Lincoln or Hobart?

[slowkart]

I am in the process of getting a welder but have no clue as far as volts and amps. Im going with this two brands because Miller is out of my price range which is $400. Basically somethig I can plug in the garage and fab up brackets or other little stuff. Thanks in advance.

 

[jr dragster T]

Miller and Hobart are the same as far as I know. Dont get the Miller/Hobart 180 amp 240 volt. The wire jams up alot! I recomend a Lincoln Electric 180 amp 240 volt It comes at a price though.

EDIT: If you can get a Miller for $400 thats pretty decent!

 

[rmkrider1]

Any of the 3 machines should work fine for you.
If you're having trouble with the wire "jamming up" in the drive rollers you need to check the liner,contact tip and insulators for wear and make sure the whip is stretched out on the floor and not kinked. Try to keep it as straight as possible and avoid sharp bends.

 

[ed1380]

for $400 you can get a pretty dang nice welder. we have the lincold MIG nascar edition or something like that. i want to say it was $350 dont remember

 

[Jerryburger]

I have a "Hobart-Freight" arc-welder, and I'm happy with it....

 

[hedjhawg]

Hobart and Lincoln are both owned by Illinois Tool Works. The company hosts a very informative forum at https://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/ that discusses all manufacturers and processes.

In short, the Hobart line is sold through "box stores" like Tractor Supply Co. Miller is only sold through welding supply distributors (like AirGas or Praxair, for instance). Note that Miller distributors do service the Hobart line. You might also note that the same distributors that sell/service Miller also sell/service Lincoln's products.

The (presumed) differentiation id that Hobart's products are geared for the casual user (Farm, Hobby, incedental maintenance) - and you can tell that from the Duty Cycle ratings - they aren't production machines.

Miller units are (typically) production units - again, look at the duty cycle and compare to the Hobart counterpart. In a hobby environment, the first miller you buy will likely serve the next four generations (your great grand kids!). As you noticed, however, Miller's tools are priced accordingly.

Lincoln doesn't differentiate its Hobby machines from its Industrial machines in teh same fashion. You can buy Lincoln machines at Fleet Farm as well as at the welding supply store - but you won't find the higher-duty-cycle machines in the box store, nor the "toy" machines at the distributor.

For welding a tube fram kart chassis (etc.) do not be afraid of the Hobart units. Compare specs as best you can...

My 110 wire feed welder is a Lincoln Weld Pack. Its shortfalls are...

1. the wire feed rate control goes from 1-10 (10 being fastest). i spend 100% of my welding, regardless of how much heat I am pushing, betweensettings 1 and 2. It makes the wire speed control VERY touchy, and therefore a PITA. If I were buying again, I would make sure that the speed control was "better" than what I have.

2. The power settings are "fixed". the settings are labeled A, B, C and D. This is less than optimal, because sometimes wish I had "C-and-a-half". If buying again, I would look for infininely variable heat to solve this problem.

One last thought - one that didn't occur to me until I started looking at TIG machines... Often, the welding supply distributor will have used machines that they have been taken in on trade, etc. It is a very educational experience to visit with these guys. Go to your local distributor, tell them what you are welding, how often you do so and what your budget is. They might have a used unit that will suit you. At a minimum, you will get insight and you will get a feel for their ability to service any unit, new or used, that you buy (from wherever you buy it).

...on the other hand, don't expect much help from the box store folks. They just don't know.

 

[jr dragster T]

We have the Lincoln Electric POWER MIG 180C with Diamond Core Technology with infinate wire and heat settings. One awsome welder capable of making VERY clean welds. Be carefull there is 3 models of this 180. There is 180C (Continous voltage supply) Then theres 180T which is Timed meaning the voltage is on and off at very fast intervals then theres the same one I have which is the one with the Diamond Core. THe Diamond core has the better parts in it like the all aluminum wire feeder unit. The cheaper models of the 180's that might be sold at lowes or somwhere similar have a all plastic wire feeder.

 

[slowkart]

Hobart and Lincoln are both owned by Illinois Tool Works. The company hosts a very informative forum at https://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/ that discusses all manufacturers and processes.

In short, the Hobart line is sold through "box stores" like Tractor Supply Co. Miller is only sold through welding supply distributors (like AirGas or Praxair, for instance). Note that Miller distributors do service the Hobart line. You might also note that the same distributors that sell/service Miller also sell/service Lincoln's products.

The (presumed) differentiation id that Hobart's products are geared for the casual user (Farm, Hobby, incedental maintenance) - and you can tell that from the Duty Cycle ratings - they aren't production machines.

Miller units are (typically) production units - again, look at the duty cycle and compare to the Hobart counterpart. In a hobby environment, the first miller you buy will likely serve the next four generations (your great grand kids!). As you noticed, however, Miller's tools are priced accordingly.

Lincoln doesn't differentiate its Hobby machines from its Industrial machines in teh same fashion. You can buy Lincoln machines at Fleet Farm as well as at the welding supply store - but you won't find the higher-duty-cycle machines in the box store, nor the "toy" machines at the distributor.

