These 140s, 120V MIG welders are the sweethearts of many professional and amateur welders alike. They are affordable, they offer a certain ease of use which is ideal even if you are not an experienced or particularly skilled welder, and on top of that, they are quite efficient, so you never worry about the quality of the work.
The similarities between the two go even beyond that as they are both portable, flexible, and can handle flux core welding as well as MIG welding. Therefore, if you are new in the market, it’s quite understandable that you feel at a bit of a loss as to which one is the better welder for you. That’s why I am going to compare them in detail and lay out their similarities and differences, so you can decide which one is better suited for your purposes.
Miller Millermatic 140 MIG Welder Overview
Let me make a note before going into detail: Millermatic 140 is no longer in stock and Miller no longer manufactures it. Instead, it’s been replaced by the Millermatic 141 MIG Welder, which is basically just an upgrade on the model’s name. The key features of the 140 remain more or less the same on the 141.
These highly similar models manufactured by Miller have been the popular choice of welders since the day they hit the market, and I can say that their praise is quite justified: the welding machines are compact and lightweight, portable, and easy to use for both industrial and domestic purposes.
Tech Specs
- Weight: 51 lbs.
- Height: 12,5 inches
- Width: 11,25 inches
- Length: 20,5 inches
- Input voltage: 120V
- Output range: 30 – 140A
- Rated output: 90A @ 18.5VDC
- Duty cycle: 20%, 60 HZ
- Welded material: Mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum
- Material thickness: 24 ga. to 3/16 In.
- Welding processes: Flux core and MIG
- Wire feed speed: 15 – 360 ipm.
Key Features
If you are an inexperienced welder who is looking for a device that can be used at home, you need a welder that’s easy to maintain. By that, I mean a spatter-free welding experience that is not going to give you cleaning headaches afterwards and will minimize possible injuries during work. Millermatic’s Smooth-Start technology provides just that.
Its auto-set feature gets rid of the need for guesswork. Thanks to that, your device automatically sets itself to the required parameters for welding. You just need to put in the wire diameter and the material thickness.
Millermatic has even more user-friendly components such as the Quick Select Drive Roll. It offers two grooves for different-sized solid wire and one for flux-cored wire.
Power
Both Millermatic MIG 140 and 141 offer flexible voltage settings, but even their initial power at 120V makes them compatible with residential power sources, so either is ideal for domestic use.
Overworking the device is no problem either, since it has Thermal Overload Protection that automatically shuts down the machine if the airflow is blocked or the duty cycle is breached.
It has an amperage range of 30-140 amp, and it can go up to 90A in two minutes of welding time. However, whereas the duty cycle is twenty percent at 90A, at 40A, it stands at a hundred percent. Moreover, it cools off in under eight minutes, so you needn’t wait long to pack it up.
Ease of Use
Millermatic should already have struck you as one of the most easy-to-use welders in the market.
The auto-set control feature allows for a quick setup and speeds up the welding process to a great extent, and the Thermal Overload Protection provides automatic voltage control. Even if you are an amateur welder, you’ll have no trouble getting to work with the Millermatic 140 or 141.
Pros:
- At 51 lbs, it’s compact, lightweight, and portable;
- It can weld aluminum and steel;
- Spatter-free, Smooth-Start technology;
- Ideal voltage level for residential use;
- Easy to set up and use due to the versatile features.
Cons:
- A little more expensive than welders with similar features;
- Not ideal for industrial use.
Lincoln Electric Power MIG 140C Welder Overview
Lincoln Electric is already a prominent figure in the welding circles whether it be due to their top-tier welding gloves or to their 140 welder which is no less popular than the Millermatic 140 I am comparing it with.
The main features of Lincoln 140 MIG Welder are also very similar to the Millermatic 140 and 141 models: it’s easy-to-use, portable, and quite efficient. You can use it for both home repairs and professional jobs such as sheet metal auto bodywork or small shop welding.
However, there are some components that distinguish it from its Miller alternatives. Now, let’s see what they are in a little bit more detail.
Tech Specs
- Weight: 58 lbs.
- Height: 14 inches
- Width: 10,15 inches
- Length: 18,6 inches
- Input voltage: 120V
- Output range: 30 – 140A
- Rated output: 90A @ 19.5VDC
- Duty cycle: 20%, 60 HZ
- Welded material: Mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum
- Material thickness: 24 ga. to 1/4 In.
