Welders...Ever use this one?
- Thread starter Squatch
- Start date
Wow!!! The Miller 350P is an absolute beast of a welder! I don't know what Dave does for a living, or how extreme he's into the automotive hobby, but that welder is more than what most folks would aspire to ever own. For starters, it'll weld up to 1/2" thick material. It's also almost 4 times the cost of the one I just bought. Unless Dave builds some serious shit (planning on building a steel bridge somewhere? LOL), then my first instinct is to say that it is overkill. Now, if you'll notice, @Kathy, no one on this forum has ever been guilty of overkill...ever!...so, you know...you'd expect me to say that, right???
As for the Eastwood 200, it is a Tig welder. It uses welding rods, whereas a Mig is a wire-feed. I truly don't know much of anything about the Tig welders. Maybe someone else can chime in on that?
I had a feeling that miller was overkill. I showed him a pic of yours and he said he thinks that is close if not one he was looking at. Thanks for your feedback. No bridge building going on here. :risas3:Wow!!! The Miller 350P is an absolute beast of a welder! I don't know what Dave does for a living, or how extreme he's into the automotive hobby, but that welder is more than what most folks would aspire to ever own. For starters, it'll weld up to 1/2" thick material. It's also almost 4 times the cost of the one I just bought. Unless Dave builds some serious shit (planning on building a steel bridge somewhere? LOL), then my first instinct is to say that it is overkill. Now, if you'll notice, @Kathy, no one on this forum has ever been guilty of overkill...ever!...so, you know...you'd expect me to say that, right???
Hey @Kathy, it would seem I misspoke regarding the Eastwood welder, as I was not looking at the correct one. The one that you were asking about is a multi-welder, which is a Mig/Tig/stick welder. Something of an "all in one" welder. Now, I have no experience whatsoever with that set-up, but I do have an opinion/concern. Any product that claims to "do it all" usually does none of those things particularly well, in my experience. Each function is done at a compromise, whereas a product that is dedicated to doing one function will typically perform better at that one thing. Stick welders are very inexpensive, so if Dave needed one, I'd get a separate stick welder. Migs (wire feeds) are extremely popular, and affordable. My guess is they are the most commonly used welder these days in the automotive hobby. As for Tig welders, again I say that I know very little about them. The Miller 211 appealed to me because it has a plug that will allow me to use a standard 110 volt system, or it can be switched (at the plug) to use a 220 volt electrical system. The unit is reasonably priced at $1,200 and should meet most hobbyists needs. Lots of positive reviews on the unit helped me make the decision to go that route. Sorry for the error I made regarding the Eastwood welder in my previous post. Best regards...
Hi , this is Dave, thank you for your valuable input. I do a fair amount of welding with mig and tig at work. I’m just re learning the tig and not super proficient with it. A guy at work is good at it and I’m learning from him. The reason I was looking at a multi, mig welding you can do 90% of your jobs. I use a tig at work for a nice smooth finish so I wanted to have the option for aluminum at home. Now that I’m understanding the multi, you can’t do aluminum unless you get a gun attachment so Im not gaining what I wanted it for. I also really want a plasma cutter. Any suggestions? They are more expensive then I thought . I was thinking something up to 3/8ths.
Hi, Dave. The plasma cutters are nice, but a little on the pricey side for a brand name unit, aren't they? Miller's entry level machine hovers at $1,400, and I was told Miller is known to raise their prices by 4% every March (like clockwork, I was told). They also have rebates going on through March 31st. If you were thinking of going with a Miller, you might want to consider doing so before the price hike. Regarding plasma cutters, I have no experience with them. I think it would be sweet to have one when I could use it, but I'm just not sure how often that might be. Being that there are usually other ways to get things cut out or ground off, I've never felt a need for a plasma cutter. With welding, there usually aren't any other options, so a welder is more of a "must have" piece of equipment. As for welding aluminum, yeah, it appears a spool gun is needed (a $450 unit for my machine). So while that option is available, I don't see myself needing one. I'll be interested in seeing what you end up going with. Happy hunting, my friend!
An option for you would be to pick up a Hobart like i did and put the rest towards the plasma cutter. If you look at the Hobart close I think you will find a lot of Miller parts in it since it is Miller's value line if I am correct. At work we are all Miller but for home I did the Hobart. Get one with a spool gun.
My thinking was I either eventually want to pick up a tig unit or more likely I will weld steel/alloys with acetylene since I am more accustomed to it.
Thanks will have to look at it. After reading more on them I’m thinking that’s what I will do. And I’ll just watch for a used tig or maybe later if I still want.
Similar threads
