AC/DC TIG welder for $649

[turboglenn]

I just got a Hobart Handler 140 for Christmas, is this a decent welder? Looking up reviews and such atm, seems it can weld shielded and unshielded, and aluminum.

I've had mine for over 10 years and it's not even had a single liner put in the lead (it's a plastic piece the wire slides through on it's way to the gun) although i do need one kinda bad at this point the things been through hell and back, used for it's duty cycle until thermal shut down at least a dozen times and still welds like the day i bought it..you made a great choice in 110v MIG welding with the hobart unit (miller bought out hobart about 10-12 years ago, so they are basically the same machines... my hobart evenhas a miller gun factory from them making the changeover...now they are both made of the best components and tech from both companies...either way you can't go wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PotatoFlakeSTi]

I've had mine for over 10 years and it's not even had a single liner put in the lead (it's a plastic piece the wire slides through on it's way to the gun) although i do need one kinda bad at this point the things been through hell and back, used for it's duty cycle until thermal shut down at least a dozen times and still welds like the day i bought it..you made a great choice in 110v MIG welding with the hobart unit (miller bought out hobart about 10-12 years ago, so they are basically the same machines... my hobart evenhas a miller gun factory from them making the changeover...now they are both made of the best components and tech from both companies...either way you can't go wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well thats exciting, thanks for your input!

 

[Gamble97]

I just got a Hobart Handler 140 for Christmas, is this a decent welder? Looking up reviews and such atm, seems it can weld shielded and unshielded, and aluminum.

I have it, love it!!!
The spool gun is expensive though.
It's one of if not the best 110v mig welder you can get.

 

[turboglenn]

Well that exciting, thanks for your input!

Anyntime.... a few tips on setup real fast too that might help

Set the spool of wire where there's some drag on it so it won't just unwind and bunch up inside the machine.. then what i do to set the spring tension on the feed wheels is to not hook up the ground wire (so it's not trying to weld) set the speed to about 20-25 on the dial.. and with bout 1.8th inch of wire sticking out put it against some wood or plastic and pull the trigger to see if the wheels want to just bend the wire and push a not up between the wheels and the sheath of the gun or if they slip.. You want to back off tension until they slip or under some welding where things aren't going 100% smooth you'll get them starting to bunch/bend the wirebetween them and the cheath and it will make little "V" bends that cause drag inside the liner/sheath, that will temporarily change your wire speed as well as causing wear on the liner

just little stuff like that when you're learning that if no one tells you will cause you headaches down the road... I learned the hard way..having to cut out knots and re-feed the wire all the way through the gun 2-3 times during a frustrating job where these troubles just make things twice as frustrating.... Also there should be a chart inside of which lead to put he ropund too and which one to hook the gun side too when using flux wire or solid wire with gas... follow that for more trouble free welding when in the learning curve

and one thing i was taught by a welding instructor i talked to at the college once was to run the gun in DCEN (for gas shielded) but actually run both gas and flux core wire together when welding in areas where wind is a factor and you'll get the cleanest welds you've seen for the conditions you're in

 

[PotatoFlakeSTi]

I have it, love it!!!
The spool gun is expensive though.
It's one of if not the best 110v mig welder you can get.

Anyntime.... a few tips on setup real fast too that might help

Set the spool of wire where there's some drag on it so it won't just unwind and bunch up inside the machine.. then what i do to set the spring tension on the feed wheels is to not hook up the ground wire (so it's not trying to weld) set the speed to about 20-25 on the dial.. and with bout 1.8th inch of wire sticking out put it against some wood or plastic and pull the trigger to see if the wheels want to just bend the wire and push a not up between the wheels and the sheath of the gun or if they slip.. You want to back off tension until they slip or under some welding where things aren't going 100% smooth you'll get them starting to bunch/bend the wirebetween them and the cheath and it will make little "V" bends that cause drag inside the liner/sheath, that will temporarily change your wire speed as well as causing wear on the liner

just little stuff like that when you're learning that if no one tells you will cause you headaches down the road... I learned the hard way..having to cut out knots and re-feed the wire all the way through the gun 2-3 times during a frustrating job where these troubles just make things twice as frustrating.... Also there should be a chart inside of which lead to put he ropund too and which one to hook the gun side too when using flux wire or solid wire with gas... follow that for more trouble free welding when in the learning curve

and one thing i was taught by a welding instructor i talked to at the college once was to run the gun in DCEN (for gas shielded) but actually run both gas and flux core wire together when welding in areas where wind is a factor and you'll get the cleanest welds you've seen for the conditions you're in

I'm already getting excited for my first crappy welds!

