I am looking to get the miller 140 for my garage. Anybody here have one? I am used to bigger welders and want to know how nice this works for people, pro's and con's. Please, your opinions will help.
Should be ok if you know what your doing and know what the welders limits are. Alot of people are down on 110's, but I posted a Fillet Fracture test procedure a week or two back with pics done with a 110. Performing a destructive testing measure as listed above, will let you know exactly what you and your welder are capable of. Really, a damn nice 460 - 3phase welder is junk in incompetent hands, so ..... a 110 is definately not good if the guy using it really doesn't know whats going on with the process being used. Tricky question and I seem to type the same answers. Look for my post "dialing your welder in with a Fillet Fracture" or something like that. Cool. Carl Hagan
i have one and think it's great. i don't know what you plan on welding with it. i use mine mostly for 16-20 ga. sheetmetal, not much heavier. don't do alot of frame work. but it's great for thin stuff.
Depends on what you're going to use it for. If you plan on doing any fabrication work, a 110 is going to be marginal. You're better of spending a little more for a larger machine and having the extra capacity in case you need it, vs. the other way aroung.
I have had a Miller 135 for something like 7 years or so. I like it a lot. I didn't need to get any special wiring done on the house or garage to get started which was a plus. Like the other posts have said you are somewhat limited as to how heavy a gauge you can work with but I still have found a lot of uses.
I'm building my whole car on a Miller 135. Love it. Depending on how rusty my skills are, I may haul an axle housing to a friend for some first cl*** tig work, but that isn't about the welder, it's about me. If i'm on my game, I have no reservations about any typical ch***is work or axle housings. The welder will handle 3/16 easily. You can see what I've done with it in my recent updates below.
Millers customer service is outstanding, I bought a 180 up here in Canada, and the front panel was metric. I called and inquired, and they couriered me new decals for the front and inside next day, no charge.
Realy boils down to what you are doing with it. I've got a 180 also and I love it. I'm using it to build the frame for my 37 GMC. Only thing is it's 220v so if you don't have the power in your garage you may need an extension from your dryer outlet (that's a topic that has numerouse threads already). But it does have a higher duty cycle (30%) over the 140 (20%).
I built my 36 chev truck using a millermatic 210, I believe. It is my step dad's and it was great for ch***is work. I really just need to do body work, replacing inner rotten wood in my 36 pontiac with steel and making door jambs, etc. No major frame work. I can always go to his house to use his if I need to do major ch***is fab. Looks like all you guys like it and the fact that I don't have to convert the garage over to 220 helps the wallet. Thanks fro the responses!! Time to tell the wifie I'm getting another new toy!
you can turn a big welder down but you cant turn a small welder up...i use my hobart handler 210 to do everything .turn it down for small stuff and back up for heavy stuff...
I have the 180 w/ autoset and I love it! Spring for the 220 instead of the 110 and you'll be glad you did.
i bought a 110V 135 a while back, thinking it would be my designated sheet metal welder. lots of sparking and lots of spatter. sold it the following week. my 25 year old snap-on (century) 220V wasn't so bad after all.
I had a 140, 6 months later sold it and got a 180. Get bigger than you think you will need. I quickly out-grew mine. Getting 220v to the work area shouldn't be too bad.
I have a 140 and i like it a lot. To have the Ideal setup you should have a 220 for heavy fab work and a 110 for smaller projects. Like was said before a 110 is marginal for fabrication but for body work, motor mounts, etc. it will be fine, but if you want to build frames and do a lot of heavy fab work than it will not be sufficent.
I have 180 autoset also. Great welder. I was going to go with the 110 but decided to go 220, glad i did, worth the little extra price to be able to weld it all!
A 110v welder would be fine, if you want a hotter weld us straight co2, not the common 75% Argon/25% co2. The problem with running an extension cord is that you would need a thick could due to the amp draw, unless you like running in and out of the house to turn the breaker on. If you do thicker steel make a V **** and do multiple p***es and it will work fine. Everyone says on here buy a 180 it's worth it, if your going to a 220v unit spend the extra and buy a 250 millermatic.
The shop that I work in has both a millermatic 135 and a 140. We usually use them for sheetmetal work or making brackets and stuff. They work okay, but they make me appreciate the millermatic 210 that I have at home. Welding with weak machines forces me to use proper techniques to get decent results. When I use my machine at home the welds turn out beautiful. Dave
I've built at least 4 cars with my 135 with gas and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them for normal automotive use. It is a great "middle of the road" welder. You can weld thicker stuff too (1/4 - 3/8), but you may have to pre-heat. If you need to weld thinner get a tig... if you need to go thicker then you need an arc. demon452 is correct.. it is important to not have too much distance between your welder and the breaker and extension cords should be avoided.
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