As an older car enthusiast, i have always wanted to learn welding. There are many time it would be helpful in repairing floorboards, frame or repair panels. I'm also interested in doing some metal sculpture. Anyway, I've watched a lot of videos on different welders and I'm trying to decide between the hobart handler 140 or the Harbor Freight Titanium 140 mulit-function welder. I've read a lot of good things about the Hobart, but it is limited to mig. Not knowing what other things i might want to do, the Titanium has more versatility, but a poor warranty. I do have 110 and 220 in my shop, but i dont' think i'll be doing anything really thick and want to keep the expense under control since i'll need jacket, gloves ,hood, gas, etc. Right now the best price on the hobart near me is 600, the Titanium is $479, regulary 599 due to an early black friday special, which is a good deal. Any advice would be appreciated. Thx.
Newbie question
BfromNC
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As an older car enthusiast, i have always wanted to learn welding. There are many time it would be helpful in repairing floorboards, frame or repair panels. I'm also interested in doing some metal sculpture. Anyway, I've watched a lot of videos on different welders and I'm trying to decide between the hobart handler 140 or the Harbor Freight Titanium 140 mulit-function welder. I've read a lot of good things about the Hobart, but it is limited to mig. Not knowing what other things i might want to do, the Titanium has more versatility, but a poor warranty. I do have 110 and 220 in my shop, but i dont' think i'll be doing anything really thick and want to keep the expense under control since i'll need jacket, gloves ,hood, gas, etc. Right now the best price on the hobart near me is 600, the Titanium is $479, regulary 599 due to an early black friday special, which is a good deal. Any advice would be appreciated. Thx.
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probably get cheaper online through homedepot, but advantage of getting from store is not having to wait. welding store going to need
argon mix tank (unless doing flux core), obvious gloves, welding jacket can get a welding store, I would practice on scrap metal before welding on a car.
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sheetmetal easy to make a warped mess of it. harbor freight got grinding wheels, clamps, stuff to bend metal, etc.
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just saying 200 amp stick welder welds all electrode types 80% duty cycle, decent electrode holder, ground clamp can use
120 to 240 volts auto no flipping a switch $205. with tax from home depot online pickup at store, basically newer technology & cheaper.
harbor freights seems slow updating technology and price usually higher than other places.
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I would practice on other stuff. Youtube videos showing car body stitch welding are plenty. but watching a expert and doing yourself
often very different. most welders last a long time. I got 12 year older inverter welder still works just 240v only and 40 year old transformer dc welder.
sure after awhile you wonder about throwing away or giving away cause they take up space. like having a 10 or 20 year older computer even
if it still works ok newer ones are a lot better. welding machines now cheaper than a 50lb can of welding rod or close to it
a primeweld 180 beats them all.
HF is not a great place for anything with moving parts, their service is non existent. They have no real warranty unless you pay for it, that says volumes about their faith in the machines they sell. HF has always been the poor mans ripoff.
HF is not a great place for anything with moving parts, their service is non existent. They have no real warranty unless you pay for it, that says volumes about their faith in the machines they sell. HF has always been the poor mans ripoff.
Bullsit. Most of it works super and better than ever since they upped the quality. A good share of the bottom of the line is gone or been mostly displaced by better products and some directly competitive with big brands. Like everything else the welders are getting better. Harbor has done the world's mechanics a huge favor, helped keep a lid on tool prices, outright beat Sears and Craftsmans azz in to last century and bringing tools as good or better than they .were in last 40 years.
Herc just sold the stuff I like as good as red at less than 1/2 the cost.
Herc just sold the stuff I like as good as red at less than 1/2 the cost.
I like the clear recommend on the prime. Makes it easy for the guys on the fence that are reading till their eyes are blurry and still confused. I like Hobart but the econo brands are pushing a lot of dirt over them. There are a lot of people do not seem to value low cost. Making it cheaper to do work is a good thing.
