Millermatic 140 Auto-Set

I always wanted to learn how to weld and I currently I have a few projects in which a welder would come in handy. I was thinking of picking up a Millermatic 140, they are $626 on the Miller site at the moment including a 15% discount. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is a 140 too small?

I am mainly interested in doing some exhaust work and maybe some sheetmetal if I learn ... Both 115 and 220 would be ok at my house.

The first project would be to help my dad with his Corvair floor:

Nobody wants to touch it ... lol

J

The Millermatic 180 is $755. I am ok with that also if it buys me a much better machine ... Thanks, J

We have a the Millermatic Auto-Set 140 in the auto shop at work (highschool). It's awesome for learning on, and great for apwards of 1/8", but I'd be hesitant trust it on 3/16." When it's running full bore, you would really prefer it on a 20A breaker. It welds really nice.

Having said that, I would always recommend the biggest welder you can afford. The 180 would probably be a better choice, just because it can do bigger stuff. But likely ~most~ of your welding will be 1/8" or less. We have a a pair of 210s in the metal shop which are fantastic, though much bigger (in size and capacity).

We also have a Diversion 180 TIG which is an awesome little machine as well, if you had a hankering to do Aluminum and/or have pretty pretty welds (with practice).

I have a 140. It does everything from roll cages to control arms to sheet metal and exhaust with no problems. I have run a ton of wire thru mine with zero problems.

If you can stay under 1/4" steel, you can weld it with good penetration in one pass.

Highly recommend.

I've got a Lincoln PowerMIG 180 that I'm very happy with. I'd say go with the 180.

Bigger is always better, but the convenience of 120vac has to be considered. If you think you might want to take it out to a jobsite or to the track, etc,. the 120vac unit will be better. Both are excellent, well made units, and it is very difficult to beat their warranty.

Thanks for the replies.

Any recs on a helmet?

Harbor Freight auto dark. Cheap, works quite well. I liked mine just fine.

I have to say I recommend the HF helmet also. Recently had a AD helmet I bought from a welding shop go bad. Started using the HF one I picked up for half the price, and it actually has a better field of view.

I am pretty sure they both use the same electronics in them anyway. One note though: The adjustment on the HF helmet appears to do nothing.

My ~18 y/o Morsafe auto dim helmet finally croaked and I picked up a HF cheapie to replace it, I was surprised at how well the thing works. Longevity, well we will see. The only thing that really concerns me is the instructions say it won't work below 27 deg F.

EDIT: A buddy has a Miller autoset welder, I'm not crazy about the whole autoset thing. It seems to keep the heat too low, makes it hard to do a nice weld. I thought it was just me, then I tried another one at a place I worked, same thing. In both cases I dialed in my own settings, cranked the heat up a little and lowered the wire speed, much better.

I will swing by HF tonight. Even if it doesnt last too long, at $45 I can buy 2 or 3 for the price of the one I saw on Miller's website.

J

As always, I'll weigh in as the voice of dissent.

I'd trawl Craigslist for a while and if you can deal w/ a dryer socket in the garage, a 220V machine is much, much nicer to use.

I did close to 10 years w/ a Daytona Powermig 140 -an Italian Cerbora unit. They're not bad little welders. But then I got a used Millermatic 185 and the angels sang. Night and day.

As for helmets, I bought a used Snap-On/Bluepoint hat in the 90's and recently replaced it with a Jackson Nexgen. It did cost many times what a Harbor Freight helmet costs but I have precisely 1 pair of eyes, and in addition the overall ease and quality of my work, particularly with TIG has increased greatly.

So I'd advise letting someone else take the depreciation hit and if 220V is OK, get a Miller 185/250/252 or the equivalent Lincoln or Hobart. Essentially, welders are blue, red or grey.

Weldors on the other hand are usually white or brown.

They are occasionally red when a glob of molten steel goes in their shoe.

I got the Millermatic 210 or 211 or whatever it is... Best tool purchase I've ever made, bar none. Hasn't given me any problems in 18 months, up to 3/8 in one pass, 120V or 220V. A bit pricey compared to the 140 though. If you're doing primarily light-gauge work, I would think a 140 would be plenty.

+1 for HF autodarkening helmet.

The thing about a 120volt welder is they are very, very sensitive to a good outlet. 20 amp is preferred, not extreme duty extension cords will make it useless, though on the cheaper units this can be used to fine tune amperage.

If it is possible try one before you buy one. At my welding class we have Miller and Lincoln machines. The Lincolns are favored by most students and faculty.

