1 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
2 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
Weld like a Pro - Miller 200
The ability to handle a 10 lb spool of welding wire saves time.
3 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
Weld like a Pro - Miller 200
Standardized plugins for everything from Spool Gun controls and power to TIG torch foot petals are all in an easy to access panel.
4 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
Weld like a Pro - Miller 200
If your shop is laid out like ours, we unplug a 30-amp, 240Volt construction heater to plug our welder in. Miller, unfortunately, only makes the Multi Voltage Plugs (MVP) in a NEMA 50-amp configuration for 240v so we need a conversion plug we picked up form our local welding hangout. 15 and 20-amp plug ends are available for 120v applications.
5 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
Weld like a Pro - Miller 200
The TIG torch is standard affair and electrodes are easily sourced as well as tungsten holders. We picked up a cable protector for our torch cable for added protection while being dragged across the shop floor. If you can pat your head and rub you belly while reciting the alphabet, you too can TIG weld! “A, B, C, D, E…”
6 of 6
Bryan Irons photos
Weld like a Pro - Miller 200
The included spring loaded rod holder for the Stick welding process is not our favourite, call it personal preference but we prefer a Bernard screw style that clamps the rod more securely for our tomfoolery.
Story & photos by Bryan Irons
Miller 200 has big power and capability in a compact package
Our go to, and often bragged about shop welder for the last half dozen years has been our trusty Miller 211 MVP welder. We liked it so much you may have read about it in Garage Gear a few years back. We bragged about the Miller company and its well-earned reputation, we glowed over the 211’s features and ease of use and even showed off a few accessories we scored like a spool gun and other widgets. Spoiler Alert; plan on more of the same with regards to the Multimatic 200.
We always seem to have a big-ticket item in our heads for Garage Gear, but true to form; if we bring more stuff into the shop, something has to go in order to make room. Jonesing for a TIG welder to play with and hone our welding skills was at the forefront of our “want” list. After attending the 2014 SEMA show and seeing the then new Miller Multimatic 200, a plan came to fruition. The Multimatic 200 combines a wire feed MIG welder, a lift arc DC TIG welder and a stick welder all with 120V or 240V compatibility in one package. As sad as it made us, the trusty 211 we had for so many projects had to go to a new home to save space. After all “he who dies with the most toys”, is still dead.
After getting our new “toy” home under the dark of night (to keep nosey neighbours from tossing more rusty projects our way) we tore open the packaging to find the welder looked like a case used for transporting precious gems as well as a blow molded box for packing all the cords, torches and accessories. PN 951649 gets you the Multimatic 200, which comes set up for MIG and stick welding, as well as Millers TIG kit that includes another gas regulator, foot control, TIG torch, various tungsten’s and gas cups. Short of filler wire and skill, the kit is complete.
Miller totes the new 200 to be an “anywhere” machine for commercial and industrial use as well as in the home shop. Although at just 13.2 kg this is possible, we just can’t picture walking onto a job site with 2 black plastic cases emulating a scene from “Desperado” with machine guns hidden inside guitar cases. 99.95% of the time, we see the units sitting on a welding cart in the shop… but it’s a novel idea. The 0.05% of the time we use the unit out of the shop, the durable case will come in handy as we go to repair another of Editor Stanley’s piles.
Changeover between the multiple processes is surprisingly quick and easy. Our getup is stationed on a simple cart with two bottles of welding gas. A bottle of 75% Argon - 25% CO2 is used for the MIG process and 100% Argon for TIG welding. Miller has two separate gas connections on the back of the machine so you never have to purge lines or swap bottles to change processes; it’s all done internally with two separate and included regulators. Other gas choices can be made, but for the home hobbyist, these are the most widely used. Cable connections on the front panel are simple push and twist style and for MIG/TIG welding, have the gas lines built in to the connection. Foot petal outlet and other accessories such as spool guns or MIG control triggers are all done with military spec connectors. As of late, we spend more time walking to the beer fridge then we do changing processes.
For the new/lazy, Millers advanced Autoset feature has gone a step beyond the one in our old 211. The front display panel includes diagrams and full sentences describing exactly how to change processes selected on the main dial. Once welding, what we really like in the new Autoset is the ability to tweak the pre-set parameters for our exact application without having to take the machine out of Autoset mode. With the old system, you had to put the machine into full manual mode to adjust any one parameter. Now, lets say you notice that your wire speed is good but you need a little more power; you can adjust them independently without starting from scratch in manual mode. The exact numbers for wire speed, voltage or current (depending on the process) are displayed so that you can use the settings in Autoset mode or regular operating mode. And the Autoset works for all three processes, making the rough setup much easier and faster.
Short of a slightly larger, but better feeling Bernard MIG gun, once set up, it was hard to tell the difference between the Miller 211 and the new Multimatic 200. Miller’s smooth DC arc and constant power output still allows us to roll out top notch jobs from our humble shop. And like the 211, a 10 lb spool of wire easily fits inside the machine and a single drive wheel can be used for multiple size wires up to .035-in. The all-metal components and tensioning setup just re-enforce Miller’s reliable reputation. Bernard gun parts are easy to find and reasonably priced.
While stick welding, it was easy to strike an arc and the smooth inverter based output made keeping the arc a cinch. If you do manage to ground out the electrode, the 200 will automatically cut power until the short is gone and then reapply power. The rod holder itself is of the simple clamp design (we prefer a screw together unit) and gets the job done. When using the unit with only 120 volts, we were tripping breakers all the time while stitching 3/16 plate no matter what rod we used. If you really want to stick weld with the 200, use a 20-amp breaker or keep the job small. But really, this applies to any stick welder suffering with 110 volts.
Just so we’re clear… Editor Irons is as proficient at TIG welding as he is heart surgery … but you have to start somewhere. This was the main reason for purchasing the Multimatic 200 in that even if we kill a patient and give up the practice, we can still MIG or stick weld our way into the woods. Getting used to controlling the foot petal, filler rod and torch at the same time is not an easy task. We started by scoping out a few videos at www.millerwelds.com and chatting with a few of our welding buddies. Unlike “High Frequency Start” TIG rigs where you do not need to touch the base metal at all, our “Lift Arc” design involves shorting the tungsten out to our work piece, then using the foot petal to begin the process. It works, but does introduce the possibility of contaminating the tungsten and having to regrind it. Needless to say, we got really good at grinding tungsten’s and developing new words with only four letters.
The decision to start melting metal at home is an easy one, and if you’re at all confused about the answer; DO IT!!!! The “What welder do I buy?” query is much more difficult to answer. Ultimately we chose the Multimatic 200 because we need a unit that can run off of 110V if need be, MIG weld with the best of them using either flux core or solid wire, be compact enough to hide in our shop, and have easy to find consumables. The Miller 211 did the job dutifully for years, but we wanted to try our hand at TIG welding without adding another piece of equipment in our wrenching space. This is where the pickings became VERY slim and the Multimatic 200 shone like no other.
Welding Demonstration by Rick “Too Tall” Brown