I have an older Hobart 140 and it’s a very good machine for what it’s designed for. Ive used .030 MiG wire and .30 fluxcore with no issues. However, it’s very limited due to input voltage and its duty cycle. It’s a very good machine for the exhaust work, and small things I use it for. If you have 220v power available, I’d get a bigger machine.
I would stay away from Harbor Freight for a welder. If you run into a problem they don't have any parts or support available. With Hobart you can get parts pretty easily and you can expect roughly 10 years of support, maybe more.
I would also second the Primeweld 180 suggestion as it's a far more capable machine, from a good company with people that support their products. I'm going to buy one of their plasma cutters soon and I'd really like to buy their new larger TIG even though I already have a similar size machine.
The reason for going to a slightly larger machine is that many times people buy a small 150A MIG as their first machine and expect they'll mostly be doing sheet metal or fairly small stuff like 1/8" thick. Next thing you know, you realize all the possibilities if you only had a welder capable of doing just a bit bigger material. The Hobart lists 1/4" as the max and the Primeweld lists 3/8" which is pretty thick. The prime weld also comes with an aluminum spool gun (you'd need a tank with 100% argon for aluminum) so you'd add that capability as well.
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You can't go wrong with a Hobart, they don't have all the bells and whistles but the they do have a well deserved reputation for good reliability and customer support.
Another one to look at might be the Firepower FP-200, which is made by ESAB. Those can be had for less than $600 if you can find a rebate. A far more capable machine in terms of features if you're interested in something with inductance or run in/burn back control.
Manufacturer's usually have a "winter sale" around the holidays so you could wait and see if prices come down at all.
Edit: I'm with G-manbart though, you want your welder to have a decent bit of headroom so you can do the occasional plate weld or repair even if you only plan on mostly doing sheet metal.
Another one to look at might be the Firepower FP-200, which is made by ESAB. Those can be had for less than $600 if you can find a rebate. A far more capable machine in terms of features if you're interested in something with inductance or run in/burn back control.
Manufacturer's usually have a "winter sale" around the holidays so you could wait and see if prices come down at all.
Edit: I'm with G-manbart though, you want your welder to have a decent bit of headroom so you can do the occasional plate weld or repair even if you only plan on mostly doing sheet metal.
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Don’t be afraid to buy a used welder. You can get a better machine at a discount. Hobart machines would be one I’d have no problem buying used like an Iron man 230 etc. but the following quote should be adhered to 
This info was found in this thread: https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/638381-Tractor-Supply-Hobarts?p=7660311#post7660311
I'm trying to keep it around $600, which leaves me with a new HH140, Titanium 170, Firepower 200 or Primeweld 180. Very confusing since youtube is loaded with great reviews on them all, but you never can tell whose being sponsored. A used Ironman 230 is around 1500 plus around here. For a newbie, mig is my priority, but a multifunction machine has appeal as i can learn other things. I appreciate the feedback and open to hearing more. Thx.
The HH140, although a fine machine and good warranty should be off the list as well as the HF 170:
HH140 $649.00 120v machine- limited on power
HF 170 $569.00 no warranty unless you purchase one
FP200 is on sale at Northern for $509.00 right now.
Primeweld 180 $549.00
You are going to need a jug of shielding gas too so add that to your budget.
He could run flux core to get started.
The FP200 is an ESAB product backed by an ESAB warranty of 3 years I believe. That would be my first choice.
The Primeweld 180 comes with a spoolgun thrown in for stainless, brass, or alum work without messing with the main steel wire setup. It also comes with a 3 year warranty and has very high ratings and is highly rated on this forum as well. I would pick this as a second choice.
Both are inverter power supplies which have become very reliable in recent years. That and they save on power consumption and are light weight as well.
hard to say on the FP200 on price -- as you noticed the price has changed a bit over the last few months.
185-200amp class Mig welders will run on a 30amp circuit. No need for a 50amp circuit.
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Jeff do you have other SM presentations other than instagram? Curious to see more of your creations.
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