Miller 211 or Hobart 210 MVP for Mig?

M

Maelstrom78

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Sep 21, 2013
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So I have gotten to the point stick welding with my Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC welder that I don't have to grind off every weld :D

I've gotten the MIG bug as a friend who is into brewing asked me to make him a 3 pot brewing table. No problem just some 1.5" 14 guage square tubing basically.

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The Miller
http://store.cyberweld.com/mi211migwewi.html

The Hobart
http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/678611-hobart-handler-210mvp-mig-welder.html#qa

So there is a couple hundred dollar difference in the two which is enough to pay for a 80cf tank if I go with the Hobart. Since the feed speed determines amperage anyway is there that big of a difference with the tapped voltage on the Hobart vs. the infinite on the Miller?

He might have a couple other brewing buddies that might want one as well so if I made a couple hundred from each of those that is part of the consideration as well.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!
 
One vote for the Miller. I like blue welders.
Hobart is good too, but usually more of a bare bones type of rig. Miller owns them too.
 
Ill tell you if your not hung up on colors look at the Eastwood 175 I picked one up couple years ago used about 10lbs through it so far no complaints. 500 bones free shipping
 
I own a smaller Miller (135) and for only a couple hundred difference I would buy blue, no question.
Shopping for a TIG myself and I hesitate a little between blue and orange but the money difference is bigger.
 
One vote for the HF 220v 180A welder. I've put 35lbs. of wire through it and have had no complaints. At $280, you can afford to buy all the nice accessories and still spend less than you would have on the miller or hobart. At that point, the question becomes Miller with helmet, or HF with really nice helmet, extra grounding cables and clamps, magnetic clamps, etc. Sure the Miller is a better welder, but unless you're high volume, I'd rather have the accessories.
 
I don't know why, but the Miller welders just weld better.
 
I run big miller welders at work, and I definitely bleed blue for the most part, but the Hobart 210 is an exceptional machine for the price. I have one in my shop and love it, has a super sweet arc and is smooth as butter. When it came time for me to buy my tig I waited until I could find a good miller machine as the Hobert's aren't on the same level for tig. If you can swing the miller 211, go for it but you won't really want much more than the Hobart will give you, and the new 211s are inverters and aren't yet proven like the old design was.

For the price of that miller 180 you found, you might find a better deal by waiting or searching a bit farther away. A bottle is usually around $250 if you can even get a 125 locally. I paid $850 about 2 years ago for my Hobart used with a nice drawer cart, 125cf bottle, 10lb spool of wire, jacket, helmet, etc, etc. I had to drive from Detroit, mi to Dayton, oh but it was well worth the drive in my eyes.

Good luck on your search,
Justin
 
I'd go with the Hobart and put the money you're saving into a big tank and/or other consumables. They're weld every bit as good as any Miller and build quality differences between machines are negligible.
 
Can't go wrong with either. I have a 210 MillerMatic and have used it for close to 15 years and love it, but would buy a Hobart in a minute if needed.
 
As I understand it, based on what the guys at the welding store told me, Hobart units are made by Miller, but a few corners get cut to keep the prices lower than the Miller units. Speaking from experience, 15 years ago or so we had a Hobart MIG welder (125 amp or so) in the shop. It didn't have much of a duty cycle, and we burned up the diodes in it 3 times before I quit paying to fix it, and we bought better welders. The small MIG units we have in the shop now are a Lincoln 100, and Miller 130 and 175. They have all seen at least a decade of occasional heavy use and apart from the usual consumables like liners, switches, etc there have been no problems. I have not tried one of the newer Miller inverter units though...YMMV
 
One consideration that I didn't see listed is that the Miller 211 is also dual voltage input meaning you can run it on 110 or 220. The plug is easily removable. Miller is the gmc to hobarts Chevy. The jimmys always have a little bit more quality built into them. The 211 is a solid unit with a 3 year warranty. Regarding millers "unproven" inverter based machines being unproven, I will wholeheartedly disagree as they have pioneered inverter technology in every process. Millers customer service in unparalleled. There is no decision to be made if it were me.

Just looked at that 180. Exact machine I own, and it will weld 3/8" if you use straight CO2 but you better know how to weld. I have done it, tested the weld according to structural standards and it was good to go. For not much more money you get the 211 with DVI. Actually I just got the 211 for less than that 180 but I have connections in welding sales.
 
As for harbor frieght/other cheaper imports, some weld strong and last a while- but others fry circuitry and are prohibitively expensive to repair, if parts can be found. I've seen both. The product support behind a Miller is worth a lot.
 
The Lincoln 210 MP is in the same price range and has the ability to stick weld and with an adapter and torch, it can tig as well. It is also programmed for all kinds of thicknesses, wire size, shielding gas ect. So you just input your info and it selects the settings for you. Also you can set it manually if you wish. That's what I have been using for the past year and really like it. I use all three processes and it has worked very well.
 
JMJones said:
The Lincoln 210 MP is in the same price range and has the ability to stick weld and with an adapter and torch, it can tig as well. It is also programmed for all kinds of thicknesses, wire size, shielding gas ect. So you just input your info and it selects the settings for you. Also you can set it manually if you wish. That's what I have been using for the past year and really like it. I use all three processes and it has worked very well.
Click to expand...

While many people love their 210 mp, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Lincoln had some problems with quite a few of them. People were reporting issues with the drive roll system being sub par. I won't get too far into it, but a simple search will yield all of the info. I looked at that machine for my shop when it first came out and decided against it because of the things that I saw. Also, I still prefer my machines to be made in the USA, but that's mostly personal preference.

Justin
 
I bought the Miller 211 a couple months ago to replace my 135. I don't think there is much that I can't weld with it. If you were closer I would make you a deal on the 135. The cool thing about the 211 is the dual plug. I had to rewire my 220 outlet and build a plug for my oven to get it running on 220. But even on 110 it welds great!
 
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