3 Best Hobart Welders Reviews in 2024: Buyer’s Guide

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Last Updated on April 16, 2024 by John Patterson

Hobart Welders Reviews

Choosing a welder machine takes its toll.

And why do we say that?

First of all, the specs and features of a welding machine are so many in numbers that, meeting them all at one point is almost a mammoth task. In the race of price and specs, we often forget about choosing the right brand.

And Hobart (the giant welding tool manufacturer) comes in that place.

Hobart Welders Reviews 

Below, we’ve picked up the 3 best welders and broken down their features for you-

#1. Hobart Handler 140 Review

There is a common myth among welders that, if you want to get a MIG welder from a good brand, you’ve to spend a fortune. With due respect, we strongly disagree with the concept. Because we’re about to break down the features and specs of Hobart handler 140 below. Once done, you can understand why we’ve recognized it as a narrow exception.

What We Liked
    • Hobart 140 Can weld up to ¼ inches of mild steel metal.
    • Works within 25 to 140 amperage.
    • Cast aluminum-made drive system.
    • 2000 amp clamp for extensive works.
    • Weighs only 57 pounds, one of the lightest.
    • High-quality design and assembly.
    • Easy to use.

What We Didn't Like
  • Hobart 140 Doesn’t operate at 230V.

Let’s take a look-

Features and Benefits

Welcomes almost all Kind of Welding Metals
Often, welders have a complaint about their MIG welder that the machine doesn’t work well with all kinds of welding metals. A model that works fine with steel doesn’t work that much good with aluminum.

But this model from Hobart is free of this curse. It welcomes cast iron, aluminum, titanium, magnesium alloy, copper, brass, and so on.

Great No-load IPM
No-load IPM is one of those grades of a welding machine that shows off its efficiency indeed. And the good news is, this model will get a 10 on 10 in this regard.

This Hobart handler 140 welders has a wire feed speed of 40-70 IPM on the action, and the no-load speed is 50-140 IPM. Suitable for your welding project.

5 Voltage Options to Adjust Your Welding
As you know, different metals and subjects different welding strengths to be welded. Therefore, you’ve to adjust the voltage. This Hobart welder machine lets you change between 5 separate voltage options, and each one of them will give you a different intensity and ability to weld.

Cast Aluminum of Industrial Grade to Build the Wire Drive System
Upon regular usage, the lifetime of a welding drive system gets flushed away. To protect it from prior damage, this welder has a cast aluminum-made wire drive system. Also, it works fine as a protector from heat and corrosion.

200 Amp Heavy Duty Work Clamp
The work clamp plays an important role when it’s about placing the right arc in the proper manner. Therefore, this Hobart handler 140 welder machine comes with a 200 amp heavy duty work clamp, which gives the welder a reliable and trusted hand.

High-Quality Design and Assembly
All of the parts and products of this Hobart handler 140 welding machine are designed and assembled in the USA. Therefore, it comes with a high quality built and longer lasting lifetime. As you know, ensuring top-notch durability is one of the primary demands that a welder should focus on.

#2. Hobart Handler 210 Review

MIG welders are one of the most complicated welders among the three major types of welders. But if you find a MIG welder equally functioning and easy to use, that’s what we call a winning deal.

What We Liked
    • Welds up to ⅜ inches of mild steel.
    • 7 voltage options to move within.
    • Both 115V and 230V compatible.
    • A drive system made of cast aluminum.
    • Quick changing of the drive roll system.

What We Didn't Like
  • 87 pounds of weight can be hard to move by a single person.

In this regard, we were looking for a Hobart MIG welder that is smart in action and easy to use. And finally, we’ve met the Hobart Handler 210 MVP. Let’s see what’s inside of this machine-

Features and Benefits

Precise Welding with 7 Voltage Settings
One of the welding 101 is, you require different voltage to perform various kinds of welding. In this regard, welders seek a variation of voltage in action. This welder from Hobart will let you do that with ease. It has got 7 different voltage settings within it, which can be shifted between each other quite easily. Welding will come to be more perfect and precise for you.

Dual Voltage Adaptation
Household power outlets usually come with a voltage output of 110V, and industrial power outlets are 220V. When you have to use the same welder in these two scenarios, things become a little weird.

Read also: Step-by-step guide to wire a 220V outlet for a welder.

But not as long as you have got the Hobart Handler, you don’t have to worry about it. It has got an adaption to both 110/115V and 230/220V, and this adjustability is entirely automatic.

Ample Welding Capability
This Hobart welder is of MIG type. So the welding capacity is supposed to be higher than arc and TIG welders. But the way it welds metal is even more surprising.

Take a 3.8 steel-made metal as an example. It can cut 24 ga. of this ⅜ inches steel in a single pass. Therefore, any welding chore will turn into a faster and smoother process for you.

Quite Heavy Duty Cycle
If you take the performance of a welding machine into account, the duty cycle comes to be one of the first and foremost factors on the list. Therefore, we looked up into this model and found a 20% duty cycle at 90 amperes (115V) and a 30% duty cycle at the amperage of 150amp. The second work cycle is conducted on industrial scenarios, where you will be given an operating voltage of 230V.

Easy to Setup
A non-technical, yet important virtue of this model is its easy installment. No matter it’s the household scenario or industrial, you can set this welder up within minutes.

