Honest answers requested on Welder Comparison

[jimg]

How about Al?

I'm researching the purchase of a MIG welder in the '175' size and would like to revist this discussion and focus on Al welding. I know the MM175 can be had w/ an optional spool gun. Is anyone using this setup? It appears that the welder must be rigged for either AL or steel but not both at the same time (ala gun on demand in the bigger machines). Whats the take down/set up time like?

In comparison the Lincoln 175+ can be rigged to weld Al but it appears that its a push gun only. For any one w/ this machine does this work well?

What Im trying to figure out is how is welding Al w/ either of these machines? Im sure theres some amt of goofing around when converted (and thats OK). However, once its set for Al does it do a good job?

thanx jimg

[fun4now]

jimg

save up a bit longer and go to the MM210 with spool gun and you will be set to do eather with out any setup, just pull the triger for whatever you want to weld

[Scott V]

I'm researching the purchase of a MIG welder in the '175' size and would like to revist this discussion and focus on Al welding. I know the MM175 can be had w/ an optional spool gun. Is anyone using this setup? It appears that the welder must be rigged for either AL or steel but not both at the same time (ala gun on demand in the bigger machines). Whats the take down/set up time like?

In comparison the Lincoln 175+ can be rigged to weld Al but it appears that its a push gun only. For any one w/ this machine does this work well?

What Im trying to figure out is how is welding Al w/ either of these machines? Im sure theres some amt of goofing around when converted (and thats OK). However, once its set for Al does it do a good job?

thanx jimg

You could use the same Miller control box and spoolgun on a Lincoln 175 plus, as they use on a MM175. It would probably give you are very adjustable setup. Something that taps don't quite give you.

[fun4now]

venerable WST

every time you all start putting down the venerable WST, i just gota wonder why you cant just use the welder as it was intended??? i have had no problem with it.found my MM135 to be verry easy to dial in and verry responsive.my welds on 1/8" were taken into a welding instructor and he said they were exelent he would not change anything/ so is it just you are to old for change or you just want it to work youre way or it is garbage??? you have to ajust to any tool and all are a lil diferent so dont go sending this guy away just cuz you dont get it . it works fine.

[Sberry]

My neighbor has a MM175, he likes it fairly well and is a journeyman weldor but he says it really sputters when he hits a bad spot of steel. I have a SP130T, (foreruner of the 175 and it is a great little machine. After 12 yrs I am having some glitches I need to take care of but I really used it hard, way beyond home/hobby use would ever be. I run 030 in it, I actually do have a roll of 023 somewhere,,, but I can handle the heat,,, ha

[fun4now]

i have never had a problem with my MM135 sputtering and about all i use is bad/old rusty steel. cleaned up as best as i can.my mm135 is a lil over 1 year old.no problems to date

[Scott V]

every time you all start putting down the venerable WST, i just gota wonder why you cant just use the welder as it was intended??? i have had no problem with it.found my MM135 to be verry easy to dial in and verry responsive.my welds on 1/8" were taken into a welding instructor and he said they were exelent he would not change anything/ so is it just you are to old for change or you just want it to work youre way or it is garbage??? you have to ajust to any tool and all are a lil diferent so dont go sending this guy away just cuz you dont get it . it works fine.

I owned two welders with wirefeed tracking, and used the 135/175 miller units.
It sucks compared to the Lincoln in dailing in the arc correctly. I sure the MM 135 works fine for you because there is so little range to begin with in the run of the mill little 120 volt machines. Miller made wire feed tracking for the novice to keep him close to a good arc at all times.

I am glad you think it is wonderful but most people that have used both machines know better.

Do me a favor and don't read my posts if you don't like it. I going going to say what I feel, so you might as well get used to it!!! It works for you because you do not know the difference, plain and simple!!!!

If you think I do not like WFT on infinite voltage control, you should read Dans Posts. For some reason he dislikes it worse then me. I pretty sure it's because he owns one!!!


Sberry,
that is the major difference between the small Miller and Lincoln machines. Also the difference between a MM185/ MM210 machine. The little Lincolns buss through stuff that chokes the Miller machines. Don't believe me?
Try some aluminized type steel and run them all with .023/.030 wire.
Even the real older little Hobart 120/150 had a real hard time with that stuff.
They weld pretty nice until you ran into that stuff. Lincoln always had a clear advantage in that area. Still do!!

[HAWK]

ScottV,

Just a note about the Passport 180 and .023" wire. As the machine was worked through engineering and prototyping a common idea came to light. Have a machine that runs 1 wire size perfectly for all material sizes within its range. Add the portable CO2 bottle, and 115-230VAC Autoline and it is an unbeatable machine to say the least! The Passport really rocks on 25 gauge up to 1/4" with .030" wire. Spool up some 035" wire if you want to go thicker than 1/4". The wire feed speed literally cannot push the .030" fast enough with the machine's voltage setting maxed. I saw it in its later prototype stages and I own the current model. --- Before you start on my statement about one wire size for all materials do your calcs and figure the amount of WFS needed to push .030" through any feeder to achieve 180 amps of weld output.

fun4now,

No disrespect meant toward the MM135 with Wire Speed Tracking. It is a very nice machine and I see a lot of them at the race tracks. However, I personally prefer the Lincoln SP135+ because it does not have the WST, It is really no big deal either way (WST or NOT). Some people really prefer the WST.

