New Welder

[Archangel]

Well guys like the title says, i'm looking into getting myself a new welder. Originally i was leaning to the Millermatic 252 or the Lincoln Power Mig 256 but after looking into the Hobart Ironman 230 being that its almost a $1000 less, it has really caught my eye. Any of you guys use the Hobart stuff? any info would be great. I've used my share of Lincoln and Miller's always liked them both, just wanted something bigger, better duty cycle ya know

 

[darkmagus]

I love my Hobart 187. It has a lower duty cycle than some more expensive welders but I've never hit the limit. When I was welding up my cage I was going pretty steady and it just kept chugging along. For the money you can't beat a Hobart IMHO.

 

[bronconut73]

I also have a 187. What a geat bargain for what you get. Mine has been great. I have had it for about 4 years now. It is sitting on the best welding cart I could find. It's the fancy one at Northern Tool. Another great buy.

 

[darkmagus]

I should also mention that mine is a factory refurbed unit that I got from tool king. I think I paid $500-550 for it. I would check out their site for deals.

 

[68rockcrawler]

I don't personally have any experience with hobart but I have heard good things about them being on par with Lincoln and Miller.

 

[darkmagus]

Hobart is made by miller. Actually my friend's 187 came with a miller gun.

 

[Crawdad]

Nothing wrong with Hobart, every garage should have one!

 

[u10072]

I personally really love my Esab 215 Pro -- really heavy duty machine and comes standard with a spot timer thats pretty cool to use.

 

[mortimersnerd]

Depends on what you're doing. Miller and Lincoln for production or shop use, Hobart if you're just using it at home. Another option you may want to consider is the Thermal Arc 252. After a ton of reading I picked up a 211i, as I wanted the TIG and it's got a better duty cycle than the Miller 211 which was the other welder I was looking at. It's only lift start TIG and won't TIG aluminum, but it's a nice option to have. Also, the inverter MIG provides tighter arc control over transformer units with a smaller and lighter footprint. Again, I wouldn't buy one for heavy use, but for my home shop it's perfect.

 

[johns74]

Acrhangel
Is this James who used to live in Tucson. If so nice to hear you got a Bronco.

John

 

[Steve83]

Before pulling the trigger on anything, check out the Miller 15% MIR:

http://store.millerwelds.com/?utm_s...branded&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=miller welder

I bought a 211 late last year, and although I'm not a great welder and I don't use it much, it's a helluva machine (especially for a novice like me). I got the spool gun, so it'll do steel, stainless, or Aluminum up to 3/8", and down to ~20ga.