Finally going to pull the trigger on a new welder tomorrow. I've been saving my pennies and have it narrowed down to 2 units that are within $50 of each other. Both are 210 amp units that will do both 110v and 220v, and both are made in the USA and can weld 3/8ths in a single pass. The first is the Miller 211. It's commonly regarded as a great unit, and is generally recommended as one of the best high end home shop welders. The other is a Thermal Arc 211i which is an inverter based welder (the 211 is a transformer based welder). It's made by Thermal Dynamics, who owns Tweco, Victor etc. The reviews I've read say it's a great unit overall, but, well, it's not one of the big names in MIG welders. The flip side is that it'll do MIG, TIG and stick welding and has a number of features like burn back control, seperate amp and voltage controls, the ability to tune inductance, etc. I'm really torn-do I get the old reliable or the new cool? Any advice?

For those that are interested:

http://victortechnologies.com/Thermal%2 ... atures.php
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig ... del=M00245

Evolve or die ...

I'd buy the miller of the two, but the Hobart 210MVP I bought is basically the same machine and I love it, plus it is in stock at Murdoch's

I would buy the Miller but either way - just think of all of the extra time you will have since you are no longer researching, reading reviews, etc. :).

I ended up buying the Thermal Arc. Spent a bunch of time reading and talking to welding supply places. Most of the folks who've used both say that the MIG is at least as good, and that there have been few problems with reliability. It'll be a major bummer if my dice roll bites me in the butt after the warranty is up, but the ability to TIG was just too good to pass up. I've got visions of DIY stainless headers dancing in my head. Or a full stainless exhaust. Or...

Cory, I was going to buy that exact welder when Murdoch's had their Black Friday sale, but decided to wait until after Christmas and my birthday upgraded the welder fund. I've heard good things about it.

Ya a TIG option would be great, I wish I had a TIG, I miss TIG welding haven't done it in 6 years, never used thermal arc welders, but their plasma cutters are great, just for me getting the Hobart at a discount to $720 for a $899 normally priced welder I couldn't pass it up, and I couldn't be happier with the results, just finished building and installing my adjustable coil buckets, so glad it runs on 220 because I dont think 110 is hot enough to be doing what i did, and im not a fan of multiple pass welds, it causes some contamination in the weld, if possible, one pass is best, unless you're talking heavy heavy stuff where even 220 doesn't cut it, but thats like building bridges, heavy equipment, etc. Back to the Hobart, I couldn't be happier with the welds it is capable of, and the recommended settings are very close to what I prefer. Either way I'm sure the thermal arc machine will be great!