With a $200 rebate available on the Millermatic 211 right now, we want to know: Does this highly praised machine really deserve all the fan fair it gets? It’s been hailed as possibly the best-selling MIG machine of all time, but how does it hold up when put to the test?
Right out of the box, you’ll realize the Millermatic 211 has been completely designed around one principle: User-friendliness. In fact, it’s quite possibly the easiest machines you’ll ever use. Any quality-of-life feature you thought a welding machine could have, it does. Except a hand massager.
Miller's new plug system makes switching between standard 120 V and 240 V plugs incredibly easy.
The Millermatic 211 was one of the first machines to do Inverter Technology right. That means reliability with a much lighter machine. The 211 only weighs 38 lbs. making it incredibly portable. It also features a tool-less way to alter between 120 and 240 volt plugs.
Of course the Millermatic 211’s most prized feature is the advanced auto-set. A majority of perceived issues with welding machines can be attributed to improper settings. It’s difficult to know exactly what your parameters should be, especially when using a new machine. Often, this becomes incredibly frustrating for welders who mistake their incorrect settings for performance problems. Most welders experience this at some point, especially when using new types of material. The 211’s auto-set was designed specifically to counteract this issue.
With the 211, all you do is set the material type, gas type, wire diameter, material thickness and then start welding! Particularly for hobby welders and beginners, this will save years of frustration. Of course, there are plenty of welders out there who know exactly what they want. For them, the Millermatic 211 also features a manual mode which allows you all the flexibility you need to set your own parameters.
So how much of a punch does the Millermatic 211 pack? According to Miller, the 211 has the highest output of its class. The tricky part here is that its “class” could be anything from “small inverter machines” to “blue machines invented by a guy name Dillan.”
Looking at the spec sheet helps unravel the mystery. The Millermatic 211 shines the most with a 120 volt plug. At this level, it outputs a solid 115 A at 19.8 VDC. Compare that with the Lincoln Power MIG 210 (which currently has a massive $433 rebate promotion) that does 110 A. However, at the 230-240 V input level, the Power MIG jumps up to 220 A while the Millermatic 211 goes up to 150 A (at 21.5 VDC with a 40% duty cycle). All this means the Millermatic 211 still packs a significant amount of power, able to cut up to 3/8 inches in a single pass. But it outperforms the competition most when primarily working with standard 120 V plugs.
In many ways the Millermatic 211 deserves all the praise it has received. It has set an industry standard in user-friendliness that has yet to be topped. For new welders or hobby welders, it’s one of the smartest options available. The pricing might be a little more than some cheap discount hobby machines, but the amount of time, energy and frustration you’ll save with its easy-to-use features is well worth the extra dough. And for professional welders, the Millermatic 211 still has a lot to offer as one of the most reliable MIG machines around.
If you’re looking at the Millermatic 211, Miller is offering a special promotion with a $200 rebate for a limited time. AND when you buy from Welding Supplies from IOC, we’ll throw in a brand new Helmet. Click the button below to learn more!
