Millermatic 211 Purchasing Help

[Bladehauler]

Congratulations !!!!

Nothin like the smell of NEW TOOLS!!!!!

 

[beppington]

Where did you end up buying ... & how much $ if you don't mind saying?

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to continually trip the breaker. As long as that's not going to happen, I should be ok. I am going to have to change the location and plug type of the outlet, but that's even easier than the breaker box. The old camper plug isn't the same as the 220 on the welder.

As for the welder itself, I've got a 'cart' ready to be purchased containing:
The 211 itself
Helmet
Gloves
Extension Cord
Jacket
Cover for the welder

Anything else you would recommend I should get or not get? Also, I'm looking to purchase this from 'Cyberweld'. They seem to have the best prices, but has anyone had good/bad experiences with them?

Thanks again

You'll need a good pair of MIG pliers. Not the crap from HF. Spend about $25 on the Japanese made original version. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Pearson-Welding-Pliers-YS-50-Welper/dp/B005K01F1S/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1335148280&sr=1-8[/ame]

Lots of clamps. Strong Hand stuff is nice though a bit pricey compared to HF.

How old are you? If over 40 you'll benefit from "cheater" inserts for your welding helmet. Good to get safety glasses too which can be worn with or without the helmet when in the shop. You'll need them whenever you are grinding etc.

I made a pigtail for my generator to welder conversion. As I recall the generator male is available at most big box hardware stores, the Hobart welding receptacle I got on line from Amazon. I don't recall if I used 8/3 or 10/3 but for a short pigtail it won't matter. Works well with my Miller Passport which is essentially the same dual voltage machine as the 211.

 

[Martian]

Thanks guys.

I shopped around. Online as well as a couple local places. Best price I got was from Cyberweld (.com). The 211 itself was $1,075, I did find a couple that were priced at $1,000 but they had no reviews on Google, and I didn't want to take a risk of a scam. Cyberweld was rated very highly. The entire package of everything was a little over $1,600. Considering my original budget was $500 (five hundred), I think I did good:laughing::mur: I did spend more than I wanted, but I'll at least be able to do what I want with it.

 

[Martian]

You'll need a good pair of MIG pliers. Not the crap from HF. Spend about $25 on the Japanese made original version.

Lots of clamps. Strong Hand stuff is nice though a bit pricey compared to HF.

How old are you? If over 40 you'll benefit from "cheater" inserts for your welding helmet. Good to get safety glasses too which can be worn with or without the helmet when in the shop. You'll need them whenever you are grinding etc.

I made a pigtail for my generator to welder conversion. As I recall the generator male is available at most big box hardware stores, the Hobart welding receptacle I got on line from Amazon. I don't recall if I used 8/3 or 10/3 but for a short pigtail it won't matter. Works well with my Miller Passport which is essentially the same dual voltage machine as the 211.

Thanks, I'll be sure to look into them. May I ask the difference between the cheap and expensive pliers? Actually what makes them more expensive.

 

[IslandTractor]

I use Cyberweld quite a bit. They are very reliable and usually the cheapest but I tend to buy smaller stuff and supplies at my LWS. Hard to go to a LWS though for the bigger items when you are a hobbyist and will not really benefit much from their service. In my experience the LWS guys know the pros who are in every week or two and treat the rest of us very differently even when we pay full retail. That said, I got my Passport from a LWS as a demo for a $$$ discount that was significantly less than new from Cyberweld.

 

[mx842]

I went ahead and purchased the 211 tonight with:

Miller Welding Helmet
Miller Welding Gloves
Miller Welding Jacket
Miller Welder Cover
50' Extension Cord
6x8 Heavy Duty Welding Blanket

Spent WAAY more than I wanted to, but I think I'll enjoy it.

I do plan on purchasing all consumables locally, but I did a lot of shopping across the internet, and I got the lowest price I could find with no tax/free shipping. So I'm happy.