 

[turboglenn]

MIG comes faster than you think... watch some videos on welding tips and tricks .com and you'll see welds done through filters that will look like what you see through a mask... or better yet watch some one in person for a few tips.. but in all honesty, MIG is super easy to start out, learning advanced mig techniques to weld outside the normal parameters of the machine and other odd variables are what takes practive.. but anyone with the ability to pull a trigger and see a puddle of metal and understand what's taking place is qualified by those few things to dfo good MIG welds (well, that is after the surfaces are prepped correctly which is about 90% of most welding jobs once the basic technique is established)

 

[DSM's 4 life]

I know you were looking at tigs but I just picked up a Hobart 115 mig with shielding gas and a free cart on northern tool for just under $400

 

[Gamble97]

Guys, the longevity tig welder showed up today.
I did an unboxing video and a comparison to my miller.

 

[ed1380]

Waiting for video

 

[Ludachris]

MIG comes faster than you think... watch some videos on welding tips and tricks .com and you'll see welds done through filters that will look like what you see through a mask... or better yet watch some one in person for a few tips.. but in all honesty, MIG is super easy to start out, learning advanced mig techniques to weld outside the normal parameters of the machine and other odd variables are what takes practive.. but anyone with the ability to pull a trigger and see a puddle of metal and understand what's taking place is qualified by those few things to dfo good MIG welds (well, that is after the surfaces are prepped correctly which is about 90% of most welding jobs once the basic technique is established)

I will be borrowing my boss' Craftsman MIG here at some point, which I believe is made by Clarke or Century (or maybe even Hobart) - haven't checked the model # to find out which. Found something in a welding forum where someone posted Sears part numbers specified in their catalog as:

251= Century Electric
542= Clarke Mfg
934= Century Mfg
920= Hobart

 

[Gamble97]

I will be borrowing my boss' Craftsman MIG here at some point, which I believe is made by Clarke or Century (or maybe even Hobart) - haven't checked the model # to find out which. Found something in a welding forum where someone posted Sears part numbers specified in their catalog as:

251= Century Electric
542= Clarke Mfg
934= Century Mfg
920= Hobart

It would be sweet if it was a clarke. Those were made in Italy and are the same as the HTP 130 models. Great little welders.

Waiting for video

I just watched it and had a goof up on a few spots, I hate being on camera .
Should be uploaded shortly. It's got about 30 minutes of upload left. I'll post it when done.

 

[95grntsi]

For sale on craigslist already?

 

[Gamble97]

See if I get any bites. In a little pinch, cash would help out. If not I'll fight through it.

 

[turboglenn]

Damn, that was short lived. I take it yuo got a good example of why some of us are always sayin to spend the money on a good welder. (basing that off of selling this right away when the miller would faster and bring more$'s , especially if your in a pinch for cash)

Sucks you have to sell it so soon but how about some honest feedback on i since we never go your unboxing and comparison video. I think that if there were things you were unhappy about that coming from your experience stand point wold reallyhelp the others that are wondering if they are going to get a decent machine or not out of this company and their lower priced units.

 

[Gamble97]

Damn, that was short lived. I take it yuo got a good example of why some of us are always sayin to spend the money on a good welder. (basing that off of selling this right away when the miller would faster and bring more$'s , especially if your in a pinch for cash)

Sucks you have to sell it so soon but how about some honest feedback on i since we never go your unboxing and comparison video. I think that if there were things you were unhappy about that coming from your experience stand point wold reallyhelp the others that are wondering if they are going to get a decent machine or not out of this company and their lower priced units.

Some crap with my old divorce lawyer came up and so I'd rather get that bill taken care of and I am inbetween jobs at the moment. So it would help a lot of recoupe some money, but if not I'll find a way, but as promised.
Here is an unboxing video.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1fI0pxkWvI]Longevity 160sx Unboxing Tig Stick Welder - YouTube[/ame]

And here is a welding comparison
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov6I0Q5J8ns]Longevity 160sx Vs Miller Diversion 180 - YouTube[/ame]



Final thoughts:
Longevity:
You can tell it was china made. The clamp is a lot smaller.
The gauge wiring on the power cord is a lot smaller.
I can't figure out how the panel works correctly.
You have to keep the tungsten close to the work piece before starting the arc. Vs the miller, I can put the tungsten 6 inches away and the high frequency start will still bridge that gap.
Post/pre flow adjustments are nice.
Stick mode works really well. Smooth stable arc.

