Multimatic 215 Mig Settings

[Sandyg]

Careful now. No where does it say that it is how they come up with their AutoSet numbers.




According to the manual, 0.023" is only useful up to 90A, which seems to indicate a maximum guideline suggested WFS of 90 * 3.5 = ~315 IPM. I suppose it just takes some fidgeting around.

Yeah, guidelines only...

I have not got back on the machine for a while, but what my complaint is that it's far off on the display, and you can't set to a reasonable value might as well just get the Sharpie out and mark the chart, skip the 'Smart Set' feature and be done OR allow the user to adjust the recommended settings in the Smart Display.

The other issue with adjusting off of the Smart Settings is that I can't remember if it has enough range to allow it to weld ok on 0.023 with the range of adjustment so forces the user back to manual settings to get it to work.

Not sure, but totally relying on calculations to compute voltage and feed rate seem, well, lazy for Miller. Did anyone try the settings for 0.023 at Miller, and how hard would it have been to have settings that were at least reasonable on the Smart Set.

Again minor *****, but saving user settings would be a very useful feature, otherwise might as well just have 2 LED displays for wire feed and voltage

Sandy

[Sandyg]

tell me how you like that head. I am on the fence about ordering one on there 15 foot lead, so I have a little more reach so I don't have to hang it in the air at times like I did on what it's replacing.

I think the flex flex head will be the ticket for doing exhaust work.

I got the HTP Flex head installed for testing this weekend... Had enough fun with the family. Here is what I know (not much, but here it is) -

The part is nicely made and feels good. It plugged right into the 215 with no issues and fit was good. I really liked the brass part that come up right next to the wire feed roller, not just the liner stuff, but a nice finished end.

I loaded up some .030 so I could try the settings as well as the flex head. First off settings for the .030 on 16 gauge were close, and seemed to be pretty good vs. the .023 on 16 gauge which almost can't be adjusted in the smart settings to even weld.

In trying some beads I found that the flex head gun was really nice and fed well (it's short 10') I wouldn't use it as a regular gun. I found that when I used my other hand to guide the weld the flex head was just a bit too flexible for me. Again I'm ham fisted so someone with more finesse would have less issues. That being said I looked at some of the chassis welding I need to do on the car and it will be _really_ helpful to get into some of the tighter areas. Changing it was really easy with no fuss.

So while I would not have it as my primary gun, I will totally use it for getting into tight spots. The flex part is nice, just not for regular use for me. I would definitely get the gun with a rigid head if I need a replacement, price was excellent, and quality looks and feels good. I do like the trigger guard that keeps me from accidentally feeding when I just toss the gun down. On thing is different then the Miller gun was some of the parts like the outer shield.

I also picked up an HTP foot pedal to try the Tig functions out at some point, have a HTP/CK 17 flex head torch and really dig that the 215 has a different gas fitting for the Argon. The pedal plugged right in and it seems to control things, but until I play with with it and stick some tungsten, hard to see how it will work. It's nice and metal, but the RJ45 and related cable that is required seems hardly HD since it seems like just network cable that will not like any abuse. But this isn't that type of machine

Sandy

[Lostone]

Thanks for the review.
I wonder if there flex head is interchangeable with the ridged head? I may hold off on the 15 ft one if not because I wanted to use it as a primary. Plus it's 2x the cost for whatever reason of a 10ft.

[Sandyg]

Thanks for the review.
I wonder if there flex head is interchangeable with the ridged head? I may hold off on the 15 ft one if not because I wanted to use it as a primary. Plus it's 2x the cost for whatever reason of a 10ft.

Yeah, I saw the cost was way more for the longer one. I think the flex heads can be swapped out, the folks at HTP were super helpful with questions when I asked. I don't need a 15' gun, so swapping out the stock vs. flex head gun is easy for me. Might be a pain to swap rigid neck for flex neck, but not sure. Worth a call, the guy that helped me with stuff for the 215 was named Jeff.