Cool, they are great little machines you will love it for a long time. When I bought my last machine I did the same thing, looked for days and weeks all over the net and got what I thought was the best deal and was about to buy when I stopped by my gas supplier to pick up some oxy/acel and I was looking over all the new stuff they had on display. Of-course there were no price tags on anything in the store and you had to ask what this and that cost. They had a 211 on display and I asked what it would cost all set up and ready to go with a full gas bottle, cart, and spool gun with a 25' lead and a long extension cord and he said right at $1500 and some change.

Then I asked him, if a guy came in here today and wanted a 252 package with the 30A spoolmatic gun and 25' leads on both the M25 torch and the 30A, two large tanks of gas what would he have to shell out before he left the store. He looked in his book and said around $4700. I told him I was going to buy one and wished I could buy it from him but I had seen them all over the internet a lot cheaper and he asked how much cheaper? I told him that Miller had them on their site for under $4400.00 and there were lots of dealers that had them for $3900 or so. He said....with gas bottles and the unit all put together and setup? I told him I didn't know about the setup but they did come with bottles. Of-course I didn't tell him they were the small customer bottles. He said, ****! That's a good price. I just said, I know and turned around to walk out the door and he said wait, let me talk to my boss. A few minutes later he came out and asked if I really wanted that machine and I told him yes I did. He said that I was a good customer and he wanted to keep my business and he would sell me the machine with full gas bottles and fix the tax so that it would all come out to $3800.00 out the door and I told him to order it. I had planned not to spend over $4500 on that machine if I went that route so I decided to stock up on wire and other stuff I needed along with a new elite helmet and some parts for one of my cutting torch outfits. It all came to $4189.00 out the door.

Some times local dealers will match or beat or at the very least come real close to the prices you find over the internet and then you have a face to fuss at when something goes wrong. You will probably not have any problems with that machine because they are bullet proof and work well out the box. The biggest problems people have with these machines is duty cycle and trying to get something out of it that it was not built for. Other than that you are good to go. I just like to keep the local guys going because you never know when something might come up that you need a helping hand with.

 

[BluegrassOrange]

I was going to tell a story similar to mx842 as my local Airgas dealer was very competitive on their prices. I bought a Millermatic 212 and got a very good deal OTD with gas cylinder full and two large rolls of wire. I love the welder and have not been able to out work it yet. The big difference between the 211 and 212 is duty cycle, of course the 212 is 230V only but I have 50A service just for the welder. I have been very happy with my LWS, still buy a few things off internet but most through LWS.

 

[IslandTractor]

I was going to tell a story similar to mx842 as my local Airgas dealer was very competitive on their prices. I bought a Millermatic 212 and got a very good deal OTD with gas cylinder full and two large rolls of wire. I love the welder and have not been able to out work it yet. The big difference between the 211 and 212 is duty cycle, of course the 212 is 230V only but I have 50A service just for the welder. I have been very happy with my LWS, still buy a few things off internet but most through LWS.

I think the Miller 212 is designed for light commercial welding in shops while the 211 target audience is the amateur or home based weldor. Home weldors are less likely to have duty cycle problems but both excellent at what they do.

 

[murphy1244]

Originally Posted by Martian
I went ahead and purchased the 211 tonight with:

Miller Welding Helmet
Miller Welding Gloves
Miller Welding Jacket
Miller Welder Cover
50' Extension Cord
6x8 Heavy Duty Welding Blanket


Gonna have to start calling you Mr. Miller...:laughing:

 

[ericher69]

I went ahead and purchased the 211 tonight with:

Miller Welding Helmet
Miller Welding Gloves
Miller Welding Jacket
Miller Welder Cover
50' Extension Cord
6x8 Heavy Duty Welding Blanket

Spent WAAY more than I wanted to, but I think I'll enjoy it.

I do plan on purchasing all consumables locally, but I did a lot of shopping across the internet, and I got the lowest price I could find with no tax/free shipping. So I'm happy.

Maybe post an update on likes/dislikes and maybe even a you tube video?

