Lincoln Weld Pak 155 vs Hobart Handler 175

[Lantz]

Alright, I'm looking at two welders right now. A Lincoln Weld Pak 155, with a bottle, a cart, and an extra long power cord for 500(or best offer), OR a Hobart Handler 175 with no gas bottle, or regulator, or anything except the power cord and leads for 450 dollars.

My main job that I want a welder for will be welding in body panels for auto body repair, but I will also be fabricating, and welding things that will probably be a bit thin to be welding with my arc welder in the future, so I want a welder that can do quite a bit.

RIght now I'm leaning towards the Hobart, even though it doesn't have as many goodies, because it is the more powerful machine, which, is basically the bottom line, when it boils down to it, and it would be more useful in the future, but what do you guys think?

Also, I talked to the guy with the Hobart earlier today, and as soon as he said there was no gas bottle, or gas regulator included, I got kind of turned off of it, and so I offered the guy 350 for it, and he said no, and I said thanks anyway. I did send him a message later saying I'd reconsidered and would like to make an appointment to see it though, so we'll see what happens with that.

I'm looking to get the most possible bang for my buck, here, because I am dirt poor, and I can't afford to buy something that won't do what I want it to.

[DSW]

Tough choice. On the machine alone, I'd vote for the Hobart over the Lincoln because of the extra power. I'd say the Hobarts good for up to say 1/4" roughly, and the Lincoln 3/16" after looking at the specs a bit. Like you the lack of reg and cylinder decreases the value of the Hobart however. Not knowing what size cylinder comes with the Lincoln makes it hard to adjust the value. My LWS sells the 20cf cy full for $80, and a 60cf for $120 or so. Add maybe $50 for a reg off the top of my head. So I'd say you are looking at at least $100-175 addional to bring the Hobart up to the same point as the Lincoln.

[Rick V]

Add into this that TSC has the Hobart 187 on sale for $549 with the gas regulator/hose.

[Nitesky]

Why do you want more power if you will be welding thin stuff?

[Lantz]

I won't always be working on thin stuff, nitesky, I work on cars, so there is always rollcages, and bumpers, and things like that. I might also be doing a little aluminum welding, and for that, extra power is a must.

Also, Rick V, that's an awesome deal, but sadly, that deal is available in select stores only, and there are no TSC stores in Idaho, or even Oregon.

[dugndeep]

I was going to say that the hobart did go down to 25 amps but after looking at the specs it is the same as the lincoln at 30 amps also.I think the newer hobarts go down to 25 amps which would be helpful for thin auto body stuff

[Lantz]

well, ive got an appointment with the Hobart guy, and we will see how that turns out, hopefully the welder is in good condition, and I'm not paying more than 400 for it, because I need at least 100 dollars to get started on the bottle setup.

[Dan]

Like the Hobart Handler 135, the Hobart Handler 175 has a history of control board failures, due to component Q1 or sticky relays. Hobart cured these issues on the HH 180, HH 187, and HH 190 by increasing the size of component Q1, and removing the troublesome relays from the board and replacing them with a more robust contactor instead.

Considering you can get a much better performing unit in the Hobart Handler 187 for less then $700 or the Newly released Handler 190 for slightly over $700, having owned a HH 175 and a HH 187 I feel $450 is way to much for a HH 175. Your original $350 is probably a more realistic offer, especially with no regulator. BTW, the new HH 190 is a HH 187 with the circuitry added to run a spool gun.

[brucer]

-------------->get a larger machine<----------------

i own a lincoln 180c, and it just barely does the chassis work... it'll do it, but its hard on the machine..

i used to do exactly what your doing, i've tubbed out about a dozen cars and trucks and i've put cages in more than that over the years.. i will give you some advise that you should listen too and it will save you money in the long run,,, buy one of the larger chassis machines and never have to buy another machine for the rest of your life..
if your doing chassis work which you stated you were going to,i would go as far as suggesting at minimum of a 200amp machine,., not saying the 175-180amp machine isnt large enough, its just the chassis work can be pretty hard on the smaller 180amp class machines, its not from the machine being to small amperage wise, its the constant starting and stopping you do thats hard on the lighter class machines..<----

the best welder that i ever owned when i was building cars was a miller 252, it was heavy and cumbersome and an extremely expensive machine, but i think a blind man could run a bead with it, and it pretty much laughed at chassis work, it was simply that good of a machine.. i wish i had that miller 252 back every time i turn my lincoln 180c on...

