Hi All, I have been a diehard Miller customer for several years and have been right on the edge of buying a Multimatic 255 and Trailblazer 325 since seeing their release. When I first started welding, I did my research on welders, looked at forums and talked with some very experienced folks about brands and quality. I had known the major US brands were Miller and Lincoln but wanted to hear about other brands quality, reliability, features and so forth. In the end I settled on Miller and bought a Multimatic 200, a Spectrum 875 Extreme and a Ti9400 PAPR helmet and all the small accessories.
Bottom line, recent events have made me question the reliability of Miller equipment. I have had several warranty repairs done on all three pieces of equipment. My spectrum (MG244027P) needed a main board with only a few hours of use on the machine. I can’t say how much time was actually on it but seriously not much hence I say only a few hours. My Ti9400 needed a new glass as it was not turning off and killing batteries and I needed a new blower pack as it was giving me a Clogged filter warning when the airflow was at full force. In all three cases, Miller got the repair or replacement done. I called each time to make sure what I was experiencing was a legit warranty issue vs user error. The only drawback was each warranty claim cost me a week or two of working.
Recently I have really come to question Miller quality. My Multimatic 200 (MG264020N) starting having issues. It started giving me over-temp warnings and forcing me to stop welding and let the machine cool down. The machine was three years old at this point and I wasn’t doing anything different then in all the welding I had done before. I called Miller service to verify that it was a possible warranty issue and not user error and was told the specific error is probably a main board issue. So, I took it to the ONLY repair shop in Albuquerque, NM. It took two weeks to get it back, I looked at the old board and sure enough some of the conformal coating was gone and a solder contact was arcing. Upon starting my project again, the machine started giving me a bridge current error, I called Miller, they said take it back and that the repair shop probably didn’t connect something properly. I was down another two weeks. When I got it back, the shop said they replaced the Interface board. I took it home, tried to fire it up and immediately got another bridge current error. I called Miller and took it back to the shop the following Monday. I was down another three weeks. I called the shop to get status, they said they were going through a 50-page trouble shooting guide and on the phone with a Miller Engineer. I called Miller to conform what the shop was telling me…they had no record of the interface board being shipped out and told me that component was on back order. They also did not have a record of having an engineer talk to the repair tech. I had always been polite on the phone with Miller but at this point I was getting really frustrated. I believe the repair tech damaged my machine and lied to me and Miller. When I picked it up they said it needed another Main board. That’s apparently two main boards and two interface boards.
Prior to picking it up the THIRD time in TWO months I was entirely fed up. The unit was now well into lemon territory. I feel like my welder was damaged and I was lied to. I feel like I could not trust this welder and now that the warranty is up, what happens when that damage has other latent effects and my welder goes down again…I’m on the hook for repairs. So I talked to the service manager at Miller, explained my frustration and that between me and my dad we are planning to buy 4 to 5 welders in this fiscal year. I said that since I was looking at a Multimatic 255 I asked if she would credit the cost of my welder and I would pay to upgrade to a 255 and send my 200 to them. She said she would ask the product managers if that is possible and I have never heard back. I left a voice mail that was not returned. This really makes me question the reliability or Miller and their interest in their own reputation.
Now I understand that there is no requirement for Miller to stick by the reputation others have given them. There is only a legal requirement for them to honor their published warranty. But with all the trouble and as patient as I had been I had hoped Miller would consider that this unique situation as one that should be solved with a unique solution. They did not.
Now I’m left with a decision, I really like the miller look and features but will I be left up the creek without a paddle if I buy more miller product. I settled on Miller because people I know and trust said it is a reliable product line, it’s the Caterpillar of welders, “you’ll have it for 10 years” or “I have never had trouble with my Miller”. I paid a Miller price because I wanted that reliability. If I wanted Harbor Freight reliability, I would have paid a Harbor Freight price.
So, my question to the forum is where to go…can I trust Miller or should I go with Lincoln. Am I going to buy another Miller and just be disappointed again or have my experiences been unique?
I have posted this to Welding Web and Practical Machinist as well. Thanks for reading.
Bottom line, recent events have made me question the reliability of Miller equipment. I have had several warranty repairs done on all three pieces of equipment. My spectrum (MG244027P) needed a main board with only a few hours of use on the machine. I can’t say how much time was actually on it but seriously not much hence I say only a few hours. My Ti9400 needed a new glass as it was not turning off and killing batteries and I needed a new blower pack as it was giving me a Clogged filter warning when the airflow was at full force. In all three cases, Miller got the repair or replacement done. I called each time to make sure what I was experiencing was a legit warranty issue vs user error. The only drawback was each warranty claim cost me a week or two of working.
Recently I have really come to question Miller quality. My Multimatic 200 (MG264020N) starting having issues. It started giving me over-temp warnings and forcing me to stop welding and let the machine cool down. The machine was three years old at this point and I wasn’t doing anything different then in all the welding I had done before. I called Miller service to verify that it was a possible warranty issue and not user error and was told the specific error is probably a main board issue. So, I took it to the ONLY repair shop in Albuquerque, NM. It took two weeks to get it back, I looked at the old board and sure enough some of the conformal coating was gone and a solder contact was arcing. Upon starting my project again, the machine started giving me a bridge current error, I called Miller, they said take it back and that the repair shop probably didn’t connect something properly. I was down another two weeks. When I got it back, the shop said they replaced the Interface board. I took it home, tried to fire it up and immediately got another bridge current error. I called Miller and took it back to the shop the following Monday. I was down another three weeks. I called the shop to get status, they said they were going through a 50-page trouble shooting guide and on the phone with a Miller Engineer. I called Miller to conform what the shop was telling me…they had no record of the interface board being shipped out and told me that component was on back order. They also did not have a record of having an engineer talk to the repair tech. I had always been polite on the phone with Miller but at this point I was getting really frustrated. I believe the repair tech damaged my machine and lied to me and Miller. When I picked it up they said it needed another Main board. That’s apparently two main boards and two interface boards.
Prior to picking it up the THIRD time in TWO months I was entirely fed up. The unit was now well into lemon territory. I feel like my welder was damaged and I was lied to. I feel like I could not trust this welder and now that the warranty is up, what happens when that damage has other latent effects and my welder goes down again…I’m on the hook for repairs. So I talked to the service manager at Miller, explained my frustration and that between me and my dad we are planning to buy 4 to 5 welders in this fiscal year. I said that since I was looking at a Multimatic 255 I asked if she would credit the cost of my welder and I would pay to upgrade to a 255 and send my 200 to them. She said she would ask the product managers if that is possible and I have never heard back. I left a voice mail that was not returned. This really makes me question the reliability or Miller and their interest in their own reputation.
Now I understand that there is no requirement for Miller to stick by the reputation others have given them. There is only a legal requirement for them to honor their published warranty. But with all the trouble and as patient as I had been I had hoped Miller would consider that this unique situation as one that should be solved with a unique solution. They did not.
Now I’m left with a decision, I really like the miller look and features but will I be left up the creek without a paddle if I buy more miller product. I settled on Miller because people I know and trust said it is a reliable product line, it’s the Caterpillar of welders, “you’ll have it for 10 years” or “I have never had trouble with my Miller”. I paid a Miller price because I wanted that reliability. If I wanted Harbor Freight reliability, I would have paid a Harbor Freight price.
So, my question to the forum is where to go…can I trust Miller or should I go with Lincoln. Am I going to buy another Miller and just be disappointed again or have my experiences been unique?
I have posted this to Welding Web and Practical Machinist as well. Thanks for reading.