I was looking to purchase a Miller 304 for Mig, Flux, and Stick. I have found a ton of them used but also a ton of them being sold for parts. This has got me thinking. Do they break down that much. Or are there just that many of them out there that they are more of them to break down. I just wanted to get some oppinions on these machines. This may not be the machine I need at all so suggestions would be appreciated. I will only have single phase power though and want the max amps and duty cycle I can get out of that.
As a welding instructor at a community college, we are now running 8 XMT 304 machines, 4 XMT 350 and also 18 Lincoln Invertec V350 Pro machines (4 new ones arrived yesterday). The Miller's have 70 series feeders with 4 roll drive systems. The Lincoln machines use a LF 72 two roll drive system. In the school environment these machines all get used hard. Some of the 304 machines are 8 - 9 years old. We have had the Lincolns for about 3 1/2 years. All are easy to use, switch processes and teach with. We have had a lot of birdnest wire problems with the older Miller feeders. The new ones have an improved drive system that has stopped it. The only birdnest problem with the Lincoln feeder happened when the tension adjustment was to tight. My personal preference, the machine I grab to do a demo or a project, is the Lincoln. As another option, you may check out the new Lincoln Power Wave C300 or S350. We have had 2 of the C300 machines for 3 months and I like them, but not enough time to prove how good they are. Go to a dealer and see if they have some demo machines to try for yourself. Best of luck!