Miller or Hobart

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I'm looking into buying a Miller 211 mig welder but i recently saw an ad for a Hobart handler 210 for $900.00,  $300.00 cheaper than the miller.  They both have similar specs.  Can anyone tell me what the better coice would be.
Reply:Ah Kelowna how is the valley these days. Been a few years since I was their flying Buffalos in Search and Rescue. Anyway I bought the 211 and love the machine. Looking at the specs the big difference that I see is that the 211 is dual voltage and the Hobart isn't. The 211 has autoset for the .30 and .35 wire which makes setup a little easier and the 211 has variable voltage selections as opposed to the Hobart which has I believe 7 sets on the voltage. Enjoy whichever machine you choose.Harold MulderMiller 211 AutosetHTP 201 Invertig with water coolerHardinge Cataract Quick Change Lathe
Reply:Don't the farm/ranch store bought Hobart machines have Miller electronics in them? I'm pretty sure one of the counter guy's at a local distributor told me that once, something to do with there merger/buy out. If this were true I'd say the Hobart would be a good deal.
Reply:I believe the Hobard machines are based on the Miller machines, but use slightly cheaper parts in various areas, this is based on what I've seen on friends machines plus what I've read. For example comparing similar machines, the Hobart will use some plastic parts where Miller uses metal, or the Hobart uses the stepped dial for voltage while Miller uses the infinite variable. Overall both seem to be really good machines, while obviously being priced accordingly different. When I was deciding I went with the Miller because I planned on having it in the back of my truck from time to time, and I read in many places that the plastic gears and spool holders don't like being bounced around. This is not to say I heard of these specific problems about the Hobart though.Last edited by slagmatic; 02-05-2010 at 07:47 PM.