New welding machine

I have had a Lincoln Weld Pak 100 for 15 years and it served me well and took much abuse and survived. I like it a lot but... it is 120 volt powered, convenient, but limited in amps and not good for 1/4 inch steel in a single pass.

I recently bought a Hobart Handler 210 which welds circles around the little Lincoln. It should as it is about as powerful a portable (no wheels and has handle on top of case) as I could find. It is a nice MIG and will deliver up to 210 amps which will do 3/8 steel. It will also do aluminum with the included accessory spool gun. It out performs my AC/DC Lincoln stick welder.

About the portability... It has no wheels, is not much bigger than the Lincoln and... It does have a handle on the top but... with a large roll of flux cored wire installed it tips the scales at about 88 lbs. I pick it up and carry it around but not very far for very long. I mounted it to my welding trailer but you can't always get the trailer up close to what you want to weld and (recall folks) the leads on a MIG are only about 10 ft long.

I redid the mounting arrangement so it is easy to remove the welder to roam around within my 60 ft extension cord range. (Extension cord is 240 volt 50 amp capable and only a little more portable than the Hobart) I will be making a cart with large diameter (off road/uneven terrain) wheels for the welder so I can get to work areas within my extension cord range of the trailer and its generator but where the trailer can't go.

I have never used shielding gas with a MIG before, always opting for flux cored wire but I am anxious to try my hand at aluminum welding so I will be buying a bottle for shielding gas, probably at least two (if not three), one for argon and one for C25 (75% argon and 25% Carbon dioxide.) From what I have read just carbon dioxide does not give as good of results, especially at lower power settings but it is cheaper.

Pat

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Originally Posted by Pat

I have never used shielding gas with a MIG before, always opting for flux cored wire but I am anxious to try my hand at aluminum welding so I will be buying a bottle for shielding gas, probably at least two (if not three), one for argon and one for C25 (80% argon and 20% Carbon dioxide.) From what I have read just carbon dioxide does not give as good of results, especially at lower power settings but it is cheaper.

Pat

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I too am interested in welding with aluminum, however I've been told that the wire won't feed well, and I'll need and expensive option, a spool gun. This advice comes from those experienced. I would be curious as to how your adaptation functions without same.
I've never used the flux wire for mig I've always used the argon mix. I weld with a tweeco stinger on a millermatic 200,not very portable.

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Originally Posted by Robertbrown

I too am interested in welding with aluminum, however I've been told that the wire won't feed well, and I'll need and expensive option, a spool gun. This advice comes from those experienced. I would be curious as to how your adaptation functions without same.
I've never used the flux wire for mig I've always used the argon mix. I weld with a tweeco stinger on a millermatic 200,not very portable.

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The Hobart Handler isn't all that portable at 88 lbs but I will manage. I got a package deal, the accessory spool gun is regularly $200 but with the welder it was $100 PLUS the welder was on sale significantly under regular retail. AND there was free shipping and no tax. Northern Tool beat the socks off of Tractor Supply.

Right, aluminum is too soft to feed through the length of the lead hence the spool gun. The Handler 210 came with a nice gauge set and hose etc for shielding gas and the spool gun so all I need to get is a bottle of argon and some aluminum wire.
Once upon a time back in my free lance consulting days I was developing a battery operated arc welder originally intended for stick welding but which I adapted for TIG as well. I learned to TIG steel but aluminum was beyond my self taught capability. When I thought I had the aluminum workpiece about hot enough to add filler big chunks of it would slough off.

The only time I ever welded aluminum successfully was a decorative cast aluminum patio table made in Mexico (probably out of recycled beer cans) the leg of which I broke off plus a crack in the ornamentation of the top. I used my Lincoln AC/DC tombstone stick welder with flux coated aluminum rods and like with TIG added filler in from the side with my left hand. I used scraps of aluminum window screen frame for filler.

I hope to do as well or better with the spool gun and argon shield as I did with my Rube Goldberg approach. Ironically my first project is a repair to that same table and chair set. My original welds are still holding 15 years later but now some of the chairs have cracked Apparently it is NOT a good quality casting. It is pretty brittle.

Pat

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Originally Posted by Pat

The Hobart Handler isn't all that portable at 88 lbs but I will manage. I got a package deal, the accessory spool gun is regularly $200 but with the welder it was $100 PLUS the welder was on sale significantly under regular retail. AND there was free shipping and no tax. Northern Tool beat the socks off of Tractor Supply.

Pat

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Congratulations! You got a great deal, I hope it works well. I suppose it should, Hobart has a good reputation.
My quote for a spool gun and associated apurtenances was probably more than you have in your new welder with spool gun.
Free shipping on 88# plus.... How come that never happens to me?