well guys it's time for a new welder , so i thought some guys on here would be able to help me pick , both machines are the same price miller $2088 esab $2037

 

Rob,

I can't say for sure on these particular models, however. ESAB welders, in my experience, beat the living snot out of anything that miller puts out there. Now, its been a while since I used a new miller product, but last time I did...

The ESAB unit was smoother, better arc control, remote could be fine tuned beyond belief, hugely powerful for its size, just a cadillac. Up until that time, I had thought that miller was about as good as it got..... was I ever wrong.

I have long lived by the words " If you plug it into a wall, buy miller, if its engine driven, buy lincoln. That said, the ESAB was light years ahead of either of those in the shop-bound units.


Good luck with the choices

 

My vote is for Miller, not because it is a better product, but because there is better support for it. Not that it would be a huge issue to you being where you are, but you can get parts for a miller from just about anywhere. I have even seen them at small auto parts stores. This comes in handy at 6pm on a Sunday when you fry a tip, and only need to do like 6" more welding.

The other nice thing about a Miller or a Lincoln is that major parts are normally on the shelf or a day away. One of the shops I worked at had an Esab plasma cutter, and the control board went on it. It took 3 weeks for a replacement, in the mean time the shop bought a hypertherm, as our local welding shop kept every part for them, and even if they were sold out of any part, they could have them in a day.

I have run everything from deca gasless fluxcore, to thermal arc plasma welding units. Unless you need a specific feature found only on a specific unit, any of the main brands "Miller, Lincoln, Esab, Thermal Arc, ect..." will be more then good enough. I always lean more towards the blue and red, as parts and service are easier to come by.

 

I work in a weld shop also. We own a collection of welders of several brands. The Esab is nice, but the parts availability is not the same compared to the Miller machine. A miller will not let you down.

 

if used the miller 252 quite a bit and the equivalent in lincon.

for a general due it all welder id take the 252 hands down.

 

I have a Millar 185 at home thats about 10 years old. Its been a very good unit, I've got tons of use out of it and never gave me a problem. Parts are easy to come by(local NAPA store) and it has some sort of smart circuitry in it that prevents burn back and short circuits. Great for someone just learning to mig

At work we have an older basic Millar 225 with aluminum that gives me nothing but fits and doesn't seem to have any more power than my newer 185. In fairness it doesn't get used much at all and I suspect the wire may have oxidized or rusted or something. Anyway my point is if someone based their experience on that older unit they would probably hate Millar.

See whats local to you for parts and then make your decision.