Topic: Can I go wrong with this ? Welder.

[greenjeans]

Just like the title....  Can I go wrong with this welder ?   $475 bucks shipped
I'm just using for my 2-wheeled projects.  Frame & tank building.    Fits my budget quite nicely.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200306073_200306073?cm_ite=1646140&cm_pla=Welding%3EWirefeed%20Welders&cm_cat=pricegrabber&cm_ven=Aggregates

Hobart Handler 140.

My pops has a bottle/bottles that I could use if I wanted to use Argon/etc.

[ohiocaferacer]

Nice welder....cant go wrong for that price.......I have a Hobart Tig and love it.

[Really?]

Stop it or I'll come over. 

[greenjeans]

It's about to get dangerous.......in a fun way.

[CBGhia]

The only question I have is, for that price why not go 220v?  From what I understand, 220 will get better penetration when working on frames and what not.  

[greenjeans]

Thought about that (220V), but I'll never weld anything thicker than 1/4" and saving $200 bucks will let me buy other fun stuff.

Haven't pulled the trigger just yet....I could be persuaded.  I was hoping to find a good deal on a used one, but have only been looking a few days.

Thought that $475 to my door was a pretty good deal for a brand new one...



Anybody know the advantages of a spool gun ?    Does it just make changing different wires out easier ?

[Terry in Australia]

That's a nice little welder John, and I know that Hobart is a good brand. Over here 240 volts is standard household power, (all the American exhange army officers that we train here have to bring step-down tranformers for their US electrical eqipment) so after being disappointed with a 100 amp MIG I bought a 220 amp "Migomag" welder, and it's the bee's knees for mild steel and stainless. It will weld aluminum, but only thick stuff, so no good for dainty motorcycle castings, you'll need an AC/DC TIG welder for that stuff. Cheers, Terry.    

[Retro Rocket]

That's a nice little welder John, and I know that Hobart is a good brand. Over here 240 volts is standard household power, (all the American exhange army officers that we train here have to bring step-down tranformers for their US electrical eqipment) so after being disappointed with a 100 amp MIG I bought a 220 amp "Migomag" welder, and it's the bee's knees for mild steel and stainless. It will weld aluminum, but only thick stuff, so no good for dainty motorcycle castings, you'll need an AC/DC TIG welder for that stuff. Cheers, Terry.    

Hi Terry, a mate of mine used that exact Mig to weld an aluminium plate into the floor of his 12ft tinny,he fitted a 13B rotary to the thing and it went like a shower of #$%*e.....   It now resides somewhere on the bottom of the Brisbane River.....LMAO........True story...
Same guy built an aluminium jet boat complete with a 454 chevy......Crazy.....

Mick

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, I'm an old Mazda rotary engine buff Mick, my RX2 coupe would shiit all over Ford and Holden V8's back in the 1970's, much to their owners misery, but it's fuel economy was miserable too. Nice light engine though, so I could understand your mate using it in an aluminium boat, how did it sink?

[Retro Rocket]

Ha ha, I'm an old Mazda rotary engine buff Mick, my RX2 coupe would shiit all over Ford and Holden V8's back in the 1970's, much to their owners misery, but it's fuel economy was miserable too. Nice light engine though, so I could understand your mate using it in an aluminium boat, how did it sink?

He had 2 levers for steering directly off the jet unit, it was a little touchy to say the least, went through a large boats wash and as they say.....the rest is history....

Mick

[Really?]

I miss my RX-2!  That was a quick little car and full of Racing Beat parts too.

[Stev-o]

I had an RX7 years ago, pretty quick but never sounded as good as the V-8's!

[Terry in Australia]

Well we're a little off topic I guess, but what the hell, my RX2 did a genuine 145 MPH with me driving, my cousin reading the gauges (sitting behind me) my wife and my cousins' girlfriend onboard. I always wanted a series 1 RX7, I remember reading a test report at the time in Wheels magazine where they put one up against a Porsche 911, and the Mazda crapped on the Porsche. Great little car!

[Alan F.]

Anybody know the advantages of a spool gun ?    Does it just make changing different wires out easier ?

Although I'm not a welder....I've been doing some reading.....anyway here's a link that lays it all out pretty well although it focuses on feeding aluminum wire specifically.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/feedingaluminum.asp

[Kong]

Unless you've got an aluminum feed gun you're never going to weld aluminum with a MIG unit successfully, and they cost as much as a small MIG welder does in the first place.

