Help! My Welder went poof!!

[Dolby586]

I have a Hobart Handler 175 230 Volt and after a few seconds of welding it suddenly stops. Then after a few minutes it will start again. I checked out the problem and discovered that the main power transformer has shorted it self out. Can someone please help me find a reasonably priced replacement. I found a new one, Hobart part # 194-277, at a welding repair shop for $252, is that a good price. Would a miller transformer fit in its place? Thanks for the help.

[David R]

You should buy the original one.

Any warrenty on it?

David

[Dolby586]

Any suggestions on where to get one at a fair price?

[zapster]

What caused the short?
No sence of replacing it if you do not know..:confused:

It will just happen again...

And again..
get to the bottom of it..:realmad:

...zap!

[Dolby586]

Looks like the insulation inside the transformer itself failed.

[wallythacker]

Does that transformer use wooden spacers to keep the windings in place? Over time if the machine was pushed really hard the wood may have shrunk or expanded depending on the climate and created loose windings which shorted out. Maybe the machine took a tumble sometime in it's life?

If that's the case a new transformer is all you need. But if something else is bad you'll just kill any new transformer you drop in. Get it checked.

[Sober_Pollock]

It might be helpful if you told us what you are basing your transformer has shorted it'self out opinion on.

What is shorted? And what is it shorted to? Is the primary shorted to ground? Is the secondary shorted to ground? Is the primary shorted to the secondary? How did you measure this?

[weldersales]

While the worst thing that can happen to a welder is a bad transformer, the nice thing is that this is normally the kind of problem that can be quickly solved. In general, it works or it does not. Transformers do not heal. My suspicion is that you have another problem. I assume you have gone thru the 3 year warranty bit and your machine is past that. If in doubt, PM me your serial and we will immediately get info as to when unit shipped for warranty purposes - I believe your machine is Miller built and if so there is no point in trying to go to another manufacturer. Miller is by far the most lenient manufacturer in the industry in our 35 year experience and we are happy to help. weldersales

[MAC702]

It's possible it might be under warranty. The main transformer has a 5 year warranty.

[awright]

Dolby586, you said, "I have a Hobart Handler 175 230 Volt and after a few seconds of welding it suddenly stops. Then after a few minutes it will start again. I checked out the problem and discovered that the main power transformer has shorted it self out."

Your statement implies that the transformer has a shorted winding that causes overheating that results in thermal cutoff, but then output is restored after the transformer cools down. Is this correct?

How did you determine that a winding is shorted? (I do not doubt that it is - I'm just asking what you see when you look at the transformer.) Can you post a picture of the damaged area of the transformer? Is the short in the primary (probable) or the secondary? If you can see that the transformer is shorted, does that imply that the wires in the burned area are directly visible?

My reason for asking is to try to determine if your short is more than two layers and if the shorted area is accessible at the end of the winding, rather than buried in the middle of the winding. If the short is buried, you are screwed. If the short is visible and accessible at the end of the winding, there is a REMOTE possibility that you can pry the damaged area out of the winding and do a repair.

I do not hold out much hope that such an approach would be successful, but it MAY be worthwhile investigating a little more closely.

awright

[coldlap]

A few years ago Esab power compacts had transformers burn out ,it was found to be the voltage switches.

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[Cruizer]

I have a Hobart Handler 175 230 Volt and after a few seconds of welding it suddenly stops. Then after a few minutes it will start again. I checked out the problem and discovered that the main power transformer has shorted it self out. Can someone please help me find a reasonably priced replacement. I found a new one, Hobart part # 194-277, at a welding repair shop for $252, is that a good price. Would a miller transformer fit in its place? Thanks for the help.

Well, if it's still working sort of, what I would do is pick up a can of electric motor winding sealer, kind of a conformal coat, just can't remember the name of the stuff. That'll soak in and seal up the problem, or like previous posters mentioned check the serial #. May still be covered for this part. Won't include the labour to install it though.

[Broccoli1]

Well, if it's still working sort of, what I would do is pick up a can of electric motor winding sealer, kind of a conformal coat, just can't remember the name of the stuff. That'll soak in and seal up the problem, or like previous posters mentioned check the serial #. May still be covered for this part. Won't include the labour to install it though.

Well he is at least another year in to the warranty:laugh:

[Cruizer]

Well he is at least another year in to the warranty:laugh:

Looks like he had a part# and wanted a price for some reason, if it's after the 3 year expiree on the bumper to bumper warranty, Miller may still cover the 5 year warranty on the transformer part but no labour to install it.:blob2:

[Broccoli1]

I was just saying the thread is over a year old:drinkup:

[Cruizer]

What the F....k is it resurected for???

[mike73]

just an observation here but he did say it was a Hobart unit and fellas keep mentioning the Miller warranty? Also IMOP Its not such a bad idea to have old answers for new folks....... Some people do searches for this stuff looking for answers. So answering questions not only helps in the present but could help others in the future

[Broccoli1]

just an observation here but he did say it was a Hobart unit and fellas keep mentioning the Miller warranty?

No one said "Miller warranty" just warranty:drinkup:

[weldersales]

As a Miller warranty center, we do both Hobart and Miller warranty. It is much easier to find a Miller warranty center than one that does strictly Hobart. Since we have not seen a transformer failure in one of these machines, I was anxious to hear of final disposition, but never heard. weldersales

[Cruizer]

Never heard of a warranty center that only does Hobart, if you have Miller, you have Hobard. Just like if you have Lincoln everybody sends you those century battery chargers.

[6010]

Since we have not seen a transformer failure in one of these machines, I was anxious to hear of final disposition, but never heard. weldersales

I know this is an old thread, but I don't think it was his transformer. I have never seen one come and go. The failures I have see are final, and ususlly trip a breaker or blow a fuse.