Great choice - the Passport is AWESOME. Having the switchable plugs for either 110V or 220V is VERY nice.

One of the COTTORA guys has a Passport, I like it better than my Lincoln 180. Seems to have better arc control and mine seems to like to put down A LOT of wire.

 

I own a MM250 and use a MM250MP at school and at school, we abUSE that thing hard. the difference between these two is that the 250MP(Micro Processor) has a digital dail. according to the instructor he prefers it without the digital dial because it has one less thing to fail.

i don't have hands-on experience on the newer series 212 and 251 welders, but everybody says for a welder to be used in a shop(not in the field), bigger is alway better.

 

go with the hobart 210 iron man ive been using it for 7 years now and the only things ive replaced are the consumables, gas, wire spool, tips, and nozzle ect.
great machine i use it about everyday, im in the collision repair buisness, so i feel that i know how a good welder should perform.

 

I realize this thread hasn't touched in a while but I thought it was worth putting in my 2 cents. First I would like to say that it's not right to praise Miller and harp on Hobart. That's equivalent to praise Chevy and then harp on GMC. Miller and Hobart are both made by the same parent company (hence the reason why all the Hobart welders come with Miller branded whips and Miller welders often come with Hobart branded wire. They are basically the same but with a few different line ups.

Now for the welder I would recommend is once again the Miller Passport which is perfect for us garage junkies but I think it's Hobart equivalent is better for us. The passport can run on 120 and 220 and has an internal gas compartment which is great. The Hobart Trek 180 runs on only 120 but pulls at the most of 12 amps from the plug (even at 180 amps) meaning it can be ran on pretty much any 120 plug. That combined with its 2 internal batteries it makes it perfect for needing to fix something on the trail. The downside though is that it isn't compatible with the a spool gun meaning no easy aluminum welding with it, although with a little effort it can still be done.

 

i have the hobart (miller) 210 MVP. it will work with 110v or 220v. gas/solid or flux core wire. and the spool gun is only $200 to weld alum.
and i love it. i got it for $850 shipped and a free welding cart from northern tool.
perfect machine and has a great warranty and cust support
and the cooling fan in it is nice.

 

I clicked on this to try and get some different ideas and insight for a different welder. Haunting thing is at the bottom this tread the only welder ive been looking for is one of the two recommended! I missed out on an a CL ad a few months back for a Miller Passport. Had never seen or heard of them before. The ad was close to a month old i believe when i came across it . Guy had the rig, extra spools, two full bottles, extended links, even a switchback mask and gloves! 800 fargen bucks!! Looked taken care of and the ad read to "Come try it out!" I figured all those extras, ad being a month old and its that cheap? Must be junk. Seen an "old head" (THE NEXT DAY) at a job site welding up some handrails. Him being a professional, I asked if he knew anything about them. Told him what my intentions were. He said that would be the exact welder he would recommend. And he wouldnt spend more $1200 used. (didnt tell him what it was selling for OR the extras!) So i go home to get the number and call and cant find the ad. Even went into my computers history and the ad had been removed... Ive had Miller Passport in my keywords search list for months. Im not willing to buy one new. But i HIGHLY doubt ill ever find a better deal than the one i barely missed. Im positive nobody really cares about that story. But its eerie that i try to take the time to read up on different recommended welders here and yet again get reminded of my misfortune. SOB!...

 

ESAB!
I have an Esab Caddy Mig 220. Fantastic machine! I can't say enough good things about it.

 

as much as I love miller the Passport was made for a very limited range of use.

Like having to weld something on the 39 floor of a building like two one inch welds.

The Hobart Trek just beware those internal batteries are $200.00 each and can`t be bought at Batteries R US.

This is always going to be a on going thing we all have our favorites

Now Hobart is marketed for the part time Hobby use not to say they can`t be used every day within there limits.

The sad fact is buying a welder and not knowing how to weld even with a new one you don`t know is it you or the welder.

Then the other sort that don`t take the time to read the operators manual then whine when they get billed a $100.00 for being lazy because a switch was in the wrong position.

 

The millermatic series would be my choice. They have always been good to me. I'm probably going with a Miller bobcat next though.

 

Has anyone tried the Miller Multimatic 200 yet? I grew up with just my pops's stick welder. Id like to get one that i can use all around for the garage. Seems like a good all around welder for what most of us need. A downfall as far as i can read is it only has a DC tig function and apparently you can only weld aluminum with AC...? Never welded aluminum. Id like to try and learn though

 

Try searching it at weldingweb. Lots of good info there. My two cents on learning to weld aluminum is to take a class. You'll get a ton of info and will probably gets your money's worth in materials alone.

Didn't mean to knock your skills, by the way, just know that I spent $359 on the class and went through tons of consumables and electricity in the process. The instructor didn't mind if I took home a pile of scrap to practice on either.

 

The Miller Multimatic is just a machine made to market against the flood of foreign made combo units.

After all it is all about trying to make a profit.

I have not seen any yet on the bench only a matter of time so I will with hold comments till then.