welders

[hopalong]

I have a miller 450 diesel powered welder that has 100'leads on it, sets on a trailer with ox/acy tanks, air comp, and tool box, I recently got into a position that I could not get into, nor reach with it ((admittedly this unit is far to big for me, but the price was right)))
anyway i done some checking around and my local rent-all store had a Hobart 4500 for rent,,250# 2' wide fit on a garden cart that i pulled with my lawn tractor to get to the area I needed to get to,,,,bingo job well done, I liked it so much i bought one from Northern tool just before they raised the price $1500 free shipping, now am considering on getting rid of my 450. but hate to, do not use it much anymore

 

[B&M Farms]

Unless you plan on running 1/4" jet rods all day long you will never miss it anyway. I have a 300 lincoln but would have never bought it just for the farm. A small gas machine will work fine and double as a generator without sucking down 10 to 15 gallons of diesel a day.

 

[saltbranch]

I really like my Hobart 4500. Does good for what I do around the house and at property. I built a little flatbed cart same height as my truck bed. Slide it in the truck and go, slide back on the cart and use it around the garage.
? for the pro welders though, whats the longest leads i can put on this? Have 20'ers but fixing to start a set of pens and would like longer leads.

 

[dun]

I've got one of the old Lincoln tombstone shaped (I think 225) ones that I did a bit different. I made a power cord from 8 gauge wire that will plug into the welder 20 outlet and the other end has a 220 receptacle that the welder plugs into. The power cord is 100 feet long.

 

[saltbranch]

The power cord is 100 feet long.

Thats what i did on my old Lincoln, works great like that

 

[dun]

The power cord is 100 feet long.

Thats what i did on my old Lincoln, works great like that

There are always multiple ways to skin a cat. The neighbor just built a new shop building and I built him a power cable like mine. Came in handy when he needed to do some quicky welding in his garage. Just put the welder in the tractor bucket, drove it to the house garage, pulled the power cable and welded up a set of metal steps from the garage floor into the house.

 

[hopalong]

Those old copper wound Lincolns are great welders if power is available. not much good if the closest power is a mile away,,or you need a generator, I have one tucked away in my shop and use it when power is available, when not, I really like the Hobart 4500 can use 7018 1/8 " rod if needed, find my 225 lacking a little when I try to use 7018...6011 or 6013 it handles just fine

 

[dun]

Those old copper wound Lincolns are great welders if power is available. not much good if the closest power is a mile away,,or you need a generator, I have one tucked away in my shop and use it when power is available, when not, I really like the Hobart 4500 can use 7018 1/8 " rod if needed, find my 225 lacking a little when I try to use 7018...6011 or 6013 it handles just fine

For stuff that needs welding "way out yonder" I load it and a honda generator on the trailer and run it off the generator, works good

 

[hopalong]

I just load my welder,,,,has a generator on it,,,no need to load 2 pieces of equiptment, have it mounted on a trailer,,,can pull it with an atv and access almost anyplace

 

[B&M Farms]

I really like my Hobart 4500. Does good for what I do around the house and at property. I built a little flatbed cart same height as my truck bed. Slide it in the truck and go, slide back on the cart and use it around the garage.
? for the pro welders though, whats the longest leads i can put on this? Have 20'ers but fixing to start a set of pens and would like longer leads.

The welding leads have to be big enough or short enough to carry the current. I have a 300 amp lincoln with a 2/0 lead 150' long. The ground is 50'. This is the minimum to carry 300 amps. At 150 amps you could go 300' with this size cable. Find an electricians pocket book and you can find charts on sizes of cable and distances for different amp loads. With your machine and staying with #4 cable you could go 100' and use it wide open. Bigger cable gets pretty expensive.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Bobcat 250 on a trailer with bottles n compressor too. If I can't get there, I fire up the caterpillar or hoe and clear a path. Don't happen much anymore since most everything has been cleared.

Got a Lincoln cracker box here at the house that's older than me. It just won't die. Paid $50 at an estate sale years ago. Still use it when the welder is at the farm.

 

[NuclearCowboy]

Any thoughts on the Hobarts at TSC? I was looking at the Ironman 230 but the 210 MVP price and utility are tempting. My Lincoln buzz box and Weld-pak are at opposite ends of the ability spectrum.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got the Hobart 190 from tractor supply. Duty rating, amps, everything is working out real well for around the farm. I have a hard time welding thin stuff with it but I'm not a good welder either.

 

[B&M Farms]

Any thoughts on the Hobarts at TSC? I was looking at the Ironman 230 but the 210 MVP price and utility are tempting. My Lincoln buzz box and Weld-pak are at opposite ends of the ability spectrum.

Hobart makes decent wire machines. Just fine for the farm. Just make sure if you buy a wire welder it has a fine adjustment for the wire speed and amperage. Some of the smaller welders only have 4 settings for wire speed and amperage which make them harder to fine tune.

 

[hopalong]

Spend the extra and get the gas regulator to run unfluxed wire,,,makes for a much cleaner and better penitration IMO