MM210 Questions

[plane crazy]

Hello everyone, I am new to this message board and welding. I have been reading some of the info on here and it is very informative. I want to buy my first mig welder and am currently looking at the mm210 with the spoolmate 3035. From what I have read on here it sounds like a great machine. I do have a few questions about it and its suitability for my use:
1. I am using it in my shop at home (240 volt/100 amp service) on an ocasional basis and plan to weld steel not more then 3/8" at most and would like to be able to weld aluminum as well, no more than 1/4", is the mm210 a good machine for this?
2. Should I be worried that it does not have infinate voltage control? Will the seven tap settings make this harder to use?
3. I was thinking about the mm180 with the spoolmate but I am now thinking that it might be too light for the aluminum, any opinions?
4. I seen someone mention on here that the MM212 will be out soon, will this machine be better? should I wait to get that one or buy the 210 now?
5. Anything else I should be concerned about?

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

[fun4now]

Mm210

welcome.
1) its an ecelent choice. the MM210 welds great at low maps. i have used it on 20gage no problem and it also has the heat needed for the aluminum.

2)TAP will actualy make it easyer for you to set and lern on.

3)with the added expense of the spool gun controle unit the MM180 +controle unit+spoolgun will be close to the same as the MM210 and spool gun and the MM180 will be light in the aluminum amps department, 1/4" not a good idea. the MM210 is a better option. id you have the $$ for it go MM210.

4)mostly cosmetic changes in the MM210 to MM212 change. if you still have a 210 available feel safe in getting it. you may even be able to get a deal on the floor modle as the dealer will be wanting to make room for the new 212.

5) nothing to worry about the MM210 is a tryed and tested well liked welder. get .030 wire and a tank of C-25 for steel and a tank of 100% argon for aluminum and start enjoying the new welder.
congrats on a great welder, every one is verry happy with the MM210 modle.
hope this helps.

[plane crazy]

MM210 Questions

My local dealer had a 210 on the floor but it did not have the dual cyc rack on it. I believe there is a kit to change it over, is this the same thing as what you get if it comes with the dual rack or is it a bolt on not so great attachment? If so should I try ordering the one in with the dual rack?

The 251 looks like it has all the bells and whistles and I have the $$, but if I got that one I do not have the $$ for the spoolgun now. The 251 might be overkill if there is such a thing. I also wonder about the digital displays...more things to go wrong??

What about the gas bottles? My options seem to be to sign a lease with a gas supplier for the bottles that are about 4' high or outright buy some smaller ones and own them.

What about a welding helmet? The autodarkening ones look appealing to me.

Thanks againg for your help.

[plane crazy]

MM210 Questions

My local dealer had a 210 on the floor but it did not have the dual cyc rack on it. I believe there is a kit to change it over, is this the same thing as what you get if it comes with the dual rack or is it a bolt on not so great attachment? If so should I try ordering the one in with the dual rack?

The 251 looks like it has all the bells and whistles and I have the $$, but if I got that one I do not have the $$ for the spoolgun now. The 251 might be overkill if there is such a thing. I also wonder about the digital displays...more things to go wrong??

What about the gas bottles? My options seem to be to sign a lease with a gas supplier for the bottles that are about 4' high or outright buy some smaller ones and own them.

What about a welding helmet? The autodarkening ones look appealing to me.

Thanks againg for your help.

[fun4now]

OH BOY did you jsut open a can of worms.LOL
i have the Miller BWE and would not trade it for the world. others like other helmits, just be shore to get a good quality one. this is no time to go cheap.but it is a personal preferance thing between the top brands.
as for the rack, its only a kit even if orderd with the welder. there is not a option in it. same parts.
i dont think there realy is overkill if you have a use for it. if you plan on 1/4" aluminum a lot it might not be too bad to jump up to the MM251/252 .you can always pick up the spool gun later its not going any where. the MM251 also has an excelent reputation. i would not worry about the dubble digital display as a problem, you have one of them on the MM210 and i have never herd a a digital display probelm with eather welder that i can remember inthe 5+ years on here. my brother in-law just got one and realy likes it.
the tanks are up to what suits you best. you could buy some small ones to have on hand if the rentals run out on a sunday. keep in mind the tank fill price is 80% laber so filling a 150cft tank is only about $5 more than filling an 80cft tank. so renting can pay off if you use it a lot. if its low useage, owning could work out best. you gotta work that out on your wone, check the prices and see what fits your need.

[plane crazy]

All the info i have here does not show a digital display on the MM210, is that what you said?

My only draw to the MM251 is the infinate controls, but if this is not a big concern I am thinking the MM210 is all I will ever need, and I would get the whole package with the spoolgun for the price of the 251.

Confirm, what is the BWE??

My local gas company will give a lease on the bigger bottles and if i dont use them enough they will allow me to get out of the lease and by my own small ones they said.

[Sundown]

There is no digital display on the MM210, but you won't need it anyway.

The BWE is Miller Elite (Big Window Elite), I had one and was not impressed, I did sell it and purchased a Miller Professional series and even though it's a step down it's a very nice helmet and I like it better. You might also look at the Optrel Satellite, I have one of these also and its a very nice helmet.

