Pulled the trigger on welder.

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Well, after months of searching and many posts here on opinions I followed some sound advice given here and bought a Miller MillerMatic 250. Found it on Craigslist. I was looking at 2 the same day. Fellow wanted 900 for a MillerMatic 35. I almost bought it but told the other person I would come and look at her welder, a MillerMatic 250. No bottle but hose and reg are there.She had it advertised at 750. She ran a horse training farm here and the welder belonged to her ex. The welder was in an air conditioned room in a huge horse barn (mostly racing stock). I pulled it out and tested it. Not having welded for quite a few years I did get it to fire up once I figured out that I had to plug this little wire into the gun line.Woman said what will you give me for it. I figured I start low and said 500. Before I could complete my offer, she said I'll take it, that will by my a load of feed.Got it loaded up and home in the shop. I've got some clean up to do on it but overall it looks pretty good. I've got some questions about the unit, like what do I need to think about purchasing right away? It has a roll (not sure how old it is but at least 2 years) of .035 flux core that I've been playing with. I get a LOT of splatter, but that could just be me not knowing what I'm doing.Got some pictures here and maybe they will help with suggestions etc. Also, I understand that it can be used as a stick welder also. How would I go about setting it up for that as well. I really appreciate all the help I've gotten here.Pat Attached Images
Reply:Great find and great price ; keep us posted.
Reply:Good catch!Stick takes a CC power source,the 250 is CV.Keep an eye out for nice 15' Bernard Centerfire gun for it(I don't like Tweco guns).25' are good for 4 drive roll feeders and .045 wire but not 2 roll and .035
Reply:AWESOME ! My kinda deal !   You did good.
Reply:Nice machine and great price, you should have at least mucked out a couple of the stalls for her, LOL. for a couple hundred more you should have explored what else the Ex left behind."Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:You say you got flux core wire in there right now?Looks by the last pic like the machine is on DCEP, you'd need DCEN for flux core and DCEP for solid mig wire with gas. Flux core will run like poo if at all on electrode positive.Looks like you did well for the price, I don't see those around here for under $900 even beat up.edit:Thought I'd also mention in case you didn't already know. To change electrode polarity you switch the cables beside the wirefeed mechanism where the studs labeled + and - are. With the cable to the wirefeed mechanism bolted to the + you're on DCEP, of course.Last edited by hypothecary; 10-31-2012 at 12:47 AM.Miller Syncrowave 250 w/ PC-300 pulserLincoln AC/DC 225/125Clarke TurboWeld 150ENJackson Halo w/ gold lensHuntsman w/ blue lensDoing sanitary stainless tig
Reply:Nice buy! I have the same machine that I bought used over ten years ago. It has been a very good welder. Hopefully yours treats you as good. I have always run my welder with solid wire and gas. I work inside 95% of the time and like the cleaner weld. You will have to determine what works best for you. There are many threads on here that detail the positives and negatives of flux-core and solid wire. Do some reading and you should be able to figure out what will benefit you the most.Put your serial number in this link and it will give you more detailed info on your welder. You can also download an owners manual. Keep burning!.  http://www.millerwelds.com/service/ownersmanuals.php
Reply:Thanks for the replies guys.  hypothecary: I was looking at the owners manual that I d'l last night and thought that the electrode might be connected wrong. I've done some welding with it but can't seem to get it going right. It's been some time since I last struck an arc but thought, boy can I be this bad at it now!Headed over to the shop now and will report back later today. I did see something else, the gun tip appears to be burnt up pretty good(picture). What am I looking at here??? Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by trophymanThanks for the replies guys.  hypothecary: I was looking at the owners manual that I d'l last night and thought that the electrode might be connected wrong. I've done some welding with it but can't seem to get it going right. It's been some time since I last struck an arc but thought, boy can I be this bad at it now!Headed over to the shop now and will report back later today. I did see something else, the gun tip appears to be burnt up pretty good(picture). What am I looking at here???
Reply:hypothecary>>>>Thank You So Much! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the information and advice that I get from the folks on the board. Hypothecary noticed, in one of the pictures that I posted, that my leads were hooked up wrong for flux core welding. I've been trying to run a bead with this welder, and getting pretty discouraged, for a week. I post pictures and BINGO! Made the changes today and started burning up some wire So--do I take my gun to my LWS and have them give a new diffuser? I have a few tips that came with the welder but plan to get some more along with a few contact nozzles. Ran a few beads and welded up a hole for some practice. Attached Images
Reply:Looks like you need a Tweco 52 diffuser,some 32 insulators and a couple of 22-62-SS nozzles.
Reply:Plug the serial number of the machine into the owner's manual page on miller's web site.  Here's the link:http://www.millerwelds.com/service/ownersmanuals.phpDownload the owners manual and parts list.  Get the numbers of the parts you need to replace.  Look up the part number at an on-line weld supply house, some place like:  - Welding Supplies from Indiana Oxygen Company (WSIOC) http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.co...let/StoreFront        OR- BR welding supply:  http://www.brweldingsupplies.com or ebay or some other on-line welding supplyYou'll find you can get parts way cheaper on-line than at you LWS
Reply:Originally Posted by trophymanPulled the trigger on welder.
Reply:Great score.  I hope it will serve you well.