[ryanjones2150]

I have a couple of HTP foot pedals and beat them crap out of them...no problems. I drag them out from under the welding bench by the cord, kick them into place where I want them, etc.... so far so good.

[Sandyg]

I have a couple of HTP foot pedals and beat them crap out of them...no problems. I drag them out from under the welding bench by the cord, kick them into place where I want them, etc.... so far so good.

It does look and feel good, it's just the cabling itself is pretty much computer networking cable that's not durable, but I now see that miller makes an adapter for RJ45 to standard 14pin so could use the existing Miller one I have.

Just need to learn to weld better with all the fancy gear

[nfinch86]

Well , I got my $200.00 rebate for my MM 215 today.

Thanks Miller.
Now I can buy more Miller accessories for my new welder.

Norm

[Sandyg]

Well , I got my $200.00 rebate for my MM 215 today.

Thanks Miller.
Now I can buy more Miller accessories for my new welder.

Norm

I will say that the fulfillment house that did the rebates got mine out fast too, was about a week it seemed like. Was nice to get it!

[nfinch86]

Yes- Mine was mailed Dec.22 / 16 , got it today Dec.29 /16
I applied for it Dec.15 /16 - so a two week turn around, not bad !

Norm

[steelwarhorses]

Back on topic of this thread. I'm a relative novice but I set mine to 3/16 using .030 wire and think it was like 19.6 / 4xx. It blew a hole immediately through what I was welding. I'm welding a frame with a 3/16 and probably 14 gauge but still. I had to turn off auto and go to 16.8 ish and 163 if I remember correctly. From my limited experience it welds nice but the auto I purchased for so far seems disappointing.

[OscarJr]

Dang, that sucks. I tried my 211 on 0.023" wire on auto-set, and it worked pretty good. Guess I'm sticking with my 211.

[Sandyg]

Back on topic of this thread. I'm a relative novice but I set mine to 3/16 using .030 wire and think it was like 19.6 / 4xx. It blew a hole immediately through what I was welding. I'm welding a frame with a 3/16 and probably 14 gauge but still. I had to turn off auto and go to 16.8 ish and 163 if I remember correctly. From my limited experience it welds nice but the auto I purchased for so far seems disappointing.

Not sure if your welding with 3/16" settings and hitting up 14 gauge? Sheet metal is touchy, if you have the autoset for 3/16" that's the problem it will be way to hot for thinner sheet. I did try some .030 wire on 16 gauge and it worked pretty good with a bit of fine tuning (as expected). Didn't need to to manual mode for the .030 on 16 gauge so that's good.

Sandy

[Lostone]

Not sure if your welding with 3/16" settings and hitting up 14 gauge? Sheet metal is touchy, if you have the autoset for 3/16" that's the problem it will be way to hot for thinner sheet. I did try some .030 wire on 16 gauge and it worked pretty good with a bit of fine tuning (as expected). Didn't need to to manual mode for the .030 on 16 gauge so that's good.

Sandy

I've welded quite a bit of 14 & 16 ga with .030 solid and flux with it set on auto and it's been pretty spot on.

[fordtruckman]

I am fairly new to welding and really new to this forum. I am a hobbyist and handy man around the house here and have been using a 120V 135 Amp Lincoln Wire (MIG) welder. It works for most of what I need, but I occasionally need to be able to weld thicker steel than it will accommodate. I have been considering this Miller Multimatic 215 as it appears to be a fairly good all purpose machine and offers stick welding which is a nice plus. Additionally, I can run it at 230 Volt at 30 Amps which is nice for running on my 8000 watts generator.

After reading all these posts and many other on other blogs, it appears that most seem to be pretty happy with the MM215 albeit the occasional comments around no ability to TIG aluminum and the issues on this thread surrounding the bad autoset settings for the thinner wire (.023).

All that said I am interested to know from the group here, if you had it to do again would you still go with the MM215 and if not what would you pursue based on my needs mentioned above? Thanks in advance for your responses.

[ryanjones2150]

I think the 215 will be a good choice for you. Learn to tig with it. And you can weld aluminum with it using a spool gun.