# HOBART Handler 190



## jpfabricator (Apr 2, 2014)

I see Northern tools has the Hobart handeler 190 with spoolgun on sale. Does anyone have one of these? If so what are the pros and cons. Thanks in advance for any help.

Jake Parker


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## TomS (Apr 2, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

I bought my 190 about 2-1/2 years ago.  I'm not an expert welder but do find it easy to set up and use.  Keep in mind this is not an industrial machine.  It's purpose is to satisfy the hobby welder that needs a bit more welding capability than the 110V machines.  If you are welding all day long this is not the machine you need.  

I don't have the spool gun so can't comment on that.  I made my choice after comparing the major manufacturer's offerings in the 150 to 200 amp range.  The Hobart stood out both on output and price.  Think I paid about $700 delivered to my door.

Hope this is useful information.

Tom S


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 2, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

I don't have a 190 but I did get a Hobart 210MVP as a Christmas present for myself.   I had done some stick welding about 40 years ago and nothing since.  I took a mig class at the local community college a few months ago.  I like the 210 very much, I find it easier to use and more forgiving than the larger more expensive machines we used in class.  I am very happy with my purchase.


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## righto88 (Apr 2, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

I like my 190 very much. Mine does not have the spool gun but the Hobarts are a good welder.


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## DMS (Apr 2, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

I have a millermatic 211. My understanding is that both machines are made in the same factory. One thing to keep in mind is that the 190 is a 220V machine, which is a problem if you take it on the road. The 211 will run on either 110 or 220V, which is nice, but peak output is slightly lower. That is a pretty fantastic price though. I have been really happy with my 211, I think you would be happy with the 190 unless you need to take it on the road.

One thing to count into the price is the cost of gas tanks. That spool gun is intended for aluminum, and you will need an argon tank to go with it. For steel, you will need either a CO2 tank, or an 75/25 Argon/C02 tank unless you plan to stick with flux core wire. Just make sure you count that into your total budget (as well as a helmet, some gloves and an angle grinder).


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## jamie76x (Apr 2, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

it all depends on your expectations for the machine.

Years ago Hobart was a great machine but these days its department store low grade equipment. Yes it works, but you get what you pay for. Its an ok machine for hobby use but a far cry from a Miller or Lincoln.
As far as the spool gun goes, Don't get too excited over it. You are not going to do high quality aluminum welding with it. 190 amps at a low duty cycle is not much power for welding aluminum.  You are looking at a machine for light decorative aluminum work.

I know a lot of you Hobby guys dislike my posts and I can understand why. I tell you what you don't want to hear. You want to hear that the low dollar machine will fulfill all your hopes and dream... And I can understand that.


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## markknx (Apr 5, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

Jamie, What size AL do you think a hobby guy wouldbe welding? 2"? I am not familiar with this machine but as a welder I know 190 amps can weld at least 3/4 thick in AL. A better question would be arc stability,wire feed control, an current control. Keep in mind that the hobbyist will not be going for an X-ray quality weld and I think it will be fine. I have a lincohn 255 square wave and 125 plus wire machine at the house and I tend to lean on the 125 wire machine for most everyday welding. for AL or SS I use TIG or Stick. if I go above 5/16-3/8 I will use stick. At work anything over 1/2 that requires full pen we would most likely get a wire feeder out there. Yes A hobart would not be a miller or lincohn, but I can not see them as being a bad machine for home use, nor could I not believe that a hobart 190 could not weld at least as big as a Lincohn 125 (now the 135)


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## W6PUG (Apr 6, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*

I do not have the 190, but I do have the Ho bart EzTIG 165i, and have NO issues with the quality or performance. Miller owns Hobart because they wanted the lower cost wire and rod product line, and the Hobart welders are for the guys who cannot afford Red or Blue, but I am really happy with everything I touch with mine. I am thinking about giving my son my HF 180MIG and getting Hobart for those jobs. So far/so good. I also have Hobart helmet and am pleased with it as well. Not sure what your expectations are, but thus far I am not disappointed.


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## burtonbr (Apr 6, 2014)

I was looking for a home shop welder last year and was all set to buy a miller 211 mig, and get a stick welder later, but ran across the ThermalArc 211i, 3 in 1 mig, tig, stick. I've welded with several different miller welders both mig and stick which all did a good job, but this 211i. In my opinion is so much easier and a much smoother arc than the miller 211 and a 304 xmt I had used.
for me it is the perfect home welder having a 200 amp Mig/ stick welder with a better duty cycle and being able to learn to tig is great. I use it on 220v but it has 110a max on 110v which is a big plus if you ever need it. 
It is a bit more, at around $1200, than the Hobart on sale and the spool gun for the 211i is an extra $300 but for a 3 in 1 all around welder for the home/shop or farm I think it will do everything I need.
just thought you might want to look at the ThermalArc, now Tweeco, machines if you need more than just MIG.


