Hey boys... Buying a welder and need advice

[kenna325is]

I am going to buy my man a welder for christmas and I have found one on Craigs that seems to look good. He would be using it to do some of his fun little projects like his half-built mini-chopper and vw bug missing the floor. This is the description of the one I'm looking at. Seem ok?? I don't know much about welders...Thanks!!

"I purchased this Hobart Handler 120v Mig Welder new ($650) when I was going to restore a car. I only tested this unit on metal to learn. Never ended up doing project. Unit has just sat in storage collecting dust. I have a small tank (Aluminium?)of 75% Argon 25% Carbondioxide and guages ( cost over $175) to go with this sale.

This Hobart Handler is in Immaculate condition - Arrange an appointment for viewing you'll see!



Asking $450 or best offer.



Local Purchase Only - Thanks!


Questions asked so far:

1. Is this a wire feed welder? Yes it is - A spool of wire inside machine feeds though welding nosel (See side shot photo of spool)
2. What guage will it weld up to? Side panel says up to 7 ga steel, for hitches etc. It can use different (spools) wire material to weld Aluminium as well.
3. How many amps is it able to weld at? It operates at 90 amps using 18 Volts. It says the range in amperage for welding is 30 - 120. Please note that this doesn't mean you need a 90 amp circuit breaker in your house. It runs on household 120 volts and a 30 amp circuit breaker will work. "

[mattdk318i]

Seems like a good price. but if hes going to be Welding anything larger than 1/4 inch he will need a 240v Welder.
This 120 will do sheet metal like he needs. and will plug into any outlet
Make sure its in good condition. Miller makes a better MIG welder but they are pricy.
I encourage you to research online.

[mrsleeve]

dosent Miller make hobarts??? Next the only other thing to worry about is duty cycle (how long you can weld at once at amx power be fore cooling the unit down) but for a s,all grage welder this should not be to big of a concern.

Sounds like a good price but like the other guy said do your reasearch 1st

[nkell09]

Buddy has a Hobart, I've heard good things from others about the Hobart line....

Personally, I have a Lincoln, it does the job fine.

[Justin B]

IIRC miller does make hobarts but the millers have more high quality materials inside, like simple things like the feed roller being metal in the miller vs plastic in the hobart (what I have heard). I opted for a millermatic 175, way more than I'll ever need but I have that problem of buying one step above what I think I'll need and making use of it.

[LINUS]

I call BS on the price - unless I'm living under a rock. I have a Miller Challenger 172 and I paid $600 new with a warrenty from Central Welding. I have a full size steel bottle I own and it was $100. I don't know what pound that size is, but it's the one that's about 4 1/2 foot tall.
Bottom line was I paid a grand and got the welder, bottle with the BS8 fill, a basic auto-dark hood, a box FULL of extras(couple gloves,tips,spatter spray, gas cups & nylon bushing, a full size roll of solid core wire, extra sheilds for hood, etc). Sales tax was included in that price.

Don't remember if the gas reg was included in the price of the welder, but it was in the box when I got it all home.

I got the whole setup back in 1999-2000.

Hobart is miller, but cheaper components and the consumables are a bit more money.

I could be wrong, but that sounds like a lot of money for a 120v welder.

[FredK]

I believe that's a Hobart Handler 120, which is fairly old. It was replaced by the Handler 135, and now the Handler 140. The HH140 comes as a complete ready to weld package for $480 shipped on many vendors on Ebay.

All you need is a tank of gas ($80 to 100, plus cost of fill, ~$20-30 IIRC). And, you get the benefit of a new welder warranty etc. If it comes with extra tips and an autodark helmet, or a decent helmet, $400 is an OK price to pay.