buying a new mig and i need some advice...

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bumping up to a bigger machine, deciding against the snap on and now its pretty much between the millermatic 251, htp 2400, and an esab migmaster 251. the esab has a better duty cycle, and i have heard good things about htp, and the miller has "infinite" heat settings and a digi readout. i do alot of fabrication for cars from bodywork mods to structural suspension and mounting and am primarily dealing with mild steel if this helps. right now i have a lincoln 175+, but need something with a little more heat. all advice appreciated. thanks in advanceLast edited by xdeadboox; 02-01-2006 at 06:13 PM.
Reply:?????
Reply:i like the 255 powermig my selfChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:I owned a MM 251 for a little over a year and a half. I sold it and bought an ESAB Migmaster 250. The MM 251 is a fine unit, I just didn't like its real soft arc, that could get mushy at times. Also, the weld puddle wetted out a little quicker then I liked. Performance wise the Migmaster 250 is turning out to be more to my liking, the arc isn t too soft or too crisp, it falls about in the middle. The weld puddle wets out nicely and is very controllable. On 1/8" with my Migmaster 250, I can lay down near spatter free welds, never could do this with the MM 251.  On 1/8" with the MM 251 there was always a very very slight amount amount of visible spatter, nothing that didn't easily scrap off though.The 24 voltage taps on the Migmaster gives me plenty of adjustability over the arc. The tapped design makes it a simplier unit to tune the arc in over the variable control on the MM 251. When you really crank the output up, both unit perform very well with C-25.With 98/2 shielding gas, both unit are excellent spray arc units. BTW, if you are truly looking at an ESAB Migmaster 251, rumor has it they weren't very good, which is why ESAB is no longer manufacturing them. I suspect though that was probably just a typo.
Reply:How about the Miller XMT350 CC/CV single or three phase package and a 70 series feeder and a spool gun.The XMT runs very nice.  If you have a Miller rep by your town, they can take you to the Miller Lab and run the XMT.It's worth it