Greetings fellow HAMBers!! As I have posted in the past, I had a fire in my shop loosing some of my tools and equipment. I'm currently casually looking for a stick/ Tig capable welder and have an opportunity at a Miller 250P with all of the Tig components....any of you guys have any experience with one, good or bad??... as always thanks in advance for any info!!
How many amps do you have for it ? Looks like a big machine. I just picked up another welder and am looking to get rid of my old welder outbound welder is a miller econotig pretty decent machine I just don't have 50 amps for it hence the new purchase Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sorry to hear about your misfortune losing equipment. I have no experience with the Miller 250P, but obviously Miller makes a quality machine. It would have to depend on how inexpensive it is, and whether you're doing primarily stick or TIG work with it. If your primary work is with stick, then a cheaper machine is probably fine. But if your primary purpose is TIG, then I'd opt for a more advanced inverter machine.
Can you post a picture of the machine you are talking about? I'm not familiar with that model. I have a 200 Dx which is a Tig and a 350P which is a pulsed mig machine. The thing about getting a Tig set up is you will find that the smaller water cooled torches are the way to go, and you need some sort of cooling to work with the torch. The air cooled torches tend to get pretty warm in your hand.
Greetings Mike!.. I have 100 amps to , or will again have 100 amps to my shop and can easily install a50 amp circuit...thanks for the info!!
Greetings 57JoeFoMoPar!!... I don't do a lot of stick work but need to occasionally...I'm just a hobby guy with a little" gentlemans farm " and multiple vintage truck/HOTROD projects...I just want to Tig sheetmetal patch panels mostly and I'm retired so I have time to let the torch cool....it's advertised for $400 ....pretty good deal for my use I think based on some of the other guys thoughts....I appreciate your input as well!!
Greetings ekimneirbo! ...I have time to let the torch cool as I'm only a hobby guy ....if it welds well I think I'm gonna get it ...thanks for the info!!
Link to the pfd manual. 142241.pdf (wfrcdn.com) Page 8 shows the amp draw. The only picture of a 250P that I can find is a rather abused looking one on Ebay 133268027340 No doubt they were quality welders when they were new but I am not finding out when "new" was. That in turn go to the question of who used it where and how. If it had been drug around the applesauce and fruit juice plant that I was the parts dude for the maintenance department who also handled getting all of our Miller welders fixed by the mechanics we had I'd say pass. They abused those machines something terrible. If on the other hand it was in a fab shop or shop where it didn't get used hard it might be a good deal. I'd still talk to my welding supply repair guy and ask if they can still readily repair them. It doesn't pay to buy even a Miller and then find out that they have a hard time getting parts for that specific model.
Well, keep in mind that the wiring and CB rating for the welder is at max setting, so if you’re tigging, arc welding, up to the thickness of what most of us do, you won’t be anywhere near max on the machine. So another thing to think about, regardless of what I posted above, is you mention a 100amp service, I assume that is at your residence? So even if you tied off that at the main, and brought the same service to your shop, then you have to look at the load that the house will be using while you are in the shop. Seems to me a 200amp service panel upgrade should be in order for your residence, then bring what you need to the shop. I’m no electrician, I just play one at work
You will love Tig welding once you get a little practice......so welcome to the Tig world. If you don't have an Argon bottle, I would recommend buying a used one rather than renting. If you decide to get a used one, I can tell you how to avoid most of the issues so you don't get burnt. PM me if you decide to go that route.
I have an older 200 miller mig welder. I have found that the older machines, parts are discontinued. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
One of the things you haven't mentioned here is what type of input power you have. That's going to a be a potentially limiting factor for you with a large, transformer based machine like that Miller. I just looked up the specs on the 250P, and it will need at least 50A at 220v single phase, 60 hz. That's a lot of power, and it may be more power than you have. I know it's more than I have, I only have 30A and 40A outlets in my shop. Once you get competent with the TIG it's going to be your preferred method of welding, so I agree with @ekmneirbo in that regard. While you might be able to live with an air cooled torch just fine, what you're not going to want to deal with for long is the lack of a high frequency start or the ability to alter amperage with a foot pedal, neither of which that old Miller can do. This will especially be the case on sheetmetal where you can get too hot too fast and want to roll power back before you blow a hole through it. Honestly, I would look at the Eastwood TIG200. It's a really decent welder for a beginner and you won't outgrow it right away once you get comfortable. You also won't be fighting the machine when you're first trying to get the basics down. It's a comparable price to the old Miller.
Thanks for the info guys!... to answer a couple of questions, the machine looks darn good, not abused... the guy I bought it from is a car repair shop owner/ hotrodder...had the machine for a long time , knew its history and wanted something smaller as it is a BIG machine and he is cramped for space. I do have a 200 amp service in my house, it's just me and my wife here so my household load isn't tremendous ...100 amps to the garage shouldn't be an issue....I never thought about replacing parts...hopefully me just being a hobby guy it will last the rest of my life...( a long time yet I hope!!)... and for the price I get stick AND Tig....oh, and this machine does have a foot pedal...the little bit I have fooled with them/ experimented in the past that seemed to be a must for sheetmetal...
The first thing you will need is a way to sharpen your "Tungsten" as you will probably spend as much time sharpening them as you do welding. If you weld thin stuff you want smaller tungstens. You have to get collets that fit the size (diameter) of your tungsten. Might start with a 3/32 or if you have some thicker 1/8 - 1/4 steel, start practicing on that before you go to the thin stuff. Try at first to just make puddles without using a rod till you begin to get the hand/eye co-ordination. Don't remove the scale on the steel and on your first try debris will jump to your tungsten. That lesson will save you later as you will know to always clean parts before welding. Don't use real Tungsten, instead try Ceriated ones. I took a bench grinder and bought some diamond wheels instead of normal wheels. They work great. If you get a coarse and a fine, they sharpen very quickly and put a nice point. Regular wheels tend to make a rougher finish and take longer.
I generally try to stay away from Thoriated tungstens as well due to their radioactivity. I know its a low level hazard, but with good alternatives out there why take any risk at all? I've had very good luck with 2% Lanthanated.
A favorable expression coming from my high school welding teacher and I heard it many times: "A expensive welder does not make a good welder.
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