Technical Valued opinions on Multi-Process Welders Lincoln or Miller?

I have been thinking about getting an AC/DC TIG welder for a couple months, but with the price and the fact that I probably won't do much aluminum or stainless, I'm now thinking about a Multiprocess machine and at the same time I would be upgrading my MIG.

Today I have have Lincoln SP-100 110v which is a great machine (and I'll keep it for small stuff) and Century 100 230V wire feed that has been a decent machine, that I will sell if I get a MP process machine.

I've ruled out imports, AHP has an AC/DC TIG welder that sounds promising on reviews at less than $800. But they are still hit or miss on quality.
Thermal Arc 186 AC/DC heard some negative feedback on reliability - and service. $1300
Found a used Diversion 180 AC/DC TIG for $1500. Pretty good deal but I would want to upgrade my MIG.

Miller has the 215 MP MIG and DC TIG machine. $1710 MIG/TIG kit plus a $200 rebate that ends tomorrow. Machine TIGS and MIGS from 24ga to 3/8". Only downside I can see is that it doesn't have a HF start on the TIG........Will that be an issue on thinner materials?

Lincoln has the 210 MP MIG and DC TIG machine. $1600 MIG/TIG kit. Maybe more tunable on MIG setting but it states in the literature from 18ga. to 3/8" for MIG and TIG and I think I would like TIG some thinner sheet metal......, and I can't really tell if it Lift Start, or HF start....

Anybody using either the Miller or Lincoln Multi Process Machines? Any recommendations? If I go Blue I'll have to pull the pin tomorrow to get the rebate...

Thanks!

 

Ask on one of the welding forums also for opinions.

 

Good idea...I'll check that out.

 

Any dc stick welder, ANY will run tig scratch start. You need bottle, regulator and torch with gas valve- weld Stainless and mild steel. Craigslist dc buzz box and the rest is all you need.

If you want/need the pedal, the pulse, the bells and whistles then it gets confusing on getting what you need without paying for **** you never use.

If you want to tig aluminum you need AC machine with HF, but you knew that. Make sure it will deliver enough amps to weld some nice thickness aluminum. I see them out there but for light guage toy aluminum welder.

Just my experience here and I'm sure others will vary- multi process machines are trouble for me and I wouldn't bother.

I have a decent 220 buzz box, a 220 Lincoln mig, a nice small 220 harbor freight dc tig. (Impressive for what it costs) And a big Miller 3phase tig stick welder. I snagged the HF unit to do 1 specific job where I couldn't get my big momma Miller to, it paid for itself and made me some too, I like it.

 

As a hobbyist it's hard not to consider the imports. Everlast, AHP, and others have some decent machines and they are 1/3, 1/2 the money as Miller Lincoln, perhaps ESAB.
Reading some reviews it sounds like the high freq. start drives product cost, and that's why these two multi-process machines don't have it...and it sounds like Miller might have an edge on the their lift start in terms of ease of use, not blowing holes at the start of weld etc.
Did you have a bad experience with a MP machine? I'm sure as soon as I make a decision, prices will go down, something new will go on the market!

 

Several issues with multi purpose for me, and everyone else isn't me so take all this a grain of salt.

If your ONE unit goes down all processes are lost- you aren't welding anything - lack of backup. If You want /need to up grade one purpose well, then what? They act much like a baked potato, ****er is extra, sour cream is extra, everything is extra and those extras can't easily be moved to different potato.

More often than not, I'll tack something with mig (duck point and shoot) and finish it off with tig. Pain it the *** reconfiguring them.

Unless it's a very sophisticated machine, (aka expensive) I've found that they have trouble delivering both quality high capacity and consistent low capacity for both thick and thin metals. One low amp machine and one high amp machine usually does a better job and costs less than one machine that does both equally well. The space taken up by 2 machines is doubled and so is the range of material but tight packaging is important and the Swiss Army knife takes up less room.

 

I have used a Lincoln mig unit at work and really prefer my Hobart to it. Is much simpler, consistent, cheaper, and seemingly more efficient! Hobart is like Miller, but somewhere down the line the price is chopped in half?
Not what you asked really, but that was my experience and I bet the TIG units are similar.

 

I can tell you this,,I have a miller 250 amp AC/DC tig ,,,Its big.heavy keep it at the shop,,5 yrs ago I decided it would be nice to have a portable machine at the house so I wouldn't have to take everything to the shop,,Looked around and against what I usually buy(red/blue) I took the chance on a EVERLAST 200 amp AC/DC tig welder, turned out to be a great product comes with 5 year warranty,, Its small in size since it is inverter technology...It welds just as good as my Miller, Had good luck with that so bought aEverlast Plasma cutter same deal works like a champ..Do wrought iron work .Thought it would be nice to have a dual voltage tig so I can carry it to someones house and plug into 110,,Yep one more time bought a Everlast 210 DC only Tig.. Like the other two it works great not sorry one bit and I have never had a issue with none of the 3,,Hard to beat for the price...Now 3 of my friends who said they wouldn't buy one now one them because they tried mine......

 

I got the Eastwood TIG200 ac/dc. I like it, but I wouldn't try to talk you out of buying a Lincoln or a Miller.

 

Bump for the road

 

I am watching this, I will be buying a tig in 2017.

