Any thoughts on these 2 welders for a newbie

[fj40charles]

A 251 on 1/8" steel might be overkill.

MM251 would work perfectly on 1/8" steel. There is nothing wrong with using a 230v welder on thinner metals provided that you use smaller gauge mig wire (.023 or .030) and turn down the voltage.

 

[kulangot]

MM251 would work perfectly on 1/8" steel. There is nothing wrong with using a 230v welder on thinner metals provided that you use smaller gauge mig wire (.023 or .030) and turn down the voltage.

Again, I have to agree with Charles.

For a long time I had a Millermatic 250 and a Millermatic 130. The 250 worked better on thin metals all the way down to 22G than the 130 given the same size wire, etc. The old 250 had a low range switch with infinite heat and wire settings. You could dial in the arc so much better with this feature. The newer 110 machines have adjustable heat, but my 130 did not.

I did not think this made sense at first either, but listened to the ornery old welder who runs the welding store when he told me that the bigger machines have a great low end as well.

The only thing I'd prefer to weld with the 130 was something in place that the 250 could not be dragged to. Over 10 years I dragged the 250 down stairs, into basements, across muddy yards, up ladders and into innumerable pickup trucks and would only use the 130 if there was no 220 available.

When it comes to welders, bigger is better. A smaller rectifier has a less desirable arc. The more you weld and get close to the duty cycle, the more funky the weld gets with a smaller machine. I'd like to try one of the Suitcase welders that use an inverter vs. a rectifier. I hear they have great arc performance.

The 210 is great, I've owned 2, but the Old 200, the 250, 251 and 252 are much nicer machines to use. My next new welder will be a 252 as I want to play with the pulser, however I am always looking for a used Millermatic 200 or Vantage.

-Stumbaugh

 

[Adventure Teq]

MM251 would work perfectly on 1/8" steel. There is nothing wrong with using a 230v welder on thinner metals provided that you use smaller gauge mig wire (.023 or .030) and turn down the voltage.

Agreed, and that kind of goes without saying IMO. My point was just that it's unnecessary to purchase such a big unit for use primarily on smaller jobs, that's all.