Even if you are a rookie with such kind of welder machine, the instant setup and installation guide will show you the path.

#3. Hobart Handler 190 Review

We are at the third slot for today’s review, and we have the Hobart 500554001 Handler 190 with SpoolRunner 100 on the podium now. It an industrial-grade welder with a handful of useful features.

What We Liked
    • Can weld 24 ga. to 5/16 inches of metal in a pass.
    • Operates fine for industrial purposes.
    • 7 different voltage options to select.
    • Infinite wire feed with the magnetic feature.
    • 30% duty cycle at 130 amperes.
    • Comes with a spool runner.

What We Didn't Like
  • Quite high in terms of price point.

Let’s break the elements down below-

Features and Benefits

Can Create Perfect Arc for Perfect Metal Thickness
We know that one of the biggest challenges of professional welding is, dealing with different types of metal/sheet metal. For that purpose, you have to create different kinds of arcs. And this becomes quite challenging when you don’t set it on the correct voltage.

To put an end to this issue, this welder machine had got 7 different voltage adjustments with infinite wire feeding control. Result? Perfectly stable welding arc for any metal.

A Complete Solution for Industrial Welding
You can call it either commercial welding or industrial welding- it’s the same thing. You can run this welder machine at 220V or power, and go for any heavyweight welding tasks. And by the way, this is the first welding machine from Hobart’s inventory that had been solely made for industrial purposes.

Can-Weld Materials of Up to 5/16 Inches
This is another of the excellent qualities of this welder machine. It can weld any metal or materials that are as thin as 24 gauge and contains a thickness of 5/16 inches at best.

25 amp to 90 amp Range of Amperage
The best part of this industrial welder is, it’s a high range of capabilities to hold and weld every metal part out there. Provided with 220V or 230V of power, it can adjust within an amperage range of 25 to 190, which is massive.

30% Duty Cycle at 130 Ampere
The duty cycle is a parameter of how efficient the welder is in terms of power usage. The good news, in this case, is, the Hobart 500554001 Handler 190 with SpoolRunner 100 has got a duty cycle of 30% at a given temperature of 130 amp. Good for you as a welder.

Comes with a Spool Runner
You might wonder at first place by the price point of this welder. But one of the reasons for the high price that it has got is the spool runner that they provide with the model. It helps to reduce the waste of metal.

Who makes/who owns Hobart Welders?

Hobart Brothers is a company founded by Mr. Charles Clarence Hobart back in 1917. After several twists and turns, Illinois Tool Works now owned the company in 1996.

Before this adaptation, all of the Hobart Tools products and accessories were manufactured in the state USA. But after the adjustment, the production unit changed a shift from the USA to Taiwan and China.

When Hobart Tools Inc decided to bring all of their products under one brand name- Hobart, then the product line got to be in two parts. The parts and items were manufactured in China, and the design and assembly used to be in the USA.

How we wrote this review?

Where we were on the mission of figuring out the review, we went through a skeptical process. We did all of the welders that Hobart had commercially produced, and broken down the features in-depth.

While selecting and analyzing these 3 models of Hobart, here are the factors that we’ve taken into consideration-

Welding Capacity

Every welding project has some requirements of arc power and welding metal. Therefore, we’ve taken all sorts of welding scenarios into account and matched that with the welder machines we’ve selected.

Power Adjustability

Welding machines come in three different voltage adaptability- 115V, 230V, and both. Therefore, one of the three products is for 115V household works, one is for 230V commercial works, and the other one is for both.

Voltage Variation

For creating different arc powers in welding, you need to keep variating within a range of volts. And the higher the number of voltage choices you have, the better it is with the machine. That had been another fact that we considered

Price-Quality Ratio

The last thing but not the least that we’ve found is the price and the value you are getting for it. Of course, you don’t want to pay for a new carrying case or such less worthy items. So, we had an eye on this.

FAQs

Question #1: Where are Hobart welders made?

Answer: Currently, welders parts are manufactured in China and designed/assembled in the USA.

Question #2: Who sells Hobart welders?

Answer: After their adaptation in 1996, Illinois Tool Works officially owns and sells Hobart products.

Question #3: Does Miller make Hobart welders?

Answer: Miller/Illinois Tool Works own Hobart and its product lines under the same name.

Hobart Welder Alternatives

Here are a few alternative quality welders’ reviews for you.
#1. Esab Rebel Welders
#2. Klutch Welding machines
#3. Lincoln Handy Mig Welder
#4. Vulcan Welders
#5. Eastwood Welders
#6. HYL Welders
#7. 110v Stick Welders
#8. Forney Welders
#9. Chicago Welding Machines

Final Verdict

Choosing the right welding machine takes its research and analytics.

With this Review, you might leave the worries of choosing the brand in the first place.

Based on whether you’re a professional or occasional welder, and your budget, you can choose from these three Hobart welders.

About the author

John Patterson

Hi there! My name is John Patterson. I’m a meticulous guy who loves to deal with the perfect tools for various needs. No matter if it’s a woodworking tool or gardening tool or anything else, I don’t compromise the quality and usability. Since 2010 I’ve been testing different tools for different DIY and professional tasks. Later in 2015, I decided to share my knowledge with the world. I started by answering people in the forums and several Q/A sites like Quora. Then I founded this blog to aid others like you with my knowledge and experience.