We've got a MM 172 at work, which is the earlier model before the 175. It works ok but wish we had a stick welder to go with it. It's just hard to get much penetration with it. It seems to weld really well, and has held up fine for light shop use.
I read the above link looking through all the posts looking for a wire feed upgrade, but didn't find one. I am interested in what the poster was refering to if you care to elaborate. The wire can get tangled up to be a mess, so you have to keep the tips clean for sure.
One item that I haven't read is the duty cycle is only a 30% cycle I believe, meaning you weld for 3 minutes, needs to cool for 7 minutes. I found this on the interesting above welding link that honk posted.
A good AC/DC stick welder might be beter if you want to weld thicker stuff. Both have their place, and I admit the mig is really easy to weld with. I would be happy to own one, but I would have to get a stick welder to go with it.
