Old Hobart 4 cylinder portable welder

[MilitiaMetals]

Hi, found this old girl, has not run in years, what would it be worth and anyone know anything about these units? I can't find too much info on it. Is it a WW2 military surplus?
Am I right in assuming its a 200 amp welder?

Thanks guys!

[duaneb55]

If all the parts are there (mag/distributor, water pump, etc.) I'd say $1/amp. No telling what you will find even though it looks to be in good shape - except it's covered in some strange white stuff.

[MilitiaMetals]

ya I offered the lady $200, was her late husbands. Thanks for the reply duaneb55

[PJM]

That thing is too friggin cool. Not sure of the age but the steel wheels on the trailer look to be late 30's to early 40's style. I have a set of 40 ford wheels for my rod that look kind of similar.

[MilitiaMetals]

Ya I am thinking mid 40's to early 50's I am finding it hard to get info on it and see if there are parts for the engine

[Stick-man]

I picked up this one for $200.00. It has a Kaiser Motor.

Call Hobart and they have someone that will help you find info. Mine had no tags. so they just took a good guess. Ask for technical publications. Also, they recommended to contact Buffalo Welding (716)875-3340, for older manuals.

Parts for Kaiser are still available. I found http://www.kaiserwillys.com/ They even have a service manual.


I've been told the amperage dial, and some parts like that are hard to find.

[Tool Maker]

Most Kaisers came out with Red Seal Continetals. They were an industrial motor first and formost. Mac

[tanman]

hiya Stick-Man i have the same machine....my deal wasn't as good as yours...but..it worked at the time...i bought mine in 2009 for $500 ..it was designed for military use if you don't mind...would you please pass on any info you have to me concerning this machine....mine was marked by a company called America Cryogenics and i haven't found out any info about this company....thanx...Tanman

[OldMachinist]

Picture of the tag in the first post says it has a Hercules engine. Parts are still available from the original manufacturer.
http://www.herculesengine.com/herculesparts.htm

[Pipeliner]

To the right person, that oil bath air cleaner is probably worth more than the entire machine. Holy crap I just replied to a 3 year old post.

[Stick-man]

hiya Stick-Man i have the same machine....my deal wasn't as good as yours...but..it worked at the time...i bought mine in 2009 for $500 ..it was designed for military use if you don't mind...would you please pass on any info you have to me concerning this machine....mine was marked by a company called America Cryogenics and i haven't found out any info about this company....thanx...Tanman

Sorry. I sold that machine to a buddy not too long after I bought it. I gave him the info, then he sold it. Look at my post above and that's how I got my info. Good luck!

[12V71]

That is one cool old machine. I really hope it has a warm, dry, home by now.

[MilitiaMetals]

Finally own it!

[timberjack]

Dos it have the jeep industrial engine, if so you can get parts, i have two of the motors, i scraped out the gen/welder part for the engines . put one on a bandmill and the other on a edger as power units ran them as much as 8 hrs straight in a day.

[metalman21]

Finally own it!

Not bad, took almost nine years.

[MilitiaMetals]

Lady said she was going to sell it to a cousin, drove by the old farm last year and it was still there! So I called her and bought it! It's a 1945 Hobart with a Hercules engine, not seized thank god! Got it to pop and fart, have a carb kit and plugs on the way.

[Welder Dave]

Does it also have a 3 phase electric motor to run it? I had an old Hobart like that hooked up to a Chrysler IND251 engine. Even some of the commercial made Hobarts also had the electric motor still intact. Theoretically you could unbolt the coupler and run it off the power in the shop. No complaints at all about how it welded.

[MilitiaMetals]

Does it also have a 3 phase electric motor to run it? I had an old Hobart like that hooked up to a Chrysler IND251 engine. Even some of the commercial made Hobarts also had the electric motor still intact. Theoretically you could unbolt the coupler and run it off the power in the shop. No complaints at all about how it welded.

No, just the gas engine.

[Welder Dave]

Here's an old ad showing a build your own model that has the shaft extended to couple to an engine. It has the welding generator on one end and the electric motor still on the other end. Back then it was probably not worth building a motor delete option.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=MuE...welder&f=false

[MilitiaMetals]

Pics from when I saw it was still in the old farm yard.

[MilitiaMetals]

When I got her home, weighed it at the grain terminal in town, 1350lbs

[metalman21]

I had an old boat with twin 6 cylinder Hercules marine engines. They ran in opposite rotations. Sure sounded sweet at the exhaust when both were at the same RPMs.

[12V71]

Here's an old ad showing a build your own model that has the shaft extended to couple to an engine. It has the welding generator on one end and the electric motor still on the other end. Back then it was probably not worth building a motor delete option.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=MuE...welder&f=false

A lot of those motor/generators with the extended shaft were meant to power other equipment in the shop by way of a belt pulley and lineshafts. Sounds a bit wasteful, but that welder was probably the biggest electric motor most shops of the day could run.

[Welder Dave]

1500 RPM, similar to a Lincoln. I think the switch on the left could be a polarity switch and the switch for the motor would have been on the right where there is something different on your machine. Maybe be a power DC outlet for tools? I wish I would have taken pictures of all the machines I've had over the years. Even better I wished I would have kept some of them. I had the old Hobart and a 1959 Airco Hornet Special that was similar to an SA200 and now I have a 1961 Canadian SA200. I do have pics. of the Miller Trailblazer 55D I put on a welding truck. Sadly I traded it for a trailer and some cash but the trailer shop took the engine out to put in a skid steer because the welder needed a new contactor. Some fly by night idiot said it would cost thousands to repair and a contactor wasn't available. It was an Allen Bradley contactor. I suggested taking it to a Miller service shop but it was too late. The shop is still using the S54 deluxe wire feeder off an electric machine though. Really wish I could have kept that machine. I could do Mig, flux-core and stick from about 40 amps to over 500.

[Welder Dave]

A lot of those motor/generators with the extended shaft were meant to power other equipment in the shop by way of a belt pulley and lineshafts. Sounds a bit wasteful, but that welder was probably the biggest electric motor most shops of the day could run.

Pretty compact for 15 HP (200 amp machine) motor too. It's funny in the old Hobart ads they mention the AC welder for users that only have single phase power.