help asap please

[singlesupra]

Picking up either a Lincoln 255 power Mig or a millermatic 185 tomorrow .
Lincoln was owned by a shop so has more use. Miller was owned by older gentleman (mid 70's) who passed away so has little use. Both units are about 5 yrs old. Lincoln has digital readout, miller doesn't. Miller comes with a full size bottle and wire. Lincoln does not. Lincoln is $150 more($1000 vs $850 for the miller)

Ill never be using over. 035 wire anyway so I don't have to have the extra amperage(or is jt normal to end up needing more)
Will either feed aluminum through the init itself or will I need a spoolgun(anyone tried with success)??
If I feedthe aluminum through the extra amps will come in handy u guess

Which would you choose and why? Both are around 3.5-4 hrs away so travel time is about the same.
Please advice quickly if possible as im picking one tomm. I have plenty experience with a miller Mig but none with Lincoln and themillers have always been top notch

Which will weld 22 gauge best as sometimes I will be making exhaust systems as well. Thanks guys and ill make a new post asap to introduce myself

[Sandy]

I'd have that power mig 255 in a flash as long as it physically good and operates. The 255 is an industrial unit. The MM 185 is a hobby machine.

[yorkiepap]

Hey singlesupra,
I would definitely opt for the Lincoln 255. Where I worked, I used the predecessor, Lincoln Wirematic255 for 11yrs, & it ran flawlessly & never a hiccup. More is better.....

Denny

[singlesupra]

Sounds like the power Mig will be getting picked up tomm. Just wasn't sure if the power mig costing me about $350-400($150 more expensive and no bottle) was worth it or not

Also will they use the same consumables? I can get the consumables at work for free for the miller lol

[Dan]

The MM 185 is a light industrial unit. I produces a nice arc. The 185 designation is deceiving because it is actually a 200 amp short arc unit. Its two weakness would be it only offers 6 voltage taps, and the wire drive is a single driven. With only 6 taps to choose from there are obvious holes in the amperage range the unit is designed to cover. The wire drive system can be some what tempermental to get tuned in properly

The power MIG 255 is going to offer significantly more power then the MM 185. The variable voltage control guarantees there are no holes in the output range covered. The dual driven drive roll set up makes the wire drive less tempermental to deal with.

Between the two, the 255 would be my first choice.

[singlesupra]

Can the power Mig run aluminum through it? I do a lot of aluminum work and have never tried a spool gun(I use my Tig for the aluminum)

[DSW]

I have the MM185 and it's a very nice machine. It's about roughly equal to Millers MM212 as opposed the the MM180. That said, I'd probably go with the Lincoln myself simply because it's a bigger machine. That from someone who's pretty much a Miller blue guy.

As far as consumables, the tips on the MM185 are not the same tips we use in the bigger Profax industrial guns on the S22 feeders hooked up to the XMT's. The M10 gun on the MM185 is the same gun used on the smaller MM140's and so on. I can't remember if they are the same tips you can get at Depot or not as I don't have the M10 gun hooked up on the MM185 any more. Mine currently has a bigger Tweeco gun on it, same as fits the S22 feeders at the tech school that came off my Super S32P feeder. Pretty much for the same reason you are thinking about doing it. I can get the tips and so on easily. Note the same tip would fit on a Tweeco gun set up to run on Lincolns as well. What guns they are using at work would determine what might or might not interchange. The Tweeco tips we use wouldn't fit the Bernard guns that come stock with the bigger Millers for example I believe.

As far as alum, you will want to use a spoolgun with the MM185 if you go that route. Depending on the age of the MM185, you may need the hookup kit. I did with mine when I added the 3035 spoolgun. The LWS got it free for me from Miller and it took all of about 5 minutes to hook it up. Basically all it was was a switch that turned off the main feeder when you plugged in the spoolgun and a T valve that shunted the gas to the spoolgun. To use the spoolgun if you kept it attached, you opened the cover, flipped the switch and turned the valve, the unplugged the control cable from the standard gun and plugged in the control cable from the spoolgun in it's place.

[DSW]

Originally Posted by singlesupra

Can the power Mig run aluminum through it? I do a lot of aluminum work and have never tried a spool gun(I use my Tig for the aluminum)

You pretty much need a spoolgun or push/pull feeder to have good luck with alum regardless of the machine, especially if it's got a longer gun. It's doable with a standard gun set up specifically for alum with a short gun and the right liners, but even then you need to keep the gun as straight as possible and feeding can still be erratic. Most don't have any luck even with the correct parts installed.

Alum mig vs tig is a different animal. You will not get that tig look. Also alum mig is best at say 1/8" and over. I bought my Syncrowave simply because I wasn't getting the control and results with alum that I wanted with the spoolgun on alum. Lots of what I do is small parts, where mig is too hot or where I need the better control I get with tig vs mig. Fixing the alum dump body on my buddies triaxle I'd grab my spoolgun hands down, or if I needed to weld up some 1/4" alum plate. Building an alum tool box out of 1/8" diamond plate it would be a toss up. I'd go faster with the mig on long joints, but I would get a nicer look to the box if I tigged it.

Take a look at Yorkiepaps stuff. Most of his production work where looks doesn't matter as much as speed, is all mig. All his high end nick nacks he builds are all tig welded simply because his clients demand that look, and he gets a premium price for those items.

[superwelder]

hey singlesupra, MKIII or MKIV?

[singlesupra]

Thanks a ton guys. Headed up tomorrow to pick up the Lincoln. And 99%I of the aluminum I do the Customer demands the "look" so it sounds like ill stick ti my tried and true Tig machine.

Superwelder, mkiv. I've owned several and built quite a few. Actually building a 95 at the moment. Drove it in as an na auto. Will be driving out shortly as a 1000hp singled 6 speed. Usually the exhaust I build I use stainless and Tig it, but really that's an overkill and adds serious unneeded weight so its being made out of aluminized steel and coated this time. I am figuring a 25-30# weight diff and a few hundred cheaper for the customer. That's the main reason im finally breaking down and getting a Mig, just hope it welds 16 gauge good.

Im proud to say that after this purchase my shops machines is finally complete. Have a nice trak Age mill, harrison lathe, 250 amp investor Tig, 80gal IR compressor and a few other smaller "machines" such as press, etc.. obviously a shop s tools is never complete however lol. Took me 18a yrs but its finally done(until I can afford to buy a lathe that can hold atleast a 6' work piece lol)

Anyway, thanks again guys. Really helped alot

[superwelder]

nice. are you on supraforums? where are you located?

i just bought my first welder so i'm going to be building a exhaust soon. GL with your project.

[singlesupra]

Yea man. Im slither in there. I spend most of my time on there helping anyone who needs iy

[superwelder]

cool man i see you post all the time. i haven't been on too much lately but im a long time member, supralover93

[singlesupra]

Nice to meet ya bud

[singlesupra]

Picked up the Lincoln today. Thanks a ton guys! Main reason was due to having finer adjustments. Didn't realize the miller had "settings" which I am not a fan of at all.
Thanks again guys/gals!!!