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## TOOLMASTER (Apr 6, 2014)

The small hobarts work fine as long as you don't weld long welds..you have to pay attention to the duty cycles..


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## DMS (Apr 6, 2014)

This is a good point, but there are going to be similar restrictions on all machines, and duty cycle gets low the smaller you go. My MM211 is rated at 20% on 110V (2 minutes welding every 10 minutes), and 30% on 220V (3 minutes every 10 minutes). The 190 is rated at 30% duty cycle. I have never run into an issue where I overheated my 211. Most of my welds are under 10 seconds; I don't do a lot of long-continuous welds. Now.. you may be doing different things. Maybe you plan on doing structural work on large I-beams or plates... in which case, this machines is not the right one. If you are doing mostly 1/4" or under mild steel, then this machines should be up to the task.


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## Ray C (Apr 6, 2014)

Just a thought here regarding duty cycle...  Duty cycles are usually specified at some particular Amperage.  Most brands will show the duty cycle at full rated Amps and some will cite the duty cycle at roughly 70% of rated Amps.  Whenever I see equipment that's not rated at full Amps, I always interpret that as a hint from the manufacturer that the machine is not really suited for running at full output.  In other words, I somehow interpret this as an implied service factor rating.  -I could be reading too much into this but since I've worked with a lot of professional Sales and Marketing types, I know their tricks and ways of distorting things.

Anyhow if that 190 Amp machine happens to have a 30% duty cycle at full output then, a fairly safe rule of thumb is that it's duty cycle is double (60%) when operating at half (95) Amps.

In any event, I've been using this rule of thumb for a good while with all my welders and they're healthy and functioning (except the Chicago Electric welding units I once had that quit working no matter how much I under-rated the duty cycle).

EDIT:  One more thought...  When you finish a weld, don't power the machine off right away.  Most units have a cooling fan so, let it run long enough to cool the machine before actually cutting the input power.


Ray


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## jamie76x (Apr 7, 2014)

*Re: HOBART hadeler 190*



markknx said:


> Jamie, What size AL do you think a hobby guy wouldbe welding? 2"? I am not familiar with this machine but as a welder I know 190 amps can weld at least 3/4 thick in ALQUOTE]
> 
> If I knew I could weld 3/4" aluminum with a 190 amp department store welder I would not have needed to shell out the $$$ for my syncrowave 350's.
> 
> After 20 years of running my own shop I learned something new here...


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## sniggler (Apr 8, 2014)

I ran a spool gun for aluminum on a Millermatic 200 from .090 up to 1/2 inch for a long time. 1/2 half inch requires beveled joints and and multi pass welds. 1/4, 3/16 and 3/8 weld very nicely with my mig with no issues as to the strength of the welds. 1/8 and .090 take more skill to work through deal with burn through and distortion.

Tig welding aluminum takes more amps at least my miller dialarc 250 needs to be running full bore to weld 3/8.

As an all around hobby welder I think the 180 with a spool gun hits an attractive price point. 

Bob


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## mjonkman (Apr 8, 2014)

I bought the Hobart Handler 190 with spool gun two weeks ago from Tractor Supply. They only had it available online, I think the price was comparable to Northern Tools price. However at the time Tractor Supply was doing their spring promo and had sent out a 10% off coupon and I think free or reduced price on shipping. At the end of the day I never left my house and got it here with a final price including taxes and shipping was less then the Northern Tool sales price was at that time. TSC doesn't always have the combo package, it will be there one week, then disappear for several then show back up and coupons show up occasionally in the mail.

The order came out with these numbers:

Order Subtotal:	$819.99
Discounts:	 -$82.00
Shipping:	$14.99
Tax:	$36.90
Total:	$789.88

How well the welder works I can't say. Its still in the box on the floor in the shop in the exact same position it arrived 2 weeks ago. I'm just now getting some time to play in the shop.

I don't know if I'll ever weld aluminum, but i liked the idea of the spool gun just in case. Just be careful that you actually are getting a savings over buying the welder and the spool gun separately. Amazon sells the spool gun for $209.  I know I debated long and hard as to its value based on buying separately and whether or not I would ever need the spool gun. The extra coupon from TSC forced the issue - I think it brought the cost down to something like $740 making the spool gun only $60 more then the welder by itself.

I had debated the MVP 210 as well ($899). For me personally I couldn't afford the exact $200 for the capability of switching between 220 and 110V input, based on the standalone 190's price of $699.99 (no spool gun) - current TSC sales price is $649 making it a $250 gap.

Sincerely
Mark R. Jonkman


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## sniggler (Apr 8, 2014)

I think that's a great price. I know it was over 3000 around 1984 when i got my mm200 with spool gun over time it bought itself so many times. 

Good luck with it and here's wishing you get some time to use it for the things you want to fabricate. I weld every day for a living but i would rather be building aluminum skiffs or fishing in them oooooo trouts biting. 

Bob


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