I have decided I need a welder, MIG type. I need to do a lot of welding in the field with no power available. I also want to use the welder at home in the workshop for whatever. I already have a generator, 115/230V, 3.5 Kw, which I hope to use to power the welder in the field. I am strongly considering the Miller Passport. I was told since this is an inverter type with auto input voltage sensing it will automatically compensate (reduce output voltage) if the small generator was to bog down, or have a low voltage. Does anyone have any experience with this model? is this a good choice? is there a better choice for what I want to do?

 

Before you BUY a Passport, you may want to either rent one or get a nearby dealer to let you try it out with some sample welds and your generator.

Consider that the list price for the Passport is significantly above the Millermatic 175 that offers similar performance. You would be using either one on 230 VAC power. Quite a premium for a small package. You will likely use fluxcore wire in an outdoor setting to avoid losing the gas shield in the wind.

 

Hi, and thanks for responding to my post (IBM 5081).

Well, today was a very exciting day! I decided to go with the Miller Passport, bought it on line, and this morning , finally, all the pieces came togeter, and I was able to try it out. Truly an exceptional machine. I used it both from an AC source and my portable 3.5 Kw generator. It produced the same fantastic welds from either source! I was welding outside, using the internal CO2 tank and 0.035 solid wire. Im told that the quality of the welds will be better using mixed gas, but I must say they looked fine using the CO2. (I got a 20ft3 mix tank too, and will probably try it tommorow.) I cant believe how easy it is to weld with this unit! (I also bought an auto darkening helmet which im sure is making it easier too) The only bad thing is that I ran out of scrap to practice on, tomorrow I may break some things so I can repair them with the welder! By Sunday, I think ill have enuf cofidence to tackle the hydraulic tank and loader bucket repair (from my other post).

Toolboy

 

I ran a MM175 for years on 100% CO2. When I finally switched to C16, it wasn't much different, the CO2 was never really a problem anyway. But the Argon mix allowed me to weld thinner material more easily for sure.

Also, the Miller Passport is specially tuned to work exceptionally well with 100% CO2 for mild steel.