Is millermatic 250 the same as 251/252 or not?

Pretty much the same guts of the unit. However I believe the 250X is not the same and should be avoided (If I'm remembering correctly...).

Same current capability (250A @ 40% duty cycle, 200A @ 50% duty cycle) however there are differences that you may find significant.

#1: the MM250 does not come from the factory equipped with the capability to connect a spoolgun. You need a module, and those are no longer available from Miller but there are some still around on shelves. A few years ago when I got my MM250 I was able to find one (cost me $215.42 which I made back + more on my first aluminum job). The spoolgun for any of these would be the 30A, which is a fine quality pro gun.

#2: the MM250 has analog controls and the 251/252 are digital. For myself, I didn't care, but then I got my welder with an S-sized owner cylinder of C25 for $550 so it was a deal I couldn't pass up.

#3: the MM252 (don't know about the 251, you don't buy those now anyway) allows presettable preflow/postflow, burnback, spot and delay (stitch) timers. The MM250 has none of these.

Ernie's former school had a bunch of MM250Xs, which were the first digital

250A welders from Miller, and found that they were essentially lemons. They wound up trading them all back in and getting 251s. Ernie will tell you to avoid 250Xs like the plague. That being said, I have seen them in pro welding shops, so some of them must work OK.

Finally, let me say that I love my MM250. I have made a living with it for a few years now. It has never once let me down. I upgraded the M25 gun to a

15' version of the same gun, and if I got a chance I'd upgrade to a 400A Tregaskiss Toughgun as that gun is indestructible and can run 250A in spray mode all day (not that the machine can do it!).

Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington

I'd buy a used Millermatic 200 in good shape in a heartbeat. Damn fine machine, but surely hard to find now. Not sure now about these. Changing numbers and features every year. The 200 was made for quite a while, IIRC, finally going to reversible polarity, then to digital controls.

Help me out here. I'm having a brain fart, but it won't come out.

Steve

The Millermatic 35, 200, 250, 250X, 251, and 252 are all the same output range, with an every evolving feature set.

The 250X, as Grant mentioned, is a lemon, due to a hot spike when you first pull the trigger that tends to pop the wire back inside the tip where it usually sticks. Very frustrating on thin steel with small wires (0.030" or 0.035"). Not so bad with heavier wires.

The 251/252 are more advanced machines since they can work with a spool gun to become a push-pull system, for aluminum MIG.

Ernie, you said a while ago that 250x would work OK if you clip the wire back to the gun, every time you stop welding. Right?

That was the best solution we found at South Seattle. At DIT we have a Millermatic 300 from the same era as the 250X. It also has a bit of the hot spike problem. Not as bad as the 250X, but it does have it. As long as you clip the wire every time, it works fine.

@ Grant. Hey Gant I have a MM250 and can't get it to spray. Can you help me get set up to spray? I'm using Praxair Mig Mix Gold and .035 wire. Thanks

Grant hasn't been around for years & years, 10 years maybe. Bob