Hobart handler 210/ millermatic 211

[kurtk87]

Hi everyone I am looking to upgrade my old lincoln pro mig 135 to either the Hobart handler 210 or the millermatic 211. I am an experienced welder that knows how to set up the proper voltage and wire speed so my question is, is there really any advantage to the millers auto set fuction or not. Also i would like anybody elses opinion on these two welders. Thanks

[Tom37]

Kurt, I have the 211AS. I have never used the 210 so I cant really say the 211 is better or not. The other day I was working on a little project that had thickness difference from 10 ga to 3/8. None of these were critical welds, well I guess they are all critical but these wouldn't hurt anyone if they failed. I set the autoset dial to .035 and tried out the A.S. feature. To me it didn't seem to be a perfect set, there was a little more splatter then I like but it was very close. It was really nice to jump around on the project from thick to thin with only changing the thickness setting. I am sure if I welded every day for a living, that I would just change the settings the old way and not even think about it. BUT I forget easy and usually double check the door, so the A.S. was pretty slick since I was jumping all over on thickness.

[kurtk87]

Thanks for the help, I do weld everyday at my job so changin the dials isnt a big deal to me, and since you said the (AS) setting wasnt spot on anyway i think im gonna go with the hobart it is a little more budget friendly. Thanks for the input.

[dda52]

That's what I would think..the AS wouldn't let me do what I was wanting to do. That would make me mad, too. I was using the H210 today and am still impressed how well this little dood welds.

I'd say...If you know what you want to do weld-wise, then get the unit that will let you do what you want, instead of what some engineer thinks you should do.

[FWI]

I would buy the HH 210 for the money. For the extra $$$ you get 10% higher duty cycle at 150amps, Autoset and Blue Paint. Don't get me wrong I'm a Miller man for heavy fabrication but for your personal needs I'm a Hobart Man or guys are having great luck out of ESAB. Just my $.02

[SavageSunJeep]

I run the MM211 AS and did not think I would like it...but I love it! And I love it along with the 211 for several reasons:

1) The Auto Set feature is strictly optional, you do not need to run it. You can set your wire speed etc just like any other welder so if you don't like it then skip it...but do try it.

2) The AS feature is variable. Its not a 'click-stop' at different metal thickness. So if you can still adjust the setting and the neat part is the metal thickness which is variable drives the wire speed which is also variable. I have found that by simply adjusting your metal thickness setting +/- I get excellent results, less splatter and far superior welds. I adjust based upon penetration and how the weld is forming, telling me whether or not I need +/- adjustment. It really lets me fine tune my welding process.

I honestly did not think it was such a good thing when I read about it, but in use its really a leap forward IMO.

[fjk]

i'll sort of second savageSunJeep's second point --

I'm not an expert, by any means. I have a MM140+AS. I find that
whenever I use it I get close, but it's always off a bit, so I end up
diddling the knobs a bit. Following the chart on the machine
gets me just as close - maybe closer - than AS does. Either way
I end up diddling knobs and adjusting the torch angle/distance/etc
so in balance, AS isn't that big a win for me. On the other hand,
the price difference was something like $40 -- which in the grand
scheme of things, just isn't that big a deal...

Look at the machines for their basic capabilities first, and think
of AS as a tie-breaker, should it be needed.

YMMV

Frank

[SavageSunJeep]

You are right about 'diddling'...That said I find that I now only have one knob to diddle rather than two I did in the past.

I guess I just see it as simpler diddling and less time bending over and opening the door to read the chart.

As for accuracy, I find the chart to be more or less and the AS to be on the 'hot' side and I most often need to run on the low side of the metal thickness...

[Broccoli1]

AS feature means nothing to me but

MM211 does offer dual voltage 120v/240v
Cyberweld$ 970.00

but but...

HH210 WITH Spoolgun @ Northern Tool 899.00


probably rather have the Spool gun myself-

[Scott V]

I think I would look at the cost and complexity of the circuit boards. Bet the 210 would be worth fixing after the warranty is up. Probably just have to crush the other one.