good deal on welder?

[snomaker321]

So i have been looking for a fairly cheap mig welder to lean how to weld with. I was mainly looking for a 110v one which was one reason i wanted mig vs. stick, but then i came across this:http://nh.craigslist.org/tls/1561532719.html
I know its like a 20 year old machine but ive been looking around online and have read alot of good things about it.

Does anybody have or know anyone with this welder? Would you recommend it? Whats it worth? Is it too much of a risk being as old as it is?

I know its probably was more than i'll ever need but I'd rather get one too big than kick myself later for needing a bigger one. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

well it definitely looks well used, but this will be the size machine you will want to purchase if you plan to do alot of fabbing. dont get me wrong 110v is very usefull too, but more for light fab and body work. that 220 will do cages, bumpers, skidplates, sliders, etc. hobart is a brand name and they are manufactured by miller (i believe). the only thing that would keep me from buying this welder would be the condition of the critical components. id want to make sure that the wheels on the wire feeder are not worn out (should have at least 2 size grooves, .035 and .045), check the condition of the welding leads (you dont want a smashed up gun with a bent nozzle and torn rubber hose). if everything looks alright and its just dirty (that happens when youre used hard for 20 years) then i would snatch this up quick, i payed $2500 for my 220 lincoln in 2004 and added another $1000 of accesories to it in order to weld aluminum (spool gun, dual tank conversion kit, extra tank, harris flo tube regulator.

 

[Hopman]

Sno, snag it. While you're at it, swing up to Bow & drop in for a visit. Either that or I'll meet you at the Red Arrow.

 

[EnglishDan]

what is 'air gas' and 'asetelen' - surely he does not mean acetylene!!!!

Looks a good buy if it it is working ok - Try it out before you buy it.

 

[runn6610]

Good old machine! Not sure what the seller means with "air gas and acetylene". Air Gas is a gas disributer, not a "kind" of gas and acetylene is, well acetylene. Dpending on what kind(s) of material(s) you plan to weld, will determine what kind of sheilding gas you will require. It could be CO2, argon or a mix of both.
In short, I'd make sure it welds before you buy it. Lots can be wrong with a machine that age...from somethng cheap(bad liner, tip or nozzle), to expensive(bad transformer or drive motor). If nothing else take it into a facility that sells and services them. It may cost a few buck to have them check it out, but it would be better than getting stuck with a $375 boat anchor. Also you'll need to be wired for 220V to run this.
Good luck!

 

[rockwerks]

Its a good machine if its all in working order. most 110V machines are not worth the money, they don't weld worth a crap and most are only rated for 1/8" steel or 3/16" max. Snapon has great 110V welders rated to 3/8" but the price is high

 

[OilPatch197]

OLD Machines are good(copper windings) BUT remember you need spare parts support! The confusion I see,is that when Miller purchased Hobart, information, and parts, on the pre-Miller Hobart machines became scarce. But as far as gun parts, if you can find the part numbers, are readily available from manufacturers like Profax, OXO, American Torch Tip, etc.

The Miller parts Guide has parts for Piecemaker guns, not sure when Hobart got bought out, but once you find parts, I would get a pretty good supply of them, since as these guns die their natural death, parts has become more scarce, and more costly. I believe they quit making those years ago so parts for them come from finding a used one or just changing out the gun.

Of course your other option is to replace the gun with something that parts are readily available for, such as Tweco, Bernard, Binzel etc. you can make adapters based on the Hobart so you can plug in Miller and Lincoln guns.

 

[canyoncritter]

might be of some help to you.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/

 

[IlovemybroncII]

hobart is a good brand its old try it out beford you buy if everything works go for it

 

[snomaker321]

alright so i might go take a look at. it been on cl for a while now. Im new to this so all help is greatly appreciated.

What/how should i look for on it? He said he could demo it if I brought a tank, he doesnt have any.

Im looking to use it to learn how to weld and fix a few things, nothing major. Id rather have a bigger one now so i dont regret getting one too small later.

It should be able to weld flux core, right? just reverse the polarity?

thanks for the help guys

 

[EnglishDan]

I've no idea when it comes to reversing the polarity - I'm not really a flux core man. Why would you want to mess around with flux core on a machine like this? Get yourself a gas bottle! If you only intend on using flux core and welding tanks then maybe a new cheapo machine might be the way to go - at least you'll get a guarantee.
Take a couple of bits of scrap - 1/4" or 3/8" and test it out.

 

[runn6610]

Yep. Reversing the polarity will be neccessary to weld flux core...but be sure the wire is in good shap. Lots of wire feed problems come from a "bad" spool of wire, ie: crushed, rusted, or tangled on the spool. It wont feed well at all if the wire isn't any good. Flux core wire will produce a very "dirty" weld. So if you want something that looks decent, use a shielding gas. If the guy has a (working) regulator, a 20# tank of CO2 is what you'll need to weld most mild steel. It's cheap and available from any welding supply store. Make sure the regulator is for CO2 (or you have a CGA 320 adaptor)or else your fittings will not be compatible between the tank and the regulator. Good luck!

 

[Lee_533]

Hell Ya...Dude it doesn't really matter how old the welder is, as long as it was well maintained it will be good...I have an old NAPA welder, I don't even know how old this thing is but I got it for 200 and it's a beast. The only problem that you have with this 200 vs a 110 is the plug. You do need a 220 plug which means a bigger breaker...the 110 will just plug into a wall...but it's a nice welder, definitely get it...