Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

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JTiers
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:55 am
Location: Missouri

Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by JTiers »

Been looking for a portable 1120V wire welder (yes I know..... never mind about that). Looking used, new ones seem made of platinum..... besides, I sorta prefer an older "heavy iron" type.... New Miller in this area is almost a grand..... (No I don't want that 120/230V $1500 Miller portable, however nice it might be)

I was specifically looking for Lincoln, anything just above the Home Depot "weldpak" etc, although I used a Weldpak 100 and it worked nicely.

So now, I have a line on a Miller 130XP at a good used price, only I read right here in old threads some pretty hard opinions that Miller was way behind Lincoln in this small welder area, and that the Millers in that time period (including the XP) were not nearly as nice to use.

Didn't get any actual reasons..... nothing such as "I didn't like "X" on the Miller and here's how the Lincoln was better". So I am left with the vague feeling that maybe the Miller will be a pain to use, but no actual information.

Then someone else said that one was the only acceptable Miller..... ????????

Anyone have specifics?
Scott
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Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by Scott »

It's fine, pretty decent little machine. Mine came with the Hobart/oxo gun on it. That was a really a nice gun, and I like way better then the Newer Tregaskis guns on some of the Miller machines. If I could find a deal, I would still buy a Lincoln 140c over that machine. Standard Tweco #2 back-end, and not the one off small Miller bonnet style. Feed rolls are much better designed, by having both rolls driven. Better wet out on 1/8 steel, and lighter in weight. The Miller at 73 pounds is sort of brick. Unless mint, and real cheap, I would pass.
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steamin10
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Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by steamin10 »

I have two diferent Lincolns one 120v the other 240 single. They are decent machines with some chinzy parts here and there. (stock trigger and gun). Otherwise pay max dollars for better parts, on bigger machines. They are not industrial grade, but will serve well on a heavy power cord, (my biggest complaint voltage drop, not the fault of the machine.)
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I have a Millermatic 135. No complaints. I use it for thin stuff, both steel & stainless steel, so I have 75/25 and tri-gas. I don't bother with the gas-less wire. Yuck.

Gun that came with it is fine. I've used it enough I had to replace the liner a few months ago. Again, no complaints....lotta wire been thru that thing. The gun on mine is a bit more heavy duty than the Lincolns and Hobarts I've messed with.

I haven't run the 130XP. I have run several different 120V inverters though....Lincoln, Hobart, and a 130 Miller that wasn't an XP, all seem to weld about the same.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
JTiers
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Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:55 am
Location: Missouri

Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by JTiers »

I passed on it.

Went to see it, and I didn't get it hot enough to weld a bead........ barely a spark, didn't seem as if the wire feed was right either, didn't have enough sticking out for as long as it went with no spark.

Since I made a good weld about 30 sec after turning on the Lincoln at work, also flux core, I doubt I was that messed up.... There's a chance, because it was like the second time I ever used a fixed shade helmet (didn't bring one, silly), and so what happened after I shut the hatch I don't know for sure.....

Used the settings marked under the wire feed cover, but it just didn't have the hots for me, I guess.

The seller also was selling two fixed shade helmets, a cart (converted from an office machine base) and a small tank of gas, but no regulator..... all going with the welder. He didn't want to knock some off and keep his nasty helmets, the gas I won't be using, and the cheezy cart.

He wanted $350 for the lot....

All in all, a waste of time.

Thanks for the info, though. if you-all had said it was THE cool tool, I might have taken a chance on it being something easy, like a corroded tip or contact.... or looked more at it then and there.
Scott
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Location: Portland,OR

Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by Scott »

JT,
ever think about getting a small (inverter stick welder) Pretty good bargains if you look around. Since you are only using self-shielded flux-core, stick is not all that different. Just more versatile overall. You can pick up SS-309/312 rod in 3/32. and lay down pretty beads on all sorts of stuff. (Ebay is your friend for that kind of stuff.) Don't get me wrong I like a good little Wire-feed, but there are some great machines out used. I just picked up a new in box old style Japan Thermal Arc Pee-Wee 85s for $148.00 off of Ebay. I had the Dragster 85, and the 95s model of this machine. This is the original and is way smaller then current version. Quietest welding machine I have never heard. :mrgreen: The quality on this is super, and it's got really high Open circuit Voltage. It weighs a bit over 7lbs, and is just tiny overall. These things were big bucks when they first came out. Looks like a toy, but build quality says otherwise.
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JTiers
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:55 am
Location: Missouri

Re: Any new opinions or reasons for not liking Miller 130XP?

Post by JTiers »

Yes, I have thought about that, but mig is going to work out best for me for now. I can do mig, stick, and tig.... mostly tig at the moment due to us having a tig at work (as well as the little Lincoln FCAW).

For me, stick is a bit cruder than mig..... and I will have smaller stuff to do, down into the heavy sheet metal range, and likely no bigger than 4.5mm or so thick. Some folks can do that stick, I am not one of them at the moment.

Ebay is not my friend..... I have nothing to do with ebay, never have, not likely to start now that they have all sorts of crazy stuff going on.
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