- Welding processes: Flux core and MIG
- Wire feed speed: 50 – 500 ipm.
Key Features
The Diamond Core Technology of the Lincoln 140 is similar to the Smooth-Start technology of the Millermatic models. It helps reduce spatter and therefore eases clean-up. Moreover, it determines a voltage sweet spot for any wire speed while welding steel or aluminum.
In addition, it features a dual gear drive system and patented split wire – their combination ensures positive traction and utmost conductivity.
The company also brags for having the toughest board protection design in the market. Thanks to that design, sensitive material and components inside the welder are protected from potential external damages. This feature alone makes the Lincoln 140C an industrial-grade welder.
Power
Not much different than the Millermatic models, the Lincoln 140C also works smoothly on 120V. Therefore, if you have residential use in mind, you don’t need to buy extra gear or make adjustments to the power source at your home to be able to use it.
When the welder is overheated or the airflow is blocked, it may turn itself off. Users can turn it off as well whenever they feel something unwarranted is going on.
Similar to the Millermatic models once again, it can weld aluminum, mild steel, and stainless steel with great efficiency running on an output range between 30-140A.
Ease of Use
Unlike the auto-set controls of the Millermatic models, you should choose if you want to do flux core or MIG welding while working with the Lincoln 140. However, it doesn’t lack much in the user-friendly category, either.
For example, thanks to its Spool Gun Ready feature, you just need to remove the MIG gun and plug in a spool gun for enhanced aluminum welding performance.
Moreover, it has a minimalist board design, so even if you don’t have much technical knowledge about the welding process, you can easily figure it out and use the welder with relative peace of mind.
Yes, it’s a bit heavier than the Millermatic, and therefore harder to carry around, but still it’s quite lightweight when compared to other similar-class welders on the market. Its unique board protection design and aluminum components make it extremely durable as well.
Pros:
- Easy control options for the user;
- Extremely durable due to unique board protection design;
- Best welder in the market for flux core and MIG;
- Portable.
Cons:
- Heavier than the Millermatic models;
- It isn’t compatible with power generators.
Bonus Face-Off: Hobart 140 vs Lincoln 140C
Hobart Handler 140 is another popular welder preferred by those who are into flux core or MIG welding because it’s easy-to-use, efficient, and portable like the Lincoln 140. Moreover, both have straightforward control panels that make them further user-friendly.
However, there are a couple of aspects on which they differ, and to ease your decision-making, I’ll briefly delve into the key differences between the two.
For example, while the Lincoln model has a 50-500 ipm wire speed, the range is wider on the Hobart 140 as it allows an ipm between 40 and 700. Moreover, there are more voltage options on the Hobart Handler 140, which allows for fine-tuning your arc. Wire drive is also considerably easier with the Hobart model since it has more versatile grooves for both soft and flux core wire.
Both of these welders feature a shielding gas regulator. However, whereas the gas regulator of the Hobart Handler can only operate on Argon, the Lincoln 140C is able to work with pure carbon dioxide in addition to Argon and Argon blends.
In short, it is possible to conclude that when it comes to versatility in terms of wire settings, the Hobart Handler 140 has a slight advantage over the Lincoln 140. If you are looking for better operation, though, the Lincoln 140C is the welder to go for.
Conclusion
By listing the tech specs, key features, and pros and cons of the Millermatic 140 and Lincoln 140C, I tried to lay out their similarities and differences.
If you are looking for a welder that is ideal for both industrial and residential use, they stand matchless on the market. However, there are some key aspects that they differ on.
The Lincoln 140C is 7 lbs heavier than the Millermatic 140. Therefore, it’s less portable. Moreover, its features such as auto-set control and Thermal Overload Protection give the Millermatic 140 a slight advantage over the Lincoln 140C in terms of ease of use.
That advantage is compensated by the Lincoln 140C with the Diamond Core Technology, unique board protection design, and a wider range of wire feed speed. Thanks to those features, the Lincoln 140C has an advantage over the Millermatic 140 in terms of versatility and durability.
Once you identify your priorities, you can make an educated purchase of these great welders based on the criteria I provided.