As to the spoolgun (3035) on a MM210, you will be able to do aluminum from 14ga to 1/4" no problem, if you need to do thinner you really need to look at a AC Tig welder.

If you want to do the dual rack route I have plans to make a dual rack for the MM210 I can send you, the rack would make a good first project and is easy to build. It is also not as large as the one Miller sells and does not require any modification to the MM210 to mount it.

If your LWS is talking 80CF to buy then thats the best way to go IMO, something about owning your own tanks seems better to me, but again thats just my opinion.

Do not be concerned about the tap vs. variable voltage as the MM210 will be esaier to learn on and faster to set up, lots of guys much prefer taped migs.

Also I think that the MM210 is a little bit better machine at 24-20ga than the MM251 is, but that may only be my opinion for what its worth.

The differences in the MM210 & the new MM212 are small, the wire feed is tilted down so that the wire feeds from the top of the roll rather than the bottom in the MM210, there are two door latchs on the MM210 and only one centered on the MM212, there is one handle on the MM210 that goes across the front and on the MM212 is it split kinda like steer horns, the MM210 has a neat pullout gun holder on the side the MM212 has droped that, and the MM212 has a front pullout drawer and suggested settings chart where it is inside the wire compartment and on the door of the MM210.

For my money I would buy the MM210 over the MM212, esp. if I could get it at a discounted price as a being replaced model. I think that the MM210 is something that you buy, use well, and pass along to your kids when the time comes. And yes, I have owned two of them and never had a minutes problem with them.

[fun4now]

my bad, for some reason i was thinking the MM210 has a single digital disply, brain fart i guess.
but if the infenet controle is the only reson to think of going to the MM251 over the 210, i would defenetly go with the 210 insted.
FWIW: i and many others like the look of the 210 over the 212 also. but it has been said the handle are easyer for moveing the 212 around. eather one will serve you well and like Sundown said, still be around to pass down to the kids.
Sundown has some excelent fabricating skills, i would defenetly take a good look at his design befor buying the miller one. that would be a verry cool first project. kinda like building a cart for a smaller one.
i would defenetly look at trying to get a deal on the floor modle from the dealer on a MM210. its a great welder and getting a few $'s off, some free extras, or maybee a tank thrown in to sweeten the deal is always cool.make shore you let the dealer know you are awaer its a discontinued welder, might make a good bargening tool, he may not be telling about the new modle hopeing to get a sail on the floor one. one of those dont tell them more then they need to know things.
here is a pic of the new 212 to compare the looks of the 2.

again sorry about the digital read out mistake, i still cant figure out where that came from.

congrats on the soon to be new toy, you are going to love it.

[weld_13]

perswonally i try to lean away from the auto darkening lenses despite that i own 2 cause of heard of friends of buddys who wnet blind cause of em but they were pros welding day in and day out. ive noticed that my eyes seem a little erritated after using the auto for a while but its ur own choice on safety.

[MAC702]

... heard of friends of buddys who wnet blind cause of em ....

Heard about a friend of a buddy, huh?

Not to sound insensitive, but I think I'll just completely dismiss this statement without SOME sort of supporting argument.

In reality, autodarkening helmets are inherently safer. At least that's what my uncle's buddy's wife's cousin said.

[weld_13]

like i said once used em and i dont know anything about it damaging ur eyes its really a unknown group of rumors wether their safe or not i do still use em acasionally on some stuff.

[fun4now]

the good ones quality name brands are verry safe. they are 100% UV protecttion even in the off state. like mack said they are actualy safer as you dont get flashe because the hood didnt get down in time.
you are just buying into an eurban myth. call the myth busters.
can you possibly think Miller would sell them if they were not?? do you have any idea what a judge and jurry would aword in a settelment for a law suit for lost sight due to a faulse clame of them being safe..
buy a quality mane brand and you have nothing to worry about. i have been using mine for over 5 years and no problems with my eyes. and i have even used it in the off state for plasma cutting lots of times.

it's foolish to make a statement like a frend of a frend knew a guy that knew a guy who's frend went blind from them. i have to agree with mac that statement just makes you look foolish.

[dabar39]

auto shade lens

When they first came out with the auto shade lens many, many years ago, I tried them for a while and had many problems with them. The photo cells in them would crack and would start working intermittently. I am sure over the years the have gotten much better and much safer, but call me a creature of habit, I still use my trusty old Jackson hood with #12 filter plate. Dave

[weld_13]

yeh i know it was bad a statement but like what i said with it its ur own joice. i would think they would be fine since thats mostly all u can find these days. i agree somebody should hit up mythbusters. im gonna think about that see if they have a submision form for ideas because i would like to know.

[Sundown]

Heard about a friend of a buddy, huh?

Not to sound insensitive, but I think I'll just completely dismiss this statement without SOME sort of supporting argument.

In reality, autodarkening helmets are inherently safer. At least that's what my uncle's buddy's wife's cousin said.

Maybe I should get one for my mother-in-law then when she went blind she couldn't find my house anymore woopie