Hobart Welder Quality?

I actually just had my new Hobart Handler 190 with SpoolRunner 100 gun arrive last weekend. looks like a real nice unit; i'm excited to get welding with it!

i did the shopping and reviews; Hobart seemed the best bang per buck for versatile mig uses. for reference, i also own a Miller Tig/Stick machine. i prefer the versatility of the mig, but still have the tig for detail and critical welding and the stick for real thick stuff.

i think you'll do fine.

I have the Hobart 180.(120.VAC) and wished I had bought the 187 (240 VAC). The 180 is a good machine, I just need a little more. By the way, you should not use pure Argon with mild steel, you should use the Argon/CO2 mix for proper fusion. Straight Argon is for Aluminum and stainless. Just my

Oh, back in the day, I used to work as a welder in between electrical jobs. As a production welder, we used straight CO2 on mild steel. It does splattered a bit, but you sure get good penetration. In fact, you will need to.turn the heat down a.notch.

Most of the time when they come out with a new Miller model, the old model becomes the Hobart. So what you're basically getting is the older model Miller. Nothing wrong with that and it can sometimes be an advantage.

I went for years trying different smaller 220v models of all brands. Never tried one that I thought worked well so I just kept using the old stick welder. Then one day a guy owed me some money, was broke, but had a nearly new Miller 251 mig. I took the 251 to settle the debt. I fired that thing up and never looked back. Welds great and seems easier to set up than the smaller machines. About the only time I fire up the stick anymore is when welding outside or don't feel like getting the metal "mig" clean. I do realize than this welder is out of the price range of most hobby welders though.

shovelheadmike said:

By the way, you should not use pure Argon with mild steel, you should use the Argon/CO2 mix for proper fusion. Straight Argon is for Aluminum and stainless. Just my

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yes sir I completely agree I just always referred shielding gas as argon although it is not always just argon.

I have run Lincoln and Miller... Hobart being Miller as well.

Remember the shielding gas rules and you will make your life a lot easier... Argon/CO2 for Steel... Pure Argon or Argon/Helium for aluminum. CO2 and Al do not mix.

Helium does great things for marginal welders by putting more "heat" into the arc.

derby said:

My point, don't spend a dime until you ask yourself truthfully what you would use it for and if an old stick machine will do the job.

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-thank you for that advise I was going to check into stick welding, but I was just going to go MIG because that is what I know. although I will do some research on them for a possible second unit (used) for heaver work.

EDIT: The MIG being for light work. (that is all I have right know so therefore the MIG)

By the way a big Thank you to all you gentlemen for your advise.

I have a metal fab shop myself. My company builds a/c cages but also anything metal.

I have in my shop, Lincoln, Miller, Esab, and a Hobart...BUT my favorite one and best one is actually one built by a bunch of EX miller and lincoln employees.
My ThermalArc 251 Industurial its a 220v wire feed MIG.
I can weld beer cans to 2" thick steel like its nothing. I want to weld aluminum, just slap in the spool gun and go.

Laugh all you want, the Thermal Arc has out passed all the others and my MIGs run 24 hours a day. I have 3 master welders who swear by them now too.

If you are looking for a inexpensive metal shear, Baliegh has a manual shear that will cut anything up to 3/4" thick and up to 4"x4" angle metals. They are only $600 but a lifesaver when cutting angle all day like we do.

It is alot less expensive then my Hyd Geka Bindacrop station that was 13 grand.

One thing that may not have been mentioned is parts and service. I'd advise buying something for which you can get the normal wear parts and consumables for locally (if there are any local sources). If at all possible, try one out before making a choice. Most medium sized and larger cities have welding shops that have rental units, lease returns, trade-ins etc. They will generally let you try out a few units in-house if you ask.

When I was thinking about buying a plasma cutter the folks at our local welding mega-mart (Haun Welding) offered to let me take one or more of the used/rental units back to the shop for a while to be sure I got what I wanted.

The are good used units around you all the time. Check Ebay, Craigslist the local papers etc and make everyone you know aware that you are in the market. Welders show up in unexpected places.

About 8 years ago was having a beer with some guys in the NCO Club and mentioned that I was looking for a gas or diesel engine driven welder. One of the guys piped up that he had a Lincoln Ranger 8 in great shape he'd sell for $1200-1300. They were selling for $2600 or so at the time. It was stored in a walk-out basement on a cart and although it was 8 years old it only had 12.5 hours on it. I got it for $1300 with the cart, leads, cover, rods, helmet etc. He'd gone to school for two years for welding and had joined the Army right after that. He had the sales receipt and he had paid $2600 for the welder and accessories 8 years prior. All it needed was a battery and the carb cleaned out.

I bought my MIG welder with cart, gas bottles, several spools of wire etc for a similar savings from a car restoration hobbyist who was down sizing for health reasons. I found him in the local classified ads.

Christmas week the #5 son bought a like new Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 for $230 on Craigslist. It came with cart, leads, four tubes of rods etc. The owner, a logger, had bought a large MIG unit and wasn't using it anymore. The bare welder retails around $600 with tax.

The #1 son, Psycobob on SS, got a Lincoln SA-200 pipeline welder for hauling it away as it hadn't run in years, wouldn't start and was in the way. He tore down and cleaned the entire fuel system and carb and it runs fine after about 3 hours of TLC. Other than fuel for the pick up and gaskets he hasn't got a penny in it.

The point of all this is that there are a lot of solid used units out there for a lot less dough than new ones. If you can be patient for a while and keep your head up you can find some great deals.

The advice to buy a unit for what you really need as opposed to the things you might do sometime in the future is pretty sound, especially if funds are a little tight. Buy a unit for what you wil actually do most of the time and scratch you head a bit over the rest. Consider this your training wheels for welders.