Thanks also considering this machine

 

[Martian]

Gonna have to start calling you Mr. Miller...:laughing:

:laughing: . . . I thought the same thing! I found the best price and started finding the safety stuff to go with the welder, not really paying attention to brand, then I looked in my 'cart' and I was reading, Miller, Miller, Miller, Miller...:laughing:

Maybe post an update on likes/dislikes and maybe even a you tube video?

Thanks also considering this machine

I sure will. Some of the stuff is 'not in stock', not sure what is and what isn't, so they aren't sending anything out yet. Says the latest should be Monday before it ships. Then I can only imagine they aren't going to lug that 80 pound welder around anywhere to fast.

 

[BluegrassOrange]

I like the Miller welder but there are a lot of accessories out there that Miller is not the best at. I have a 3m Speedglas helmet and that is as good as you can get. Tillman jackets and gloves are very good. Miller does make some very good gloves, jackets and helmets but I have used them and always go back to the 3m Speedglas now using 9100xx. I have an old pair of lincoln gloves that are about 8 years old and held up very good.

 

[Groo]

I like the Miller welder but there are a lot of accessories out there that Miller is not the best at. I have a 3m Speedglas helmet and that is as good as you can get. Tillman jackets and gloves are very good. Miller does make some very good gloves, jackets and helmets but I have used them and always go back to the 3m Speedglas now using 9100xx. I have an old pair of lincoln gloves that are about 8 years old and held up very good.

Does Miller make any accessory? They don't even make their own welding clamps. They outsource those from China. I imagine they outsource their consumables too. I bet the same accessories are sold under another brand and you'd save on paying Miller's piece of the pie.

When I got my new MM 252 (I wanted to be able to do spray) The local shop that sold it (they were as cheap as on-line save for the sales tax and I don't like to hold that against merchants) to me had very little Miller branded stuff, Lincoln too for that matter.

 

[tonylumps]

I think you made 2 good choices. The 211 and Cyberweld I bought my 211 from Cyberweld. I think it was at my door in 3 days. Now I think you will need a Hypertherm Plasma cutter to go along with your 211.

 

[Martian]

Not sure if they make their own stuff. I guess I'll have to see how it holds up, can't imagine to many places aren't outsourcing, though.

Thanks tony. I ordered it on Sunday and it still hasn't shipped according to their website. It said should ship in 4-7 days on Monday when the received the order and still says 4-7 days today. Everything is listed as currently out of stock, though I believe it's just one thing and then want to send only one shipment. If it doesn't ship out by next week I'll call. I'm in no rush to get it, but would have liked warning that something wasn't in stock.

 

[IslandTractor]

Not sure if they make their own stuff. I guess I'll have to see how it holds up, can't imagine to many places aren't outsourcing, though.
.

Miller doesn't even make all their equipment much less things like gloves or helmets. I think Hypertherm made their plasma cutters for years. Not sure who is doing it now. Miller makes welders! Weldors who like blue are happy to buy other stuff with the Miller logo but I don't think many of the other items have any relationship to Miller other than the color.

 

[Martian]

Miller doesn't even make all their equipment much less things like gloves or helmets. I think Hypertherm made their plasma cutters for years. Not sure who is doing it now. Miller makes welders! Weldors who like blue are happy to buy other stuff with the Miller logo but I don't think many of the other items have any relationship to Miller other than the color.

I really don't care the name as long as it works! I can't imagine Miller would allow their name on junk, though.

 

[IslandTractor]

I really don't care the name as long as it works! I can't imagine Miller would allow their name on junk, though.

I did not mean to imply they sell junk. The rebranded stuff with Miller's name on it is usually excellent. Their plasma cutters are a good example. You couldn't do better than to have Hypertherm build them in a blue box for you!

 

[Agrantina]

I have the Miller 210 which is now the 211 and I bought mine from cyber weld. I have had it about 8-10yrs and have NO-NO problems with it at all. I really like the miller and it has held up great. I wish I could get tips for the gun at TSC but they only carry hobart stuff and it doesnt fit my 210 gun. But again cyber weld comes thru!!! You will love the machine... I use mine alot!

AndyG