I'm a Lincoln fan as well. I can lay a nice bead with mine much more easily than I can a Miller. But then again it's very possible that it's me and not really the machine.

Another thing I forgot, at school all of the Miller wire feed machines are equipped with aftermarket Tweco guns.

Guns are a wear item, Tweco is the most common. Don't think that says good or bad about the Miller gun.

Another Millermatic 185 here. 230V, 60% duty cycle. Excellent commercial rated machine. Original gun, liner and drive. Prolly put close to 100 lbs of wire through it now w/ no problems. It'll handle 3/8 single pass but I mostly work 1/8-1/4 anymore. Can turn it down for auto body as well.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy the 140 if that is your range.

I'm currently learning on a lightly used MM135 I picked up for a great price, and expect it will be more than adequate for everything I have planned for it. If you buy used from Craigslist be ready to call immediately, buy same day, cash in hand, as the actual "deals" are hard to come by and go quickly. Most people were trying to sell theirs for a price too close to new on out of warranty machines to justify buying one over spending a few extra dollars on a factory new one. I don't care how lightly used it is, those ones aren't worth it. At this point I still can't honestly speak to whether the added capacity of a 240V machine will ever be missed, or whether the ability to plug into any 120V outlet will be more advantageous in the long run.

If I hadn't found my used Miller, I would have likely experimented with the "Real Gear" 140, which is a $300 Chinese knock-off of what appears to be a previous generation Lincoln 120V welder, including the continuous control on both wire feed speed and voltage, and uses all the same consumables as a Lincoln. It actually looked to be a pretty well put together machine, unlike most "China welders" that are generally looked down upon. There is also something to be said for the service and support that comes with their being distributed and backed through a well regarded welding supply company like Praxair. In all honesty a Lincoln or Miller is overkill for most (but not all) garage users anyways, as they'll generally put less wire through the machine in a year than it was designed to move each week.

I will say that I decided as a matter of personal preference to stay away from the Hazard Fraught welding helmets. During my time looking for a quality helmet at a reasonable price, I found that there are often some pretty good deals for used high-end helmets on Craigslist. My research also led me to the Arc-One Vision X540V and Lincoln Viking 3350 as being good bang for the buck helmets with a large viewing area, and both also offered in smaller window versions at even more affordable prices. Rather than purchase online, I decided to spend the small percentage extra to support my LWS as they were selling both at a reasonable price, even if not as low as the cheapest online retailers. After fondling them both for a while, and even though I'm Miller biased, I went with the Lincoln hood. While my testimonial may not carry the weight of an experienced welder who has spent hundreds/thousands of hours under various helmets, I have tried welding with a couple different mid-range (name brand) AD helmets before getting this setup...And I can honestly say that with this helmet I can see what I'm doing far better than either I had used in the past, and I directly attribute my apparent rate of welding skill improvement directly to the improved quality of vision.

For anyone interested, here is the link to the Miller 15% sale / rebate: http://www.millerwelds.com/landing/build-with-blue/

Lots of good posts here, thanks!

I started looking at the 180 and then thought that maybe I need to use it at a place other than my house where there might not be 220v avail ... so then the 115/220v Millermatic 210 comes into the pictures ... I have a few weeks to think about this as the offer ends on May 31st.

mikeatrpi wrote: For anyone interested, here is the link to the Miller 15% sale / rebate: http://www.millerwelds.com/landing/build-with-blue/

Thanks! ... I forgot to show the link, if you are considering a welder I would say it does not get any better than this.

I am not buying used, this is something that I feel comfortable buying new and not feel guilty about spending the extra money. I am sure between my brother, dad, couple of friends and me, we will use it for a long time.

J

I also looked at new pricing too when making my selection, and the Millermatic 140 Auto-Set was always considerably more than the Power MIG 140C that Lincoln has been running their "money matters" deal on just about forever now. As this appears to get the Miller down to roughly the same price, I would certainly agree that it doesn't get much better than this.

Since you mention wanting it for a long time, and debating on 120V and 240V inputs, the Millermatic 211 is a great option although a bit heavier/bulkier than the 140 amp units. Although if I was willing to start looking at that ~$1k price range, it would be hard to pass up paying a bit extra on the Thermal Arc 211i which not only gives 120V/240V capabilities out of a smaller/lighter package, but also is a multi-process machine capable of MIG, stick, and DC (no aluminum) TIG.

I think changing wire on the dual voltage machines would be a pain... 023 wire for 120v, 035 for 240v. Unless they expect you to keep the same wire in the machine for both? I dunno how that would work, but I'd definitely run 023 with C25 gas on your sheet metal work.