ScottV,

I owned a lincoln SP135+ and liked everything about it except the price! It was a great little 120VAC machine and really ran a sweet bead with .023" wire. It did a good job with .030" too! As a matter of fact I have owned a handful of good Lincoln machines and never had a problem until I needed warranty or tech support. That is where the problems began and the the Millers came in. I will tell you the same story about TA and TD on tech support and warranty.

On the other hand I cannot begin to tell you how much Miller has done for me through the years, many years before this forum existed. I will give you one good example: I recently had a machine go down within a month of purchase. I made on phone call to to the Miller applications department handling my particular machine and had a brand new machine air freighted to my dealer the next morning at 8:00 AM. Service just does not get any better than that!

[fun4now]

the best thing would be to try it for your self. all three are going to be good welders and you will have to get the hang of witchever 1 you get. so get out there and get started melting stuff


jimg
some have run aluminum with the standerd M-10 gun that comes on it with fair to good results.if you do a serch i'm shoure you will find more on it. you will want to run the tip 1 size larger than the wire and getting a seperat M-10 would be much cheaper than the hole spool gun and controler, just try to keep the feed as strait as possible.you will be ok for the once in a wile thing.

if you are planing on doing lots of aluminum you should look tword a spool gun and a MM210 after you add the price of the controler to the $$ of the MM175 you will be at the same $$$ as the MM210 witch has more power and will make using the spool gun a much nicer setup.

[fun4now]

you might also pop over to the hobart sit , i have read several posts over there complaining about the wire feeder on the lil red 135's cant remember them all but it might be werth a check.i remember being asked to post a pic. of the wire feed setup on my MM135 for them. much nicer setup on the MM

[Scott V]

Hawk,
I not going to start on you too much. It's just Fun4now thinks I am just hate all Miller machines. If they make something that stands out they get my respect.
The 150 Maxstar/ Passport/ Dynastys do get my vote for overall leaders in their class of machine. The Sanex Thermal machines sometimes have a few less features but the features they do have, work fantastic. The other day I was welding with my Prowave 300 TSW at 200 amps ac on a 30 amp circuit. Those are 200 dynasty type # in amp draw. If you look at the specs you would never know those things. Thermal-arc in general is not a company I like all that much,
but I have such a good thing going with my local Airgas guy that I could work around a lot of those issues. Somebody that does not have the support I do, would be better off with a Miller. In my case it make no difference, so I go with the best machine for me. I went with the passport because it fits the biil for me,
same way with the P-Wee 160 TS I just picked up.

[jimg]

Ok

Thanx for the great replies.

I really cant justify the MM210. I just dont have a need to weld very thick sections nor do I need the ability to spray xfer. Having the gun on demand would be handy but vertainly not necessary. I will be welding Al for sure but probably not as much as steel. I also like the portability aspect of the mm175.

Another question about the MM175...has anyone run a M15 15' gun on it? It seems that having the extra length would be handy.

[arcdawg]

first off let me ask how you think that you would get unbiased info from a brand specific message board ? IT AINT GOING TO HAPPEN !

I have run the mm135( 2002) and I have run a sp135+(year unknown) and I own a hh135(2001) they all perform well. ( I have run a lot of wire through all three machines)

but the sp135 would be my top pick,

my advise to anyone would be to try all three or at least the red one and the blue one and see the results - things said on a message board shouldnt sway you one way or another -

dawg

[Danny]

Thanx for the great replies.

I really cant justify the MM210. I just dont have a need to weld very thick sections nor do I need the ability to spray xfer. Having the gun on demand would be handy but vertainly not necessary. I will be welding Al for sure but probably not as much as steel. I also like the portability aspect of the mm175.

Another question about the MM175...has anyone run a M15 15' gun on it? It seems that having the extra length would be handy.

In comparison to the MM 210 or MM 251, the MM 175 has a very small wire feed motor. An extra five feet of gun cable length will more than likely put a heavy strain on the motor. Plus, unlike the the MM 210 and MM 251 that have dual driven drive rolls, the MM 175 has a single driven drive roll, which will more than likely have a hard time consistently feeding the wire smoothly.

[Danny]

first off let me ask how you think that you would get unbiased info from a brand specific message board ? IT AINT GOING TO HAPPEN !

I have run the mm135( 2002) and I have run a sp135+(year unknown) and I own a hh135(2001) they all perform well. ( I have run a lot of wire through all three machines)

but the sp135 would be my top pick,

my advise to anyone would be to try all three or at least the red one and the blue one and see the results - things said on a message board shouldnt sway you one way or another -

dawg

Brian, there are a few of us guys that visit this site who will give an honest opinion based on having tried several different units. One of my units is a MM 175. Plus, I ve also owned or ran a HH 175, HH 180, and a Lincoln SP 175+. Now, Im definitely no afraid to admit that I made a mistake in purchasing the MM 175 over the Lincoln SP 175+. Performance wise, the Lincoln is most definitely the better unit between the two. If i could do it over again, I'd definitely purchase the SP 175+. At this point though, I d much rather have the MM Passport 180. So, if things go as planned, my MM 175 is going to be sold here in the near future to help fund this purchase.