For welding a tube fram kart chassis (etc.) do not be afraid of the Hobart units. Compare specs as best you can...

My 110 wire feed welder is a Lincoln Weld Pack. Its shortfalls are...

1. the wire feed rate control goes from 1-10 (10 being fastest). i spend 100% of my welding, regardless of how much heat I am pushing, betweensettings 1 and 2. It makes the wire speed control VERY touchy, and therefore a PITA. If I were buying again, I would make sure that the speed control was "better" than what I have.

2. The power settings are "fixed". the settings are labeled A, B, C and D. This is less than optimal, because sometimes wish I had "C-and-a-half". If buying again, I would look for infininely variable heat to solve this problem.

One last thought - one that didn't occur to me until I started looking at TIG machines... Often, the welding supply distributor will have used machines that they have been taken in on trade, etc. It is a very educational experience to visit with these guys. Go to your local distributor, tell them what you are welding, how often you do so and what your budget is. They might have a used unit that will suit you. At a minimum, you will get insight and you will get a feel for their ability to service any unit, new or used, that you buy (from wherever you buy it).

...on the other hand, don't expect much help from the box store folks. They just don't know.[/QUOT

Thats alot to take in but aswers most of my questions. Thanks

 

[Doc Sprocket]

You make a couple good points, hedghawg. Here's my take-

I spent six years welding in the field using Lincoln lunchboxes, from the 100 to the 140. Regarding the feed speed, yeah, it's a little silly. Pretty much the only time I went higher than about 2.75 was when loading a new spool, and only went lower than 1 a few times doing fills in thin 300 series stainless sheet. So basically, it would have been better to have a full sweep between maybe 0.5 and 3, and then a "turbo" switch for loading a new spool.

Yes, C-and-a-half woulda been great. A few of the machines I used were infinitely variable, and it was really sweet, but a pricey option. On the other hand, with enough practice, you can adjust your style/techique to get the job done with the next highest (or lowest) setting.

Now that I'm no longer welding professionally, I've picked up a used 120v Lincoln 100 that's fine for most hobby tasks I have, which amounts to 1/4" or even 5/16" max thickness with a little effort, ie bevelling, multi-pass, pre-heating, etc.

As for which brand, it's pretty much a Chevy/Ford/Dodge thing, but I've been pretty happy with Lincoln's "bang for the buck".

Cheers! Chris

 

[porsche930dude]

i also have a lincoln 100 iv had it for like 10 years and use it weekly on anything you can think of i run gas to it. like the guys said c.5 would be nice but that pretty much comes down to trigger control. Its a great welder

 

[freakboy]

I wana buy a welder soon so i can get weld crap when ever instead of bringin it to school.

 

[jorge0136]

What materials are you going to be welding? Do you have 220 volts wired in your house? 110 is what you typically have wired in your house. You would plug your blender into 110volts. Your drier on the other hand plugs into a 220 volt plug. If you don't have 220 in your garage you are stuck with 110. Do you want MIG or arc welder?

I wouldn't go with the harbor freight model. I have been rather disatisfyed with mine. The above problems of nearly uncontrollable speed and power are very true. I bought a older miller 220v mig welder and have been happy as can be since. You can get a heck of a mig welder for $400.

Have you considered a oxyegen actylene torch first? You can weld with it and use it to cut things apart. That's what I started with.

 

[freakboy]

I got 220 right were i work the plug is tempting me. when me and my dad designed this house we pourposly added 220 in our garage for a welder. and pretty much all i need to weld is steal and i would pefer a cheep mig. the highest i will go is $300

 

[toofarnorth]

I've used a Hobart Handler MIG (I think it's the 140) at the shop I work at for the past 7 years and I don't have any complaints about it, if I were to buy a welder for home use that's what I'd get. You don't need a 220 unless your doing long welds on heavy steel, most of the time if your building a frame or something you'll pause between welds to move a clamp or recheck to make sure something didn't move from the heat, so you'd rarely come up against the duty cycle. The nice thing about getting a used mig is a lot of times they'll have a bottle and the sellers don't even consider that in the price even though they cost over $150. Keep an eye on craigslist, times are hard people are selling things they normally wouldn't.

 

[freakboy]

Everyone around here would never sell it they have the same mind as everyone else here aka junk isnt junk if you fix it. and everyone around here would be using there welder for work and wont give theres up.

 

[toofarnorth]

There's always some fool that got all excited watching Monster Garage or American Chopper and went out got all the tools only to discover that he sucks at building stuff and should just stick to being a lawyer. So the tools collect dust for a few years until his wife who has to squeeze past the welder to get in her car snags her stalking on it for the 50th time. I can assure you there will be tools for sale and the price will be inversely proportional to how sick the seller is of looking at them. You just have to beat me to them.

 

[freakboy]

LOL so your the one looking around on york craigslist for crap lol. its more like i need to beat everyone else in york county rofl. I think ill just buy new im sure my dad will chip in we have been thinking of getting one.