Upgrade Hobart Handler 187 MIG (Made in USA) to one with fine Volt and Feed controls?

[waid302]

I am looking to upgrade my Hobart Handler 187 MIG which was made in USA to one with separate volts and wire feed controls. I think most of the Hobarts are also made in China now along with all of the budget MIG welders. My Hobart has served me fine all these years but it has a knob for Volt which is 1-7 and wire feed 10-100. Many of the little bit higher end MIG have fine control for Voltage and Wire Feed Rate. I am welding primarily materials with thickness 3/16" and less. I am working on a street rod project and welding suspension brackets and other chassis parts.

For my stated purpose above, is there any benefit in upgrading my HH187 with under $1000 made in China MIG with more bells and whistles ?

Thanks

[wb4rt]

I would not. That Hobart 187 is a good machine, made in USA, and parts/service are widely available.

As far as the knobs, they are reliable and with practice you will do fine. Unless you are very experienced, the machine will be more consistent than your technique most likely. My Miller 211 has auto set or manual, and I almost always use auto set which would relate to your fixed settings.

[farmersammm]

I have the HH190, and an LN-25. No real basic difference between the two as far as settings.

Sure, the HH is a tapped machine as far as voltage goes............but I seldom tweak the LN for voltage, just set it in the ballpark, and weld away. I do more adjustment with the wire feed speed than voltage........same with the HH. IMHO, you only really need infinite adjustment for wire speed........which both machines, including yours, have.

[waid302]

I would not. That Hobart 187 is a good machine, made in USA, and parts/service are widely available.

As far as the knobs, they are reliable and with practice you will do fine. Unless you are very experienced, the machine will be more consistent than your technique most likely. My Miller 211 has auto set or manual, and I almost always use auto set which would relate to your fixed settings.

Thanks Burt.

What do you think about the new Hobart Multi-Handler 200 MIG / TIG machine?

It's the cheapest multi process by well known welding equipment maker running at about $1100. It does not have all of the bells and whistles like Everlast in same price range but I am willing trust Hobart name.

Waid

[farmersammm]

I think that's an inverter machine. I wouldn't trade your old machine for it,, no way.

[Brand X]

I think that's an inverter machine. I wouldn't trade your old machine for it,, no way.

Why,
any Cheap China Mig will outlast you.. Inverters are extremely reliable now, and quality arc performance is the norm.. You really won't gain much from 3/16 down..

LN-25 and a cheaper engine drive is not anywhere as good as a decent quality inverter mig machines..

[Welder Dave]

If your machine is working well there's not a big enough reason to spend a bunch of money to replace it. The tap settings will get you close enough you likely wouldn't notice a difference. I'm more used to 3 phase high end machines and prefer a transformer Dimension 452 over an XMT 304 inverter for Mig. Even one of the instructors at the apprentice training center said he much preferred the older Hobart machines to the new XMT350's they got. He said with the Hobarts you could set the arc to do what ever you wanted. It's almost like an inverter is too smooth of an arc for Mig. Industrial inverter machines like XMT's do save huge on the electric bill though. Worked in a shop that switched 14 machines to XMT304's. They said they saved over $10,000/month is electricity.

[waid302]

I think that's an inverter machine. I wouldn't trade your old machine for it,, no way.

What does the Hobart Handler 187 MIG have ?

Thanks

Waid

[waid302]

What does the Hobart Handler 187 MIG have ?

Thanks

Waid

Transformer!

[wb4rt]

Transformer. Old tech but nearly bulletproof.

I’m not familiar with the Multi-Handler. I’m sure someone else will be along to give a good answer. My position is tools that do a lot of processes aren’t the best at any of them. I prefer dedicated machines for different processes.

Your requirements, space, and experience may be different.

[BD1]

I prefer dedicated machines ,that's why I have 5 Millers.
As for your question, it depends on which machine. A higher amp machine running at low amps will increase duty cycle.
That's if duty cycle is an issue.
I bought a higher amp Miller CST 280 so I had 100% duty cycle at 100 amps.


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[M J D]

Say what you want about multiprocess inverters but I'll take my xmt 304 over anything as far as stick , mig, DC tig and fluxcore goes. Much better on stick than any idealarc or dialarc goes. Mig is better than a mm252 or Lincoln 255.

[waid302]

Deleted.

[Welder Dave]

Say what you want about multiprocess inverters but I'll take my xmt 304 over anything as far as stick , mig, DC tig and fluxcore goes. Much better on stick than any idealarc or dialarc goes. Mig is better than a mm252 or Lincoln 255.

You're comparing a heavy industrial machine to much less expensive medium duty single phase machines. Dimension 452 is nicer for Mig than an XMT304. Stick is pretty close.

[tapwelder]

If you want a multipurpose machine, then go for it.
However, from info in your original post, I would not get a new machine.

[M J D]

You're comparing a heavy industrial machine to much less expensive medium duty single phase machines. Dimension 452 is nicer for Mig than an XMT304. Stick is pretty close.

Really, thanks for the update 🤣. It is just to show how the uniformed tend to bash a type of machine that they have no experience with. It's all the same, transformer good, inverter bad. I've used hundreds of different machines over the years and it usually comes down to operators that are clueless or machines that have simple issues that said operators are too ignorant to know there is an issue or are too lazy to fix it. With that being said, you won't go wrong with a machine that has more power and features that you need at the moment, provided it's from a quality manufacturer. I would put Hobart in the middle of the manufacturer's as far as quality goes.

