Like new Millermatic 250X

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I'm looking at a Millermatic 250X that a widow has locally. She's asking $1000 for it with what I believe is an "S" size cylinder (probably 4.5 foot tall or so) and the whole unit looks brand new.I've read lots of comments about "harsh arc", "poor puddle wet out", but I'd like to hear from some of you who actually have/had this welder. I'm not running a pro fab shop or anything, I'd call myself more of an enthusiast metalworker at this point with a fairly well equipped shop.What say you?Last edited by ttyR2; 03-26-2015 at 04:40 PM.Reason: Grammer edit to make 7A749 happy
Reply:It would be a widow bro.Widower would be a man who has lost his wife I've had one come thru the shop on consignment and it welded ok. I sold it for about what you're asking and it was pretty nice.Price is fair. Especially if there's some wiggle room. The cylinder is a bonus. Maybe $800-900 would be a good offer.Good luck with it.Expert Garage Hack....https://www.facebook.com/steven.webber.948
Reply:I have used many different miller MIG welders. 35, mm200, 250, 210, 251, 252, xmt304 and big power sources and this would be the least liked of the bunch by me.
Reply:I've read where guys say the 250s are very hard for the average guy to find the sweet spot. I've never run one my self, but heard Miller went back to the drawing board real fast because of all the complaints about the 250s.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:I went ahead and bought it. Wired up a new 50A circuit for it, and it welds great, but I'm running the voltage way higher than the chart inside the cover says. I've heard other people say the chart on the 250's is very inaccurate. Says use 18V and I started getting good results North of 21V.
Reply:The 250/250X were/are two of the worst Miller mig welders ever produced.   The 200, 251, and 252 are excellent machines.
Reply:Ok here is my 2 cents. I purchased a brand new Millermatic 250 in 1995. I had welded with quite a few Millermatic 200 and Millermatic 35 welders and decided I wanted one for my home shop. So I went to the LWS and they told me the 250 was the new replacement for the 200. I bite the bullet and brought one home. At first I wasn't happy with it. It didn't weld anything like a 200 or 35 but it did weld good. I couldn't get used to the voltage and wire speed settings. The older welders had taps for voltage and this had a dial. It is touchy to find the sweet spot on the settings but once you get it dialed in it welds get. I did have a problem with burn back on starts and I emailed Miller and they had me adjust the run in on the circuit board and it took care of the problem. My Buddy has a Truck shop 4 miles from me and has a 250x that he runs the crap out of and has never had a problem. So my opinion on the 250/250x is its not a bad machine once you get used to it, but it welds totally different then the prior Miller wire feeds. I wouldn't say they were bad or were the worst, they were just different.
Reply:Sounds like you are happy with your new to you machine.Wasn't the Millermatic 250/250X built the same timeframe as the Millermatic Vintage?I always heard the MM250 had a "harsh" arc where some other Millers and Lincolns had a smoother "buttery?" arc. I could never tell a lot of difference between my MM 200 and my Lincoln SP250. It would be interesting to load my 200 and 252 with the same wire and do a side by side test.
Reply:Originally Posted by vwguy3Sounds like you are happy with your new to you machine.Wasn't the Millermatic 250/250X built the same timeframe as the Millermatic Vintage?I always heard the MM250 had a "harsh" arc where some other Millers and Lincolns had a smoother "buttery?" arc. I could never tell a lot of difference between my MM 200 and my Lincoln SP250. It would be interesting to load my 200 and 252 with the same wire and do a side by side test.
Reply:Originally Posted by vpd66I believe the Millermatic Vintage was brought out in the mid 90s. It was a modernized Millermatic 200 for the people that didn't like the arc of the 250.
Reply:I don't think the Vintage was meant to take the place of the 250, just an option if you wanted a welder like the 200. In December 1994 when I bought my 250 I didn't remember the Vintage being offered by Miller. I told my LWS that I wanted a new Millermatic 200 and they said the 250 was the replacement. I didn't find out that they made the Vintage until around 1998. I wonder what years Miller made the Vintage?
Reply:Spray-arc is where the biggest difference between a MM-200, and a MM-250. The 250 would shake and piss and moan is you tried to keep up running with a MM-200.. Gave Miller a huge black eye.  The 250 Vintage used the MM-200 transformer. Yes it was a stop gap until Miller brought out the MM-251. Not my cup of tea either.. Esab/Lorch ET-220iEsab 160i caddyThermal LM-200 Lincoln feedersThermal Pee-Wee 85sThermal 60i- 3phase /RPC powered (Beast)Thermal Drag-gun 35CINE 1500 Klutch 140i
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XSpray-arc is where the biggest difference between a MM-200, and a MM-250. The 250 would shake and piss and moan is you tried to keep up running with a MM-200.. Gave Miller a huge black eye.  The 250 Vintage used the MM-200 transformer. Yes it was a stop gap until Miller brought out the MM-251. Not my cup of tea either..
Reply:If you ever run across the old Spoolmate 200 units, they're essentially an MM 200 without a built in feeder. I've bought a couple of them dirt cheap. Ppl don't really know what they are, and are generally priced accordingly. The Regency 200/250 units were the replacements for them. Miller even made a Regency 300, but I have no experience with one. The Regency 200/250 machine run very nice tho.One thing really cool about the old Spoolmate machines is that you could leave the old Spoolmatic 1 gun connected in the front and could plug a 50 series feeder directly into the amphenol 4 pin plug in the back at the same time. Regency machines utilized a 14 pin remote only, but could support both 115 and 24 VAC feeders/weld controls/spoolguns.Expert Garage Hack....https://www.facebook.com/steven.webber.948
Reply:I have a MM175 for smaller stuff...love that machine.
Reply:Originally Posted by ttyR2I have a MM175 for smaller stuff...love that machine.
Reply:On the Miller forums, there is talk about modifying the unit.As far as I can tell two issues.  One, the hot start.  There is a way to disable it.  Add a switch and you can turn it on and off.  The hot start basically sets the machine to weld at 24V (I guess until the arc is established?) no mater what you set the machine for.  Probably not an issue if your running .045.  An issue if you try .023.The second issue is the run-in/ ramp up of the wire.  It is apparently too slow.  Also, modification possible.http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...tic+250+switchandhttp://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/...ad.php?t=17065andhttp://www.millerwelds.com/resources...250x-questionsGood luck.Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:Strange. Everyone I know who has a MM175 loves it, including a couple of fab shops that use them for their smaller work.No complaints here. I don't plan on running anything under .035 in the MM250, so shouldn't run in to the hot start issue that some folks have had with .023.