 

What's contained in this video is brand new to me.
I'll be trying myself

 

Good to hear you've been having good luck with the Chinese product. I'd give their plasma cutters serious consideration.

 

Interesting...You can weld aluminum with the multiprocess machine with a spool gun. I wonder if what he's doing is similar?

 

I've got the Miller multi-process in the shopping cart on Cyberweld.com. Mig Machine with the TIG KIT delivered will be $1510.....Going to keep doing a searching tonight.
I've got a new project started......haven't started sticking any parts together yet, I'll start a build thread soon!

 

Mig welded aluminum is sorta messy, lots of spatter, super green smokey and relatively ugly.

 

I have also had excellent results with my Everlast unit.

 

That's encouraging. Sounds like guys on the garage journal are having good luck with Everlast and AHP,
Is yours AC/DC?

 

...Well, Slept on it. Was a little concerned about no high frequency start on the lift arc machines so I watched a few more videos that I could find (mostly on the Lincoln, some miller) and it looks like it lights off fine even on thinner sheet metal (razor blades).

So, I've ordered the Miller 215 MP machine - As I wanted to upgrade my MIG, and the tig kit is not that big of an adder ($350). With this I can learn DC TIG. If I do enough and decide I want to try aluminum, next year I'll buy the AHP 200DX AC/DC for $800, and that will also give me the HF start which may be better for sheet metal.

Eric

 

I like my Thermal Arc Multi Process welder,. It stick and MIG welds better than any welder I have ever used.My TIG skills are not good enough to give the machine an honest appraisals.
Switching modes is kind of a pain in the ***, but for a hobbist, I think the multi process units are a great way to go.
You should be very happy with your new Miller!

 

Good luck on your purchase. Keep us informed about it. I want to move into the world of TIG one of these days myself.

BTW, I was commenting on the apparent quality of the Everlast line, not the exact one you would be looking at. I just have a little stick welder with scratch-start TIG that they make. I have had other "imported" welders, and this one just feels different from all the rest. I have a 225 Miller stick welder I used to use on all of the heavy stuff, but since I bought this unit, it's gathering dust in the corner. It's a real 110/220 unit that is extremely compact because it uses "inverter technology", what ever that is. All my friends that have used it are equally impressed. It looks like the Chinese CAN get their s**t together if they decide to.

 

They are perfectly capable of making superior products. The problem is they just make/build or bid on what the specs are. The real problems are Greedy marketers that needs to hit price point and wants 130% profit so he makes it work by specing cheap junk. Compe***ion comes and decides 50% profit is acceptable at that same market set acceptable price point so he can deliver a far better unit for equal money by / because he specs higher quality. Compe***ion populates and equalizes and 30% profit is ok and then you now have 2 price points. High quality and high price or low price paired with low quality merchandise similar to the first specs.

What ever kind of **** you get your hands on here is not because of the lack of capability in a foreign land it's because of the greedy *******s we live next door to.

 

Word. They make phones there with more computing power than an Apollo mission.

 

This needs to be stickied, highlighted bolded and put in caps.

 

I realize that problems arise with the best of machines, but the problem I see with a lot of the "offshore" stuff is the availability of replacement parts. You can't put a project on hold waiting for the boat to get in with a part that's been on backorder.
Most reasonably large cities have welding supply stores that stock replacement parts for the three or four major mfg's.

 

Well if mine does go down it would just ruin a hobbyists weekend.
Miller Service gets high marks from discussions I had with dealers of all brands. Most forum posts and welding supply video posters put them well above Lincoln and the imports too....

 

You pulled the trigger on your machine before I had a chance to reply however I hope it works out for you.
I'm 62 have been welding and fabricating since I was 17. Have been teaching my trade for 19 years now.
I don't like the multi process machines, they are IMO a compromise.
The Tig portion does not allow you to do aluminum and even if you don't think you will do much or want to, it's nice to have that capability.
They also offer stick SMAW which I absolutely don't want or need in a hobby shop.
At the trade school I work at I have access to all types of equipment, the big pro machines ,the expensive stuff.
In our school we are exclusively Miller blue (and we are talking about 6 million dollars worth) for good reason.

In my garage for my own use I have a Diversion 180 Tig machine and an Auto -set 180 Mig machine.
With those I can do anything I have ever needed to in my builds.
I like them both a lot and have had next to no problems with them.
The only one issue I had was a leaky gas solenoid on the Mig and it was an easy repair with a solenoid ordered at the Miller shop.

 

You should post what I told you about this... Larry.

 

My Job takes me to China occasionally and I was just over there this summer. Last time I was there was 4-5 years ago and the progress was astounding. I was there 10 days and visited a dozen or so manufacturing facilities, and they have progressed exponentially, but there are still thousands of incapable manufactures. Interstate highway system is great, Inter-country flights were way better, Overall the trip was way better than my previous trips.

Most of the places I visited were at 30-50% capacity, so they have problems....and the gap is closing where US productivity continues to increase and cost stay flat or go down. China manufacturing cost structures continue to increase (labor - growth of a middle cl***). I think we will see a lot of US companies manufacturing or ***embling new products in the US.

Welders are a good examples. Everlast is getting better but their prices are going up. Miller and Lincoln prices are coming down. The playing field is equalizing.

 

Now that you found a MP machine, Kurt or I might be interested in your extra mig.