I've welded with 212's. They are fine machines from a very good company. You won't go wrong with it, if it suits your purpose.

 

Great welder I am very happy with mine. What are your goals? What metal do you plan to weld? I personally did not intend on purchasing a 212. I went in with my heart set on the 211 with the spool gun for aluminum. I bought mine at a trade show. The Miller Rep. was there and I talked to him in depth about my goals. The 211 was good until we started talking about welding aluminum. When I mentioned aluminum he asked what kind of aluminum I was going to be welding. I told him I didn't know exactly what alloy but I wanted to build some ramps for my trailer and eventually a full aluminum trailer. He informed the that the 211 was not the machine I needed. He said that the 211 would do aluminum but it could only do the 4000 series wire. He said when you start talking about structural stuff you need to use a 5000 series wire and the 211 didn't have the power to tackle it. So that is why I stepped up to the 212. If you have no intention on welding aluminum I would suggest the 211 for the portability and the dual power source capabilities (110 and 220). Just my $.02 though.
Luke

 

Thank you guys for your feedback.

I went ahead and got the 212 because of it's higher duty cycle and i will not need a welder that's portable because it will stay in the garage. I figured i would need something with a higher duty cycle because usually when i weld, i weld for a long periods of time with out stopping for a break. Later on i might end up buying the spool gun and doing some Aluminum work. And another benefit of getting the 212 is i will not have to build a cart for it. Plus i wasn't the one paying for it so why not get the more capable machine. Maybe ill post some pics of projects or just some welds that i make with it.
again thanks guys.

 

A bit late, but I bought a 212 recently with the gun and it's just been a peach. I've been welding on and off for 30 years now and this was my first use of a mig. (I can hear the eyeballs rolling as I speak). It makes me wonder why I never did it earlier.

 

Better late then never. I have done some mig welding i am pretty good at it, but i have never had a good one until now. I can't wait to get to use it. I have to wait till Christmas to use it, because it is a Christmas present :laugh: .

 

Oh the sweet agony.