[Welder Dave]

I agree it's hard to condemn a machine you've never used. Nice thing with Hobart is parts will be available down the road. I remember a few years back when CEP bought an Everlast and said it welded as good as a red face. That's impressive!

[Dan]

With C25 shielding gas the Multi Handler 200 has a very crisp arc. For the experienced operator a variable voltage dial offers an advantage for dialing the unit in to a more precise output. However, based on the welds you've shown us in your other thread at this point I feel the simpler tap design of the Handler 187 is a better fit for your current skill level. I owned a Handler 187 for several years, its a real good unit. Nice clean running arc when dialed in properly.

[albrightree]

What can't you do with that machine?
You have a really good welding machine. A variable voltage knob is not going to make much of a difference welding wise. Since you brought up the multi-process machine, are you looking for stick and tig capabilities ? I have a similar machine, the lincoln 210mp which has worked well for me for 5 years. The only thing it doesn't do is tig aluminum (similar to that hobart mp). If I were you looking to do 3/16" or less and want multi process , keep the good welder you have, and get an 200Amp AC/DC tig/stick machine like a Lincoln SW200. On a dedicated tig/stick machine you will get a HF start, AC balance, possibly pulse, and other things that are helpful when tig welding. The multiprocess machines generally don't have these feature. Most of these dedicated tig/stick machines are fairly small, and take up very little space. It would also work off the plug you have for your Hobart MIG. There are also many different offerings from all the other manufacturers in the $1000 range. AHP, primeweld, everlast just to name a few. With that you would be able do tig aluminum, and stick welding and still have a back up machine(mig).

Its just my opinion, from reading what you posted. I It just seems that you willing to spend about a $1000 dollars, you should get the most for your money. It just seems the next step for most people, they finally want to do aluminum TIG after doing everything else. If its just about mig welding steel, keep the machine you have, and buy some good fabrication tools to make suspension brackets and chassis parts.

Best of luck,
Let us know what you decide

[BD1]

The shop I worked for bought a bunch of first generation XMT 304's. We used them for stick and tig along with the Miller CST's 280's.
We had one board issue with the 304 which supplier paid for. Both are great machines


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[G-ManBart]

You're comparing a heavy industrial machine to much less expensive medium duty single phase machines. Dimension 452 is nicer for Mig than an XMT304. Stick is pretty close.

Not to mention that there are more threads about dead or broken XMTs than pretty much any other line I can think of....error codes anybody?

[Welder Dave]

First XMT's like the 300 were terrible. Board cost as much as a new machine and failures were common. Early 304's had some problems but they got them worked out. I think the 350's are much more reliable. Early Lincoln V-350 Pro's also had their share of problems. The tech. school here (NAIT, largest in Canada) leased some and couldn't wait to give them back. They purchased 202 XMT350's to replace XMT304's and 72 Dynasty 350's. Initially they got a really good deal on the 304's because the the place that won the bid forgot to convert the US dollar to Canadian. I worked with the guy that got the bid on the XMT350's but they didn't make much money. They had to assemble all the power cords, cables feeder's and quick connects and it took about a week. They only made a 4% margin and Miller offers training centers a discount as well. A big vessel shop also had some early V-350's with a lot of problems.

https://equiptoweld.millerwelds.com/.../story193.html

[Kelvin]

Thanks Burt.

What do you think about the new Hobart Multi-Handler 200 MIG / TIG machine?

I would consider that a DOWNgrade from the HH187...unless all you're interested in is the flashy DRO.

[bplayer405]

I bought a HH190 last year and it has done well for anything I've thrown at it. I find the tapped voltage settings to be easier to deal with. I just fine tune with the wire speed, which is incredible at up to 700 ipm. It has also forced me to adjust my technique as needed, instead of settings, when switching joint types. Honestly, I would hate to have to run back and forth tweaking knobs minutely between every different joint I run. I find the 190 to be quite forgiving and a fast welder. Your 187 should be the same. All I'm saying is you might not find something better for a grand.

If its a different process you're after, I get that. I'm wanting to advance my skills with a tig welder; mainly for aluminum. They can be quite nice on steel tubing also. I believe a dedicated tig setup would be nicer to weld with than a multi-process unit. Way more control of the arc. Especially in the price range you're talking. Good luck with your decision.


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[albrightree]

Just saw one of your other posts, where you're welding a frame with a Primeweld. So you already a have a tig/stick machine ? If so, with those two machines, you already have enough machine capablility for the work at hand, you just need a little more practice. Spending $1000 on a new machine isn't going to change much. In fact you will probably have to spend more time just learning the new machine if you did buy a new more complicated one.

On the other hand, I have never seen that Hobart before. I like the price point , $1100 with mig torch , stinger, tig torch , ground, and regulator/ hose 2 consumable kit (mig,tig) ? That's a pretty good price, surprised they didn't show a foot pedal, but it shows a RJ45 connector on the front for a tig pedal.
It cost over $200 for the connector for my 210mp, and I had to dis-assemble it to install . When I run tig on my 210mp the foot pedal cable comes out the side door, which can't close all the way.

I can only imagine that if its a Hobart product its not a bad machine. It may not be for everyone, but I'm sure they'll sell some .


Good luck with your project,