I've got a little 110 volt Miller that cost me more used two years (in new condition) ago than you can get that Hobart for today - they are nearly identical machines.  Those 140 amp Hobart's have a great reputation for ease of use and reliability.  If you're looking for one that is a very attractive price. 

As for the power and thickness thing.  I've never seen any steel on any motorcycle that could not be properly welded with a 110 volt feed 140 amp MIG unit.  If you've got a bike with quarter inch thick steel in it then maybe you'll have to tack down that part and take it to a big welder, but for the vast majority of bikes you'll never have the power turned all the way up on that thing.  If you did you'd blow holes through everything you touched.  Now everyone knows that 140 amps is the upper limit of a 110 volt feed machine but if nearly all of your use is such that you don't really even need the 140 ... well, someone explain to me just why you need a 220 volt machine?

[78CB750CAFE]

20% duty cycle @ 90amps
so you can use this at around 3/4 power for 12 minutes out of each hour.
Probably not a big deal for most MC applications, but if you were trying to get a lot done in a day would be S.O.L.

[CBGhia]

but if nearly all of your use is such that you don't really even need the 140 ... well, someone explain to me just why you need a 220 volt machine?

Good point,  I was looking at a 120 amp machine.  I just read on some other forums where guys are doing a lot of frame mods that 220 is better for getting penetration on the frame and that the 110 machines may not make a safe weld there.  I have never used anything other than 110, but I have never tried to weld a frame either.  If you say it is safe, I will believe you. 

[Terry in Australia]

As I've said previously, in Oz our standard mains power is 240 volts, so I'd have to use a step down transformer to use a 110 volt machine, but my 220 amp welder is regularly used at position 4 or 5 of 6 possible amperage positions to weld bike stuff.

It's amazing how increasing the amps results in much flatter, professional looking welds with much deeper penetration, than the "bird-shiit" welds I got with my first 100 amp mig, and that was only on thin panel steel and exhaust tubes, etc. It really was a toy.

I have occasionally blown a hole in a frame or exhaust tube with my 220 amp MIG, but then it's just a case of knocking the amps and the wire feed speed back a notch, so no biggie. It's always better to have too much, than not enough. Cheers, Terry.

[Kong]

I believe Miller says that 3/16" is the limit for the little machines, and because they share common Parent companies I'd have to guess that the lawyers who vet the Hobart version of the specifications insist on commonality there as well.  

That said let me note this though, I have a Ford SuperDuty with the 7.3 liter Diesel engine, it has a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds - making it one of the beefiest chassis on the road.  There isn't a single pound of quarter inch steel anywhere in the frame of that truck - just from casual observation I'd say that there isn't any metal at all in that frame that's a bit thicker than 3/16" and I wouldn't hesitate a moment to weld anything I needed into or on it of similar material.

But we're talking about bikes here, not trucks.  When I'm sticking parts on a frame even the little machine isn't turned up anything like all the way.  I'd bet that 95% of my use in on metal no thicker than 16 ga. and on that stuff I'm operating on less than half power if I don't want to spend all day blowing holes though metal.  Duty cycle is definitely not one of my problems.

Don't get me wrong, if you've got the bucks go for the bigger machine.  You'll never be sorry you did.  But if you're working on motorcycles and general home shop use, that little 140 amp welder will treat you like a king.  Just understand both it and your own limitations.  And of course on the big stuff you can nearly always tack it together at home and then take it to a big welder to finish up.   If you find yourself doing that often, then get a bigger welder.  

[Stev-o]

I'm just a rookie welder but have used 120V & 220V machines, both Millermatics.
For some reason, my welds with the 220V machine always came out better, ended up using the portable 120V only when the item could not be brought back to the shop for repairs.

Get the 220V.

[fastbroshi]

Stop it or I'll come over. 

I'll bring the beer

[CBGhia]

Stop it or I'll come over. 

I'll bring the beer

Sounds like a party @ Johns! 

Here is the rig I was looking at, cuz I am cheap and broke.   It is a 230v,  I thought it was 110 when I looked last time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/mig-flux-welders/120-amp-230-volt-mig-and-flux-welder-97503.html

and this
http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/mig-flux-welders/230-volt-160-amp-mig-and-flux-welder-93793.html

I know they are not even on the same planet as that Hobart machine, but again, I am cheap and poor.  Damn kids cost too much. 

[fastbroshi]

Pre-World Tour warm up maybe?  Yes...nod your head....yes