Help me pick a welder!

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DanteGTZ
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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

I bought my setup from Welding Supplies from IOC and it went nice and smooth - They drop ship most of the stuff from Lincoln (or whoever the mfgr is) and it took a full week to get my order delivered. I'd buy from them again.

That being said, it seems like most of their package kits are not really that great of a deal. The prices when buying separate are basically the same if you know where to buy.

I am still loving my welder - I bought the 180 Dual although I have yet to use the 110 volt option (probably never will, honestly). It is seriously nice having the ability to build things out of metal.


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DanteGTZ
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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

Welp, sold the Lincoln tonight... Nothing bad to say about it -- it is a great welder and I have no complaints.

The reason I sold it was because Miller now has some rebates in place that will allow me to buy a Miller 211 w/spool gun for not a whole lot of extra cash. Couldn't pass it up. I've got to be honest, I really was jealous of the AutoSet feature. Setting a welder isn't terribly complicated but for 90% of what I seem to do with a welder it will speed things up considerably.

Now to place my Miller order.


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3X00-Modified
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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by 3X00-Modified »

I'm not a fan of the miller auto set.. I've used it a few times on my father in laws and I've always gone back to manual settings.


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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

I'll have to see how it goes. I've recently been doing some 1/4" work and while the Lincoln would "do" 1/4" it wasn't really rated for it. With the rebates and everything I decided to go ahead and try the 211. We'll see how well it works (or doesn't). Based on the reviews I don't expect to have any issues.


1993 Quasar Quad4 GTZ - Project WTF

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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by heavywoody »

My friend borrowed my 211 to weld up some frame work on his S10 during his LS1 install... he used the auto set at first but switched it over to manual mode. Worked better for him manually but everyone welds differently too.


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DanteGTZ
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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

I have noticed during some of the videos demonstrating the AutoSet that the welder usually had to be adjusted slightly within the range of the metal thickness on the dial. For starters, people seem to put them dead center of the range. You can usually hear if it needs a little more or less within the range.

We'll see -- I'm excited but y'all are making me nervous! lol...


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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by 3X00-Modified »

No need to be nervous, you just may not use the auto set option. It doesn't make it a bad Welder.


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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

If anyone is interested -- Miller is offering either a $200 rebate on the machine only or a $400 rebate if you buy $400 in accessories. If you buy a 211 they will include a spool gun ON TOP OF THE REBATE right now.

Mine should be here tomorrow along with a bunch of other goodies.
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Spoolmate_RebateFlye.pdf
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1993 Quasar Quad4 GTZ - Project WTF

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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by 3X00-Modified »

If I didn't just drop 4k on my motor....


Yeah that's just the motor lol...


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Re: Help me pick a welder!

Post by DanteGTZ »

OUCH! I suspect you'll get more fun out of that investment!

Got the welder today. FWIW I bought it from http://www.weldersupply.com and they were absolutely awesome - Ordered Friday, got everything today. Even got a set of free welding gloves.

For anyone that even cares, LOL, I figured I'd offer some first impressions:

Fit and finish was a surprise - My Lincoln 180 was superior in fit and finish.
The electrical connector on the gun didn't seat properly at first on the Miller
The Miller/Smith regulator is a bit nicer than the Lincoln
I like the trigger on the Lincoln a bit better

Ultimately -- The Miller makes noticeably nicer welds. I tried it with the Auto Set and manually (1/8" material) and both times I was impressed.

*edit* Emailed my rebate request on Wednesday - My Spoolmate 100 arrived TODAY (Friday). Hands down, that is the fastest rebate I've ever seen!


1993 Quasar Quad4 GTZ - Project WTF

Previous Berettas: 90 GT, 93 Quasar GTZ, 93 Garnet GTZ, 93 Aqua GT
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