Welder upgrade

[Smokeydog]

Bought a miller 211 mig about 10 years ago and just love it compared to stick welding for 98% of what I do. On any welder the ground wire and clamp are marginally acceptable. First thing I did was to double the size (gauge), length of the cable and improve the grounding clamp. Next change from M10 to M15 gun. The length helps with larger projects and tractor type welding.
Attached a magnetic clamp to the other end of the original ground cable and can use it to help ground some projects.

 

[BukitCase]

Smokey, just a word(s) of caution - I'm guessing from when you bought your mm211 that it's the earlier transformer version (weighs about 90 lbs) - that was the first MIG I bought. Used it a LOT, ALWAYS wanted longer leads - I talked to a Miller tech about a longer gun and was told that the wire feed drive was NOT warranteed for longer than a 10' gun and could be damaged with the extra load. I had bought mine during Miller's "free spool gun" deal, and the spool gun was 12' long, so I used the spool gun when that extra little added length would help (spent more on wire in 2 lb. spools)

Then I found a screamin' deal on a nearly new MM252 (dual tank running gear, 3 large tanks (two were FULL) and a 30A spool gun (30' long, over $1k new, and had NEVER had a tip in it :thumbsup: ) - all for less than the price of just the basic welder. So, a buddy of mine got a REAL good deal on my MM211, it fit his wants/needs just fine.

Still have the MM252, but found I wanted something more portable for some stuff, so I bought one of the newer MM211's (the digital one, it's drive IS rated for 15' gun and most of the complaints about the earlier version were ALSO addressed by Miller)

Anyway, back to the "caution" - apparently you're still "gettin' away with it", (and so would've I if not for the super deal) - but if you're not already, I would be careful to ALWAYS keep the gun as straight as you can while using it - according to the Miller tech I spoke to, "You'll probably be OK" ... Steve

PS - know whatcha mean about wire vs. stick - since I got that first MM211 I've run over 100 lbs of wire, and maybe 2-3 lbs of stick...

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Smokey, just a word(s) of caution - I'm guessing from when you bought your mm211 that it's the earlier transformer version (weighs about 90 lbs) - that was the first MIG I bought. Used it a LOT, ALWAYS wanted longer leads - I talked to a Miller tech about a longer gun and was told that the wire feed drive was NOT warranteed for longer than a 10' gun and could be damaged with the extra load. I had bought mine during Miller's "free spool gun" deal, and the spool gun was 12' long, so I used the spool gun when that extra little added length would help (spent more on wire in 2 lb. spools)

Then I found a screamin' deal on a nearly new MM252 (dual tank running gear, 3 large tanks (two were FULL) and a 30A spool gun (30' long, over $1k new, and had NEVER had a tip in it :thumbsup: ) - all for less than the price of just the basic welder. So, a buddy of mine got a REAL good deal on my MM211, it fit his wants/needs just fine.

Still have the MM252, but found I wanted something more portable for some stuff, so I bought one of the newer MM211's (the digital one, it's drive IS rated for 15' gun and most of the complaints about the earlier version were ALSO addressed by Miller)

Anyway, back to the "caution" - apparently you're still "gettin' away with it", (and so would've I if not for the super deal) - but if you're not already, I would be careful to ALWAYS keep the gun as straight as you can while using it - according to the Miller tech I spoke to, "You'll probably be OK" ... Steve
PS - know whatcha mean about wire vs. stick - since I got that first MM211 I've run over 100 lbs of wire, and maybe 2-3 lbs of stick...

I'd echo his concern. I have customers with Everlast all the time tell me this or that is too short. Well, on a 140A MIG, you shouldn't be pushing 20 feet of .023" wire. There are reasons welders are matched with guns, particularly, your smaller, lighter duty units. And people are always wanting to add to work cables. Work cables, especially MIG for best performance should only by 1/2 to 2/3 of the Power/Gun lead. Even in stick this typically holds true. Voltage drop can become an issue at a point and the electronics are calibrated to handle signals a certain way according to a normal lead length. Too long and the unit may overshoot the response.