Unless you buy an industrial unit you'll spend a lot of time waiting for the machine to cool (on thick stuff especially) so pay attention to the duty cycle (welding time at a particular power setting versus cooling time).

If you look around online you can find used welding textbooks and one of those can be a good self teaching aid.

Lance

There is a chance I may be able to get a Lincoln ideal arc 250 for cheep,(how ever much that may be) no where near the shape of this one, but still looks good no dents or rust. I really don't know much about these units so if you have any comments on them share them please.

i have 4 welders from a 110 unit to 3 phase units, to spool guns to tig machines they all have there uses . the big question is what do you want to weld ?? i can weld two razer blades together with my 110 v welder , great for sheet metal, if your going to weld 1/2 inch plate oyou need a bigger welder with a larger duty cycle. again size your welder to fit your needs . i would stay away from h freight . now lets talk brand of welder. hobart and miller are made by the same co. sw bradley said that right . there are a lot of off brand welders on the market , and work fine .. good luck with your choice.

S.I.
That unit with the hand crank is an older model. No big deal as long as it works. I don't know if you can kill those old stick machines.
My grandfafher had one of the hand crank models and it worked until we stoped using it.
Can you get any extras with it? Helmet or good rod?

The lincoln idealarc are good welders we had one for years in our old shop. It was a workhorse. You can find them on CL For 100-150 all day long. New at Lowes they are about 300. I just found an old airco arc welder (which was made by miller) for the house for 80 bucks with new 25 foot leads, welding jacket and about 50 lbs of rod in sealed containers. I like it because it fits on my cart and I strap my mig to the top of it for a mobile welding station.

197thhhc said:

The lincoln idealarc are good welders we had one for years in our old shop. It was a workhorse. You can find them on CL For 100-150 all day long. New at Lowes they are about 300. I just found an old airco arc welder (which was made by miller) for the house for 80 bucks with new 25 foot leads, welding jacket and about 50 lbs of rod in sealed containers. I like it because it fits on my cart and I strap my mig to the top of it for a mobile welding station.

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You may can buy a "buzz box" Lincoln welder new for $300 (although I haven't seen them that cheap) but you can't buy a new Idealarc like the one posted for that. A new welder comparable to the one in the pic is around $2,000. I've seen them go used for $800 or more but you can find them cheaper.

If you buy a used stick machine make sure you get the leads with it. They cost a small fortune to buy new with the price of copper like it is.

Hobart and miller are owned by the same company and i have welded with both they are both nice machines miller is a bit better because it is their brand name product. if you are going to get a welder what runs on 120 make sure you look at the duty cycle. it is probably 20% at near max out put. and for home use i would recommend 100% Co2 Shielding gas. the reason for this is that 100% Co2 gets best penetration with flux core. and if you are going to run solid wire i would sugest 75% argon 25% co2. because your welder will be welding in Short circuit mode. and that is the best sheilding for that amount of heat. also if you are welding some thing that is structural or some that that is going to be holding alot of weight or torque you should pre-heat your plate because of the low amount of power you are going to put out.

(Welding engineering student and national welding fabrication gold medalist)

I have made my living welding. Over the two decades doing so, have used most every type and brand of welder. Its my opinion that the Hobart will do a fine job for you. However, if you can afford to jump up to the 220v, I guarantee that you will be happy you did someday. As you get good at it you will find yourself wanting to glue larger items together. And that 110v will leave much to be desired. My first welding machine was a government issued engine driven Hobart. It did a good job stick welding, but the ancient mig setup would sometimes take up a full day just trying to get it to feed wire at a steady pace. Best solution I found was to earn another stripe or two and make it the new PFC's problem.

For whatever reason MIG seems to all the rage. Unless you are welding some body panels on a truck or car - the Lincoln Idealarc 250 A/C - D/C machine pictured in one of the above posts is a LOT more versatile and more likely to produce better welds on steel that isnt REALLY clean....

The Buzz box stick welders are OK - but light up a rod with the Idealarc 250 or Miller Dialarc 250 and you will have found love.....anything from 14 gauge to the moon in thickness is doable and with the right rods and some skill - safe... and some darn pretty welds are possible.....even on rusty steel.

MIG welders are nice - but you have to have CLEAN steel and make sure to replace the cheap ground clamp with a good copper unit - a MIG doesnt care if you have a good ground or not - just keeps feeding wire....this can cause inexperienced welders to produce unsafe welds. The 110 volt MIGs are rated with wishful thinking on thicker steel- dont believe the sales lies.

MIGS are a real advantage in production work or someone fabbing up a storm - for repair and smaller fabrication jobs I would suggest a quality stick welder ......by the time you dial in the right voltage and wire speed for a little job - you could be done with the stick and having a beer.

to answer your question - the Hobarts are good welders .....since same company that ownes Miller bought them - they are built and priced a little cheaper than the Millers

I have Lincoln, Hobart and Miller industrial stick, MIG and TIG welders - all bought used from industrial auctions and schools..... each has their place - LOVE them all

hiwhatsup19 said:

Hobart and miller are owned by the same company and i have welded with both they are both nice machines miller is a bit better because it is their brand name product. if you are going to get a welder what runs on 120 make sure you look at the duty cycle. it is probably 20% at near max out put. and for home use i would recommend 100% Co2 Shielding gas. the reason for this is that 100% Co2 gets best penetration with flux core. and if you are going to run solid wire i would sugest 75% argon 25% co2. because your welder will be welding in Short circuit mode. and that is the best sheilding for that amount of heat. also if you are welding some thing that is structural or some that that is going to be holding alot of weight or torque you should pre-heat your plate because of the low amount of power you are going to put out.

(Welding engineering student and national welding fabrication gold medalist)

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Sheilding gas with flux core? Not shure about that one.....