Clearance affect: Lets talk about this for a second. The ONLY reason I bought this machine was for the clearance affect. I had a few times where I really wish I had balance control for cleaning the metal. That is why I got this one, because it can handle 160amps (high duty cycle than my miller and cleaning, great for valve covers and dirty shit)
Well I thought clearance is the same as balance and it's really not. Per the book it gives you more "upside" or "down" side current. I did notice when I did 3 small beads on that 11g steel that the plate warped a lot which was wayyyy more than normal. Why: Because the clearance affect knob adjusts heat, either more heat into the work piece or more heat into the tungsten.
It's like a frequency/balance built into one knob. It's supposed to work on DC as well. I'm going to play around with it some more.
I was wrong in my first video. If you turn it all the way to the right it puts more heat into the tungsten. This unit came with a 3/32 collet and collet body, but a 5/64 tungsten. I was fighting with that damn tungsten to fit in 1/16th collet for at least 10 minutes and wondered why it wouldn't fit in there and why it just fell out of the 3/32 collet. I never knew there was such a thing as a 5/64 size.
Anyway, I got it in, and did my first aluminum pass. I had a lot of issues with aluminum at first (my fault) ran out of gas, switched tanks and then forgot to turn on the tank so when I got it to start an arc with the clearance affect all the way to the right (max cleaning) it's like it wouldn't even puddle, just got 2 splats. And the tungsten started to ball up in a few seconds. So I'm going to try again, could of been due to a very low tank. I turned it all the way the other side and it welded the aluminum BEAUTIFULLY.
I do hate the big bulky torch that they both come with though.

Final thoughts:
It's really a decent looking and feeling machine. I have to call and figure out the panel control with the knob numbs not matching with the display. However it could be the same setup they use for two of their tig machines (they have a 160 and a 200) either way it doesn't bother me because the adjustment I will use is on the foot pedal itself. Could be a little pain in the ass to get used to having to adjust it on the pedal but it's not huge deal.

All in all it's not a bad machine. If you want to get started to learn how to tig, or do it as a hobby (such as me) then I'd say it's a good deal. Plus it's hard to beat with the 5 year warranty. If you are starting a shop or plan on welding forever and want a machine that will last you forever and you can take it some place locally to be fixed. Then hands down a miller or lincoln will be the right choice. If you want the best of all the welders out there; it's no question it's HTP.

Difference between longevity and eastwood:
Eastwoods machine is 200 amps and no stick welding mode:

Longevity has a 160 and a 200. Both are made in the same factory.

Eastwood has a 3 year warranty (IIRC) and longevity has a 5 year warranty.

Any issues with the eastwood they paid for return shipping as they did for mine. Longevity you pay for shipping.

If interested in this unit please email [email protected] and tell him you saw Paul's videos and would like to purchase this unit. Unit is $714 + shipping ($60 I think) and I think they have a super secrect sale going on at the moment of 20% off. So you can get this thing for around $640 shipped. At that price it's a great buy! Remember my miller was $1800 out the door with tax and all and I love it and wouldn't have done it any other way, but for the budget minded and the person that wants to learn, then this machine will do you well.

Please also keep in mind I get absolutely nothing out of this deal. I am not affiliated with miller or longevity in any way, nor do I get paid for any of this. I get nothing. I wanted a welder with balance control and found this to be a good deal, I haggled and said I would do a video for a few bucks off (should of asked for more, it took hours to edit, since I'm new to this) everything said in the video or in this post are my opinion. Keep in mind I have been tig welding for over a year and am by no means a pro. You guys have seen my work and know I can drop a good looking aluminum bead but anything else, I stink.
So please take this review with a grain of salt. I did these videos for you guys since I was in your position awhile back and didn't know what to do.
And yes I know my eastwood tig showed up broken but they were happy to fix the issue. I know some people here have the eastwood tig and love it. I just happened to get a better deal from longevity.

Btw their forcecut 42i from longevity (plasma cutter) has taken a beating on youtube from guy in ohio. Youtube username is ChuckE2009. And it's holding up very very well. If this machine proves itself and holds up very well that may be my next purchase I make. 20% off that machine brings it to $800 which is a steal for a machine that can cut 1" metal.

 

[awdtalon4451]

Some crap with my old divorce lawyer came up and so I'd rather get that bill taken care of and I am inbetween jobs at the moment. So it would help a lot of recoupe some money, but if not I'll find a way, but as promised.
Here is an unboxing video.
Longevity 160sx Unboxing Tig Stick Welder - YouTube

And here is a welding comparison
Longevity 160sx Vs Miller Diversion 180 - YouTube



Final thoughts:
Longevity:
You can tell it was china made. The clamp is a lot smaller.
The gauge wiring on the power cord is a lot smaller.
I can't figure out how the panel works correctly.
You have to keep the tungsten close to the work piece before starting the arc. Vs the miller, I can put the tungsten 6 inches away and the high frequency start will still bridge that gap.
Post/pre flow adjustments are nice.
Stick mode works really well. Smooth stable arc.

