by going with the 210, you are beginning down a road from which there is no return . You will always want/need something else to augment whatever work you are doing so just save/spring for what you want when you need it . Good luck and post when you pull the trigger.

Best regards,