A guy I work with has one for sale for $350. It needs a regulator/flowmeter which I have for CO2 but would have to buy another for C25 so figure $400 or so all up. No bottle either but I have four. It still has it's original gun which uses odd tips but the local Miller store still sells them. I was going to pull the trigger on a new Thermal Arc Fabricator 190 or 210 but at $855 and $1250 delivered the Miller looks pretty nice. I've heard good things about the old 35 so I'm just wondering if they are as good as people say or if it's just nostalgia kicking in. I like the idea that it's dead simple with few parts to fail. I would be doing the usual type fab stuff where most of my welding would be on 1/4" mild steel or lighter. I'll tig any Al so the fact that it's not spool ready doesn't bother me at all. And, I've read a few googled posts that say the 35 is really good on sheet metal which would be a plus.
TIA, John......

If it works buy it!

Buy it NOW!!!!

I have to agree with ^^^. I looked up the manual because I had never heard of it, last year it was made was 1991, but it looks like a very nice machine, especially for that kind of money. Maximum current was 200A, and it has a 60% duty cycle @ 150A. If it came has the optional spot/stitch timer it will be even nicer. Even my newer MM251 doesn't have those add ons. I am sure you can get a tweeco gun for it for a better gun and cheaper, easier to find consumables.

I don't think you need a different regulator for C25. If you have an actual flow meter, then yes, the orfice is different, but a regulator like most mig welders have will work with CO2 or C25.

Later,
Jason

I live in the KC area also, if you don't buy it let me know where it is so I can go get it. I grew up welding with one, it is a great machine for that money.

Scott

I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. I want to get a second flowmeter so I can run two tanks and only use C25 when i really think it's called for.
Thanks

I use one as my primary welder. It is a great machine. I picked mine up about 11 yrs ago for $100 and all I had to do was buy a new drive roller and a plug for the ground lead. The only other thing I had to replace eventually on mine has been the contactors. I am also running the original gun on mine and it works OK. I do keep my eyes open for a good deal on a tweco gun that would work though.

I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. I want to get a second flowmeter so I can run two tanks and only use C25 when i really think it's called for.
Thanks

it's always called for, less spatter JUST SAY NO TO CO2:D

& you don't need a flow meter, the CO2 type work fine, been using them for 10 years.......they come with all the wire welder anyway, flow meter is really only needed for argon

I'm not real familiar with the mm35, but a sidekick was my first 110v mig about 89 or 90. miller was the first mfr. to modify the wave form in thier machine to allow a nice weld using straight co2 gas. granted c25 is nicer, but co2 make a very acceptable weld with the machines designed for it.
i now have a thermal dynamics machine that has seperate plugs for the gun for using co2 and c25.
as for the co2 regulator/ flowmeter, they will work with all of the inert gasses, same bottle fitting. the main difference is the calibration is different with the different gasses, i have one flowmeter with a square flowmeter tube that has the scales for 4 different gasses, co2, c25, helium, argon . i also have one that is a regulator w/o flowmeter,(i use it when hauling the 110v mig around in the truck, so i don't break flowmeters) you just get used to what pressure you need for the certain gas you are using.
the scale is really irrelevant, you still need to adjust for the conditions, the scale just makes it easier to select a starting point, or reset to a previous setting after using it with a different gas. IMO.
Doug

I've been welding with it for a couple of weeks now and I'm very happy with it except that the speed control won't allow for "zero" wire speed. Kind of odd but other than that I'm stoked. I've already lengthened the tank table so two tanks will fit and I'll wire up a purge button next. My machine doesn't have the stitch feature but for the life of me I can't understand why my trigger finger isn't as least as smart as some stitch control anyway.

I can't figure out why you would want a "zero" wire feed speed. do you like burning up tips? if it bothers you that bad, i would be happy to come and get it from you and pay you what you paid for it :)
i have a machine with a spot and stitch feature on it, i have only used it to play with it. i didn't really like it. it would probably be easier to use with an autodark hood, because with a regular hood, when it stops you can't see to move to the next location.
Doug

Zero wire speed is nice to have for purging. My Miller Challenger 172 doesn't have zero speed or a purge selection on the wire speed knob. To purge the gun, I have to open the door on the side and disengage the drive roller. Kind of a PITA, but it not that bad.

personally i wouldn't open the side or mess with the setting to save 6 or 8 inches of wire when purging. i just pull the trigger then burn it off. the time, wear and tear on the pot, etc. isn't worth it. if you are really that serious about your purging, wire a momentary contact pushbutton to the gas solenoid and use it to activate the gas only to purge. one of my machines came with a "purge" button, but it's not something i consciously do, i just pull the trigger then burn it off, kind of automatically without thinking about it.
Doug

I recently picked up an old MM200. It needed a little work to be serviceable, but overall I'm happy with it. The only newer Miller mig that can keep up with an old 200 is the 251/252, the 210 doesn't compare. The 200 is rated for 1/2" single pass and it's capable of spray transfer, so it's definitely not "light duty". I think a 35 can handle spray transfer too (with the right gas mix). I wasn't sure about getting a machine with Voltage taps at first, but it's grown on me since I got it because it has a really smooth arc. The 35 is even simpler than the 200 and supposedly they are comparable machines power-wise (I'm going by hearsay on that, I haven't welded with a 35). If there's nothing wrong with it, I'd say $350 isn't a bad deal at all for what the machine's capable of.

The only real problem with the older Millers is that if you ever want to add a spoolgun, it might require some "engineering" to make one work. My 200 is spoolgun compatible, but it has the 4 pin connector for the old "Spoolmatic 1" instead of the 14 pin amphenol that's pretty much standard now. I think the provisions to hook up a spoolgun were optional on 35's. If the 35 in question has no provisions at all for a spoolgun, that could be a bargaining point if you want to try haggling the seller's price down a little.(toggle switch and 4 pin receptacle are on the front panel for the 200, probably same for 35)

There isn't much to break on the old machines, but if it does take a crap -
Many of the parts for the old machines are listed as "obsolete" by Miller, but their Parts dept. can usually direct you to a source if anything does break. Example - the contacters are a common part still available from most welding supplies. *Supposedly* MM251 cooling fans are an easy retrofit to the older 200 class machines. Miller doesn't carry replacement parts for the wire feed gearmotor, but Bodine Electric (Miller's supplier for most of the wire feed gearmotors) still carries replacement gears.

Here's Miller's S/N Chart (http://www.millerwelds.com/service/serialnumberreference.html) if you want to figure out what year it was made.