Clearance affect: Lets talk about this for a second. The ONLY reason I bought this machine was for the clearance affect. I had a few times where I really wish I had balance control for cleaning the metal. That is why I got this one, because it can handle 160amps (high duty cycle than my miller and cleaning, great for valve covers and dirty shit)
Well I thought clearance is the same as balance and it's really not. Per the book it gives you more "upside" or "down" side current. I did notice when I did 3 small beads on that 11g steel that the plate warped a lot which was wayyyy more than normal. Why: Because the clearance affect knob adjusts heat, either more heat into the work piece or more heat into the tungsten.
It's like a frequency/balance built into one knob. It's supposed to work on DC as well. I'm going to play around with it some more.
I was wrong in my first video. If you turn it all the way to the right it puts more heat into the tungsten. This unit came with a 3/32 collet and collet body, but a 5/64 tungsten. I was fighting with that damn tungsten to fit in 1/16th collet for at least 10 minutes and wondered why it wouldn't fit in there and why it just fell out of the 3/32 collet. I never knew there was such a thing as a 5/64 size.
Anyway, I got it in, and did my first aluminum pass. I had a lot of issues with aluminum at first (my fault) ran out of gas, switched tanks and then forgot to turn on the tank so when I got it to start an arc with the clearance affect all the way to the right (max cleaning) it's like it wouldn't even puddle, just got 2 splats. And the tungsten started to ball up in a few seconds. So I'm going to try again, could of been due to a very low tank. I turned it all the way the other side and it welded the aluminum BEAUTIFULLY.
I do hate the big bulky torch that they both come with though.

Final thoughts:
It's really a decent looking and feeling machine. I have to call and figure out the panel control with the knob numbs not matching with the display. However it could be the same setup they use for two of their tig machines (they have a 160 and a 200) either way it doesn't bother me because the adjustment I will use is on the foot pedal itself. Could be a little pain in the ass to get used to having to adjust it on the pedal but it's not huge deal.

All in all it's not a bad machine. If you want to get started to learn how to tig, or do it as a hobby (such as me) then I'd say it's a good deal. Plus it's hard to beat with the 5 year warranty. If you are starting a shop or plan on welding forever and want a machine that will last you forever and you can take it some place locally to be fixed. Then hands down a miller or lincoln will be the right choice. If you want the best of all the welders out there; it's no question it's HTP.

Difference between longevity and eastwood:
Eastwoods machine is 200 amps and no stick welding mode:

Longevity has a 160 and a 200. Both are made in the same factory.

Eastwood has a 3 year warranty (IIRC) and longevity has a 5 year warranty.

Any issues with the eastwood they paid for return shipping as they did for mine. Longevity you pay for shipping.

If interested in this unit please email [email protected] and tell him you saw Paul's videos and would like to purchase this unit. Unit is $714 + shipping ($60 I think) and I think they have a super secrect sale going on at the moment of 20% off. So you can get this thing for around $640 shipped. At that price it's a great buy! Remember my miller was $1800 out the door with tax and all and I love it and wouldn't have done it any other way, but for the budget minded and the person that wants to learn, then this machine will do you well.

Please also keep in mind I get absolutely nothing out of this deal. I am not affiliated with miller or longevity in any way, nor do I get paid for any of this. I get nothing. I wanted a welder with balance control and found this to be a good deal, I haggled and said I would do a video for a few bucks off (should of asked for more, it took hours to edit, since I'm new to this) everything said in the video or in this post are my opinion. Keep in mind I have been tig welding for over a year and am by no means a pro. You guys have seen my work and know I can drop a good looking aluminum bead but anything else, I stink.
So please take this review with a grain of salt. I did these videos for you guys since I was in your position awhile back and didn't know what to do.
And yes I know my eastwood tig showed up broken but they were happy to fix the issue. I know some people here have the eastwood tig and love it. I just happened to get a better deal from longevity.

Btw their forcecut 42i from longevity (plasma cutter) has taken a beating on youtube from guy in ohio. Youtube username is ChuckE2009. And it's holding up very very well. If this machine proves itself and holds up very well that may be my next purchase I make. 20% off that machine brings it to $800 which is a steal for a machine that can cut 1" metal.

