It's big, it's blue.. it's a 252!

Shield Arc · May 20, 2013

I've heard / read really good things about these welders. In the future do you plan on buying a spool gun or the push-pull gun? When do we get to see pictures of the welds it makes?

k0ua · May 20, 2013

Scooby, that sure is a nice looking welder. I am looking forward to seeing some good looking welds posted up here from that powerful machine.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

Stimw · May 20, 2013

I'm having flash backs to when I bought my Miller MM 210 in 2001!! I love that new welder smell!!
The MM210 with FREE Spool Gun was $1100.00.
I still get that warm fuzzy feeling everytime I fire it up! (like today)
I've thought about up grading to a 250 class but the 210 does everything I will ever need in my business. I have easily welded 1/2" steel with no problems.
In 12 years I had the gas valve stick once, replaced 1 liner and had the wire feed cone before the rollers get stopped up. (from rust on the wire)
I've switched to 10lb spools because I had too much trouble with condensation on the 44lb'ers. Florida always has high humidity.
I had just started my business and had fears that I could not afford the welder. It paid for itself within 3 months!!!!

Bday · May 20, 2013

Arc weld said:
$70 is a lot for a spool of wire if you had to buy it. One of the biggest differences with the Miller over the Thermal Arc is if you look at the drive roll set up. The Miller uses a heavier cast aluminum assembly with bigger drive rolls. MM 252's are a nice machine. Just be careful not to abuse/drop the gun or drag the machine around with it. For a home shop/single operator, the Miller gun is fine. In a commercial operation with multiple users and abusers, it's better to put on a heavier duty gun like a Bernard. I only say this because I worked in an oilfield fab shop that had 6 252's and just about as many Miller guns hanging on the wall that needed fixing or were beyond repair. Again for personal use, the Miller gun is fine. If you got it under $2300 with the wire would be a pretty good deal. Usually see them sell around $2400 without a spool of wire.

My local dealer said the gun is a Bernard. At least on the unit I have. That is the only complaint I have, the gun seems a little flimsy. I'm use to a Tweco lead. Dealer said the Bernard's are bullet proof. Guess I'll find out.

Bday · May 20, 2013

Hey Scoob, can you post a pick of the gun?

Scooby074 · May 20, 2013

Brad_Blazer said:
$70 is a lot for a 44lb spool of wire?

Yeah.. $3.45/kg for .035. Welcome to the wonderful world of Canadian Prices! Here's the rest of the current prices, from the current promo. How do they compare to US prices?

Scooby074 · May 20, 2013

Arc weld said:
Under $2200 is a great price, especially if you bought it at Air Liquide. Blueshield likes a lot for their stuff. Their 7018 is worth paying more for but the S6 wire isn't anything special compared to any other S6. Where I was working, we sold 44lb. spools of S6 .035 for $55.

What brand of wire?

And AL 7018 is like buttah!! Its a real nice rod. Their 60xx isn't bad either. Plus their wire and rods are made in Canada. Not the cheapest out there, but COO matters to me.

Scooby074 · May 20, 2013

Shield Arc said:
I've heard / read really good things about these welders. In the future do you plan on buying a spool gun or the push-pull gun? When do we get to see pictures of the welds it makes?

Id love to have a push-pull... but I can never afford one new. Heck.. budget for toys is completely shot now so I cant even get a spoolgun let alone a P-P lol. Worst is, there is NO used market for stuff like this in my part of the world. I ve been waiting and looking for a used 250 class machine, or a XMT and a feeder for over a year now. I finally got tired and bought new. Even used (small) stuff sells for crazy money, MM130's like mine are regularly posted up for $500-600.

Ill post up some weld pics soon. It does run real nice. Lots of juice. There is no replacement for displacement!

Scooby074 · May 20, 2013

Bday said:
Hey Scoob, can you post a pick of the gun?

Ill grab a pic for you.

I know mine is definitely not a Bernard. It has an open back where the whip goes into it. Its just like the one on my 130xp only bigger. Nothing like the Bernard Q guns we had at work.

Bernard is part of ITW like Miller.. I wonder if there is some weird branding going on there? I always thought the stock guns on the smaller machines were branded Miller, ie: M-25? Bernards are stock on the larger, heavy duty machines like the feeders I think

Arc weld · May 20, 2013

What's COO mean? The larger Miller wire feeders come with Bernard Q guns. I think all the Millermatic all in one MIG machines, except for maybe the 350, come with Miller's own guns. Blueshield 7018 is the best rod on the market but you pay for it. Their S6 wire is nothing special though and not worth paying $15 more a spool.