We have an older Miller 250 with Auto-Set. I have significant welding experience plus 3 years of schooling in it. The Auto-Set I thought was gimmicky at first too but after using it, it's got to be the greatest invention in welding. There is never any effing around and ruining 2 hours of fab work because the settings are out. The material thickness setting is bang-on every time.

I was looking at buying a Multimatic 215 but Lincoln released their SquareWave 200 TIG machine so I got into that instead. My first Lincoln and was very impressed with the machine. Was looking to add a MIG and was going to get the Lincoln 210 MP. About that time Miller released their Multiprocess 220. It does MIG and AC/DC TIG so I sold my SquareWave and just got this new Miller a month ago. I've only used the TIG so far and the Auto-Set is bang-on. I'm disappointed though in the quality on this Miller compared to the Lincoln. The foot pedal is bulky and cheap-feeling compared to Lincolns, the cup on the torch is off-center, the regulator has that open "T" handle on it so it gets spun out of adjustment if you even get near it and many of the connections have a cheap, flimsy feel to them. It's a $3000.00 machine so I expect perfection. The Lincoln has a low profile knob on the regulator with a positive feel to it, the foot pedal is smooth, and all the connections are solid with a high quality feel.

The Miller did sell itself to Me though because our 250 is such a good machine. This new 220 I bought because you can adjust the post-flow (cannot on the SquareWave) you don't have to change drive rolls for wire thickness (Miller has a clever set-up to do it) and the all-in-one package. Miller has Fan-on-Demand which means the fan only runs while you are welding. The SquareWave has the fan roaring in your ear as soon as you flip the machine on. This drove me absolutely crazy because I like it quiet when I'm working.

As far as duty cycle goes, all of these compact inverter machines are around 20% full bore. You won't be running it full tilt on anything if you are working in your garage. They are designed for most of us repairing a car hauler or putting on a quarter panel so you will be sitting more around the 60% 1/8th and under.

My take away? If Lincoln made a machine to compete with the Multiprocess 220 I would have bought it. Check out the Lincoln 210 MP before you buy the Miller. It's around the same price or you can upgrade and get it as a TIG package or as a Spoolgun package