Hobart 135 amp mig welder

[88desertranger]

Hey everyone, I was wondering how well of a welder a Hobart 135 amp mig welder was. I am currently stuck with only a miller 100 amp stick welder and am looking for an upgrade. Although, I dont want to have to buy a third welder. I need my next welder to be capable of doing everything I want it to. I need it to make my full cage on my ranger, and for basically any other automotive use, from sheetmetal work to frame boxing. Will this welder suffice, or do I need somethign better? Thanks in advance/.

Branden

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[Flea]

I have a hobart handler 175. it runs off of 220v and works great. but if you are looking to weld to a frame I would not go with anything less than a 175. the 135 is probably great for tubing and sheet metal..

[Andrew_Neal]

hey i have a lincoln 135 and i have had no problems with it.

it works great for everything ive done so i dont think u would have a problem

[88desertranger]

Neal - have you done any frame work with yours? would the two different brands be comparable. I dont want to have to buy another welder after my next purchase, And I need my welder to do my entire truck. Have you done any frame work/ cage work with your welder...what exactly is the diff as the amperage goes up. Does it provide a stronger weld, a cleaner weld, or just a quicker weld...

Branden

[GFC]

I have the welder in question and like it for .120 tubing and other such applications. you will have to spend more time welding with it than you would with a more powerful machine to optain proper penitration. As for boxing in the frame, with the right design(i.e. not just slaping a piece of 1/2 in steel plate in there and expecting to weld it up with full penitration) Make sure that everything you weld up is fit up correctly and SUPER clean. If you ask me, this is a great welder to take to the track in the event that you need some work done while you are out there. It is light and very portable in that respect. I feel that you would be happier with a 210 unit. My advise is to spend as much as you can on a welder within reason of your application. you can pull it off with a 135 just dont expect to weld all day with it. It does have a duty cycle of 20% so that is 2 minutes of welding followed by 8 minutes of resting.

[Andrew_Neal]

yeah my welder worked just fine for welding up a C notch on his pos bagged truck. it penitrated the fullsize chevy frame just fine. and its caged a golf cart real nice and done a lot more work around the garage

but i dont know what the differences between the two brands is though i cant imagine there is too much of a difference

[88desertranger]

Thnx for the help guys, still dont shure what I want to do, I really want to get the best welder I can, but at the same time, I want to start working on my truck, and I also have a couple friends that are willing to pay me to make some tube bumpers for them, don't want to have to wait to save money, guess I'll think it over.....

[hoeker]

search past threads on welders. most people on this board agree that at a minimum you should be in the 175 amp range. that size range welder is still 110 v and very inexpensive. definatly a better choice.

[88desertranger]

I already have 220 in my garage so, power source isnt much fo an issue. What kind of cost difference am I looking at for a used 175, as compared to a used 215....

[SuperDave]

If you want to see some pictures and get an idea of prices, product specs, and welding accessories, go to www.ebay.com and search for keyword "Millermatic". Personally, I would opt. for at least a 175. It isn't that much more than a 135. Then there's always the 210.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...y=millermatic+