Welding Tips and Tricks

Have had my eye on the little portable Miller Maxstar 161, have heard nothing but great things about the Maxstar series going back years. I always wanted a little stick welder like this one, that I can just grab to do some small mobile job somewhere. I especially like it as it comes in a combination setup to do everything, stick, MIG, and DC TIG. But just as I was sold on picking one up, I'm reading too many bad reviews about the high frequency portion of the boards in them that go bad... either immediately right out of the box, or repetitively even after getting repaired. I've always liked Miller products, so it was surprising (or not surprising?) to hear they are having some QC issues, which is the number one problem with anything built in China, or any parts built in China. Some are good, and some are garbage. I don't mind spending the few dollars I have on something decent, but if it's gonna give me issues, I'd rather avoid them.

Anyway, has anyone had any good or bad experiences with the Maxstar? Or would anyone suggest something from another manufacturer that is fairly identical to the Maxstar? Thanks!

I’ve used and burnt up 3 max star 150’s the predecessor to the 161. But to be fair they all got used hard, for work, often times on long extension cords. The company I work for got there money out of each one. I had a brand new 210 that went about 5 hrs of arc time before it needed a board. Sent it in 3 times before it was good to go.