Miller welder

[Bus'n it]

I've been using my 15 year old Miller 210 welder on the bus and it has been great. That said, I wanted to upgrade tech wise to a Miller 215 since it has inverter technology. Anyone have that welder and can shed some light? My current welder can do about 60-70% duty cycle whereas the new one would be somewhere around 20% at 120v and 40% at 220v. I like the new welder for compactness and not needing my bobcat to load it in the bus!

 

[Shamoke]

You have a bobcat? Color me jealous.

 

[Booyah45828]

Great welder. I used one for awhile before I upgraded to my current thermal arc 3 in 1 unit. Very lightweight and durable. Yes the duty cycle is low compared to "better" welders, but most of the stuff I was welding with it (exhaust and sheet metal) wasn't a high load/high demand situation that was taxing the machine anyways. It's a great welder for the home and hobby shop.

If you were in an industrial environment holding the trigger down for an hour straight, then it's not for you. But you likely wouldn't be looking at this welder for that scenario anyways.

 

[Bus'n it]

Thanks. That’s what I was thinking. It’s more of something I can take along on the road if need be due to its size. I did buy the 211 model but for a few dollars more the 215 looked like a good machine for what I would use it for. Yeah, lately I’ve been been pushing the duty cycle on my 210 big welder. It starts to get “tired” when it begins to splatter more. Otherwise it creates such a beautiful sizzle and clean weld. Our air temps are still in the 100’s so it wouldn't help any welders duty cycle!

 

[Booyah45828]

I did have issues like that when running 110 on 1/4" or thicker, but switch to 220 and those issues went away. Honestly, I was under the assumption that it was the power source I was using through a cheap extension cord more then the welder. The switch to 220 also included an upgrade to a dedicated outlet and an 8 gauge extension cord that I made.

 

[Bus'n it]

The main reason for the new 120/220v welder is so I can weld on 120v when the bus is in the backyard. Right now the bus is on the front side of the house (We have a side load garage) and it's in view of the neighbors and street. My big welder is 50 amp and even with the 25' extension cord, it just makes it into the bus so long as it is in the driveway. I really don't want to upset anyone with the current appearance of the rig. The big welding job is mostly complete with the lighter stuff to come.