Great write up and vids bro!!! :thumbup:
Are foot pedals and torches interchangable? Or is it manufacture specific?

 

[Gamble97]

You can change the torch, not sure what type of fitting you would need. Eastwood sells a mini torch too.
The pedal, I am not sure about that.

 

[turboglenn]

Gotcha, great write up by the way.. hell if i could have gotten a write up annywhere near that on anything i use to make and sell for motorcycle, 5th scale RC and more i would've been one happy seller (can't tell how many discounts i gave with promises of honest reviews that were never written)

Anyway, I can iunderstand crapwith ex's and lawyers and i feel for ya bro..

again, excellent work, answered about everything i think i could have wondered about the unit

 

[Gamble97]

So I've gotten to play with this a little more.
From what longevity told me, the stick welder is DC only. From what other people are telling me it does AC or DC on stick mode.
In stick mode the digital display shows the amperage. On panel control and tig the display does not work and you use the numbers printed on the front of the machine.
The torch button is much nicer than the miller one. Easier to just hit it on/off vs the miller one. I set it about double the amperage for tack welding and it works great.

The more and more I use it the more and more I like it a lot. It's pretty much the same as the miller, if they had the same torch and you welded with both you wouldn't be able to tell the difference besides from the sound. The ac frequency does sound different on each one. The start of the DC is a little difference (not bad, just different)

I don't know which to use this or my miller. Only reason right now I am using the miller is because of the small torch I put on it. But for tacking this big torch is great. Either way both fantastic machines.

I'm going to play with the clearance knob tomorrow and see if I can weld some coke cans together. I've only been able to get halfway around on coke cans on my miller and only was able to do it once. It took a LOT of tries.

Don't forget to give a thumbs up and subscribe please!

 

[awdtalon4451]

I've only been able to get halfway around on coke cans on my miller and only was able to do it once. It took a LOT of tries.

Don't forget to give a thumbs up and subscribe please!

Sweet, I definitely want to see this. :thumbup:

 

[Gamble97]

Sweet, I definitely want to see this. :thumbup:

Tried it twice so far. Still looking for that perfect setting. Got a few beads on it, nothing special. I will say it's a LOT easier with this machine compared to my miller with no balance or clearance control. Also I'm trying to do this with a standard #7 cup so I'm not sure if that is helping or hurting, I may try a gas lens a little bit later. Will go back at it tonight if I have time; I have 3 more sets of cans to try.

 

[Gamble97]

Ok guys, played around some more tonight with it.
First, I had a full tank of argon on friday and left it connected and open, today I hardly had any left so I didn't play much.

3/32 blue lanthanted tungsten
21cfh argon (off pedal)
AC
#7 cup (standard, no gas lens)
Turned the amps way down to like 15 (ish)

Now keep in mind this took me a few tries as you can see. I did run out of gas at the end and I also started to blow some holes.

Keep in mind I am NOT a professional welder and am self taught, only been doing this for about a year and a half.

There is a hole at the bottom of this bead and at the top that big circle is a hole that I was actually able to fill in! Pretty impressed with myself.

Other note: the arc was not consistent a few times and I am blaming that to the tank being very very low. If it wasn't I would probably of made it farther.


I would love to test out their longevity 200ex; it's the biggest competitor for the thermal arc186. Lots and lots of features for little money!

 

[jaden]

I have the miller diversion 180 and paid $1850 brand new for it... If anyone else is running this machine i would suggest using the hand control over the foot control...

reasons:

1. you don't have to worry about the placement of the foot control all the time
2. If you drop a piece of metal on the foot control cable it WILL SHORT OUT THE MOTHERBOARD! I had this happen to me, luckily they covered under warranty but im betting the repair facility worked a little magic to get the repair done for me
3. Its just plain easyer once you get the hang of it.

IMO most people dont have enough respect for what it takes to be able to weld parts... aluminum especially, by the time you buy your welder for $2000 plus your argon bottle lease at $100/yr to lease and $100/fill plus filler rod and tungsten... what are you really making on the part you just welded for $20?

all in all... if your looking for a cheap welder you might aswell just pay someone to weld your part... its cheaper then buying a welder for personal use 100 times over... and if your going to be running a business you might as well go big or go home

 

[Fehrion_sit]

you mentioned the foot pedals arent of the best quality on some of the cheaper tig welders, are they interchangeable with a higher quality one??

 

[Gamble97]

No idea. It's not that its bad; just not as heavy and slides around plus amperage control is on the pedal. I am going to make a bracket that holds it to the floor this week.