The holidays hopefully mean a little bit of extra cash for you… or a lot of extra fruit cake. Investing in your welding equipment is one of the smartest things you can do when heading into a new year, regardless if you're a hobbyist or a seasoned professional.
Here’s a list of the best equipment to put your extra Christmas money towards, with some great prices on new products and promotions.
New Machines & Equipment
Power MIG 215 MPi
A sequel to Miller’s famous Power MIG 210 MP, the 215 MPi is more than just an upgrade in power. Here’s a direct quote from a recent purchaser:
“I had the Power MIG 210 for three years, it was a very good machine. I recently switched to the Power MIG 215 MPi, and it was the best decision. Far more user friendly than the 210. From out of the box, I had never quite got the 210 to work 100% the way I wanted. With the 215 MPi, I basically plugged it in, and it only required very minute adjustments.” - J. A.Vazquez
If you’ve been thinking about a new Power MIG 210 MP, make sure to also give the 215 MPi a look. Both machines are actually the same price, so you’re getting an upgrade at no extra cost.
Multimatic 235 and Millermatic 355
Miller’s two most-recent releases build upon the user-friendly capabilities they’ve been pioneering for the last couple decades. The new Millermatic 355 was released just this year and is designed around being a highly versatile industrial unit. It’s your jack-of-all-trades machine, capable of doing steel, stainless and even aluminum. Check out all the details of the 355 here. Just be aware, this is an industrial welder.
In the consumer products category, Miller’s Multimatic 235 is a great addition to their Multimatic series. It takes everything that welders love about the 215 multi-process machine, and injects it with more power and a higher duty cycle. If you’re looking for an incredibly user-friendly multiprocessor with a little more umph, we’d strongly recommend looking at the Multimatic 235.
Optrel Helix
Just before the holidays, Optrel released their revolutionary new helmet, the Helix. It’s been getting a lot of coverage for its flashiest feature: “the flip.” Instead of requiring a welder to flip up their entire hood, the auto-darkening lens can be flipped up independently from the rest of the helmet.
However, the part that has us most excited about the Helix is actually its ShadeTronic Technology. With almost all other auto-darkening helmets, you have to set your shade number manually. Those helmets will automatically darken their lenses when you start to weld, but you have to manually choose how dark you want them to go.
The Helix is able to adjust the shade number for you! If you crank up or down the power you’re using to weld, you don’t have to worry about altering your shade number to match. The Helix can even change the shade number while you weld.
Check out all the details for the Helix yourself here.
Back-In-Stock
For the past several years, engine-driven welders have been almost impossible to get your hands on. While it seems like the supply chain has eased for some components, the supply of actual engines was incredibly slow to return. You simply couldn’t find a welder/generator in stock anywhere.
At least for now though, many welder/generators are back in stock and ready to be shipped—or have much shorter lead times. It’s a great reason to check out Miller’s new remote technology that lets you adjust your machine from a distance. It’s a massive time-saver, especially if you tend to work at different elevation levels than your engine-driven welding machine. You can check out our in-depth article here on Miller’s remote technology, or see their full line of welder/generators here.
For Lincoln fans, IOC has an exclusive promotion that’s offering a FREE black 3350 Viking welding helmet with purchase of any Lincoln generator (while supplies last). Just add a Lincoln generator to your cart and enter coupon code FREE3350 at checkout. We'll add the hood to your order for free!
While many of our welder/generators are in stock or have very short lead times, we’d strongly recommend you don’t wait if you need one. Experts say the demand for generators of any type could easily spike again as we head into the coldest times of winter.
That’s just scratching the surface when it comes to worthy pursuits for your extra Christmas money. Check out welding supplies from IOC for the best prices on top products from the brands you trust.