i plan on upgrading my lincoln 180c later on this year, not that i need too, its that i want too, i plan on never buying another mig welder as long as i'm alive.... i've pretty much made up my mind and going with an ironman 230 simply so i can get back into one of the larger chassis machines at a decent price and it seems to be the best bang for the buck and ive heard some great reviews of the ironman 230, i feel the chassis machines are that much better.

i will suggest neither of the ones you mention, but if you must choose between the 2 you mention there wouldn't be a choice, get the larger machine.... but then i would have a hard time not buying a new hh187 before they are gone, tractor supply company has them on sale for $550, thats what i would get before the ones you mention.

too add and something for you to think about, actually probably what i would do if i had a large enough shop... i would buy a small 125 amp machine and a small bottle of 75/25 and dedicate it to .024 wire and it be my dedicated body panel machine.. then go for a 250amp chassis machine such as the ironman230, miller 212, lincoln 216, or thermal arc fabricator 210.. if the thermal arc migs were more mainstream it would be my first choice... the thermal arcs arent very mainstream, so the ironman230 is my next choice..

[Rick V]

Hey Lantz... just to confuse you a mite more look at this offer from Eastwood.
http://www.eastwood.com/175-amp-mig-...spool-gun.html
The 20 reviews by recent buyers rate it pretty good... http://www.eastwood.com/review/produ.../category/534/
$500 + shipping includes spoolgun + 3 year warranty.
Scout around, there may even be a 15% off coupon floating around.

One downside... it's not a Lincoln, Miller, Thermal Arc, Esab, etc.

[tresi]

I have and old Lincoln 155. It will do everything the so call 180 class machines will do. Its more than 12 years old,( I'd have to look up the age) and I never had to by anything except normal consumables. I've used the hobarts but never really like them as well. Roll cage tubing would be no problem for a Lincoln 155 but if you were to do it professionally you'd want a 210 class machine for a longer duty cycle and use larger spools of wire.

[Lantz]

You're right Rick, you did confuse me more. I like that spool gun, but what is your opinion of Eastwood products? I'm all for supporting small businesses, but if I waste money on a less than quality welder, I would feel like an idiot. I like their warranty and return policy, but I've seen a lot of bad brands offering great return policies, if you are willing to jump through 50 hoops, and if you didn't void the warranty, which for some companies, is done by just using the product.

Also, does that machine accept flux core sized wire as well? I like MIG better, but having a flux core option just in case would be nice.

Edit: Nevermind about the flux core, the site says the welder comes with a small roll of flux core, as well as a small roll of solid wire. These guys seem like they are really trying hard to deliver good products, but I am not sure.

[Sandy]

Another advantage of the 210+ class of machines is the hardier drive systems making it a piece 'o cake to move up to a 15 foot gun lead. Yep, it'll make real tuff pushing .023 through the longer gun unless you downsize the liner or get a short gun just for that, but as mentioned that's why you're going to have that smaller unit setting over in the corner ..

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by Lantz

You're right Rick, you did confuse me more. I like that spool gun, but what is your opinion of Eastwood products?

The welder is made in China (bad) but Eastwood has been around for years (good) and has a reputation of standing behind their products (good).

Here, the Lincoln 180 is sold by Home Depot, Lowes, Rona and Canadian Tire for $800. Canadian Tire has specials on it about four times a year for as low as $600 with regulator + hose.

The Lincoln predecessor to the Lincoln 180 was the MIG PAK-15, identical to the SP-175, but these older units (3 years ago) did not accept a spool gun.

I don't know; I just find the prices you posted for used units was high. I mean the MIG PAK-15 sold on sale for $550 three years ago. Since it is no longer a current model, I wouldn't pay much more that $300 for a lightly used one. A deal on a little used Lincoln 180 (new on sale at $600) might be more like $450 tops. Still for used welders, it depends on where you are and the time of year - seemed to be more choice and better deals in the Spring. Likely wives pushing hubbies to get rid of stuff they weren't using.

I'm sure you would like to step up above 130 amps continuous output (HH 187, Lincoln 180, etc.). A Miller 210 would be great (150 amps) but the price pushes $1,000. When you go for 200 amps, there is a big price jump; you're looking more at $1500+.

[Lantz]

You know what, I just did some research on the Hobart 210 MVP welders, and they can work on either 110, or 220. That is exactly what I need, and you can find them from about 900 dollars+ shipping pretty easily. I think I will just save for one of those. Who knows how long it will take me to get that much money, but until then, I'll just do without, or use my arc welder.