There any Hobart experts out there?

[Fritz Maurer]

My old 100 amp Century wire feed went down recently, so I borrowed a Hobart Handler 175 that was sitting unused in a barn for a few years.
Im running 023 wire with 80/20 mix. The problem is although it lays a nice bead, it’s a very high hump when test welding on flat surfaces. This is a pain when trying to do precision work like welding a 3/8” nut to a plate.
On my Century, I could reduce the hump by turning the amps up, in some cases dang near flat depending on the thickness of the base metal. Doing the same thing with the Hobart results in porosity and burning and just an unusable mess. I have the cu. ft./hr. cranked up against the red zone but the metal just burns in the upper two ranges. New wire, contact tip, diffuser, and free flow of gas. It does have a Miller whip, however.
One thing it does that I find odd is that it never attains a steady welding buzz that the Century, and my larger LN-25 would do when everything was clean and perfect… sounds more like stick rod. The point being, I never heard another small mig noise in the 42 years I’ve had the Century, so I don’t know if it’s me or the welder. It seems like a nice machine, would consider buying it if I can figure it out.
Any advice would be appreciated very much. Thanks, Fritz

 

[DoubleO7]

Are the wire drive rollers clean and not rusty?

 

[Loosehandle]

My old 100 amp Century wire feed went down recently, so I borrowed a Hobart Handler 175 that was sitting unused in a barn for a few years.
Im running 023 wire with 80/20 mix. The problem is although it lays a nice bead, it’s a very high hump when test welding on flat surfaces. This is a pain when trying to do precision work like welding a 3/8” nut to a plate.
On my Century, I could reduce the hump by turning the amps up, in some cases dang near flat depending on the thickness of the base metal. Doing the same thing with the Hobart results in porosity and burning and just an unusable mess. I have the cu. ft./hr. cranked up against the red zone but the metal just burns in the upper two ranges. New wire, contact tip, diffuser, and free flow of gas. It does have a Miller whip, however.
One thing it does that I find odd is that it never attains a steady welding buzz that the Century, and my larger LN-25 would do when everything was clean and perfect… sounds more like stick rod. The point being, I never heard another small mig noise in the 42 years I’ve had the Century, so I don’t know if it’s me or the welder. It seems like a nice machine, would consider buying it if I can figure it out.
Any advice would be appreciated very much. Thanks, Fritz

Can you run larger wire? My chart sez .023 is only good to 18ga.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Are the wire drive rollers clean and not rusty?

Yes

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Can you run larger wire? My chart sez .023 is only good to 18ga.

It had a roll of .035 in it but part of my work is rebuilding old mower decks and sometimes must “spill” the weld from the patch to the thin part… if the wire is too big, too much heat is required and you’ll chase that hole halfway across the deck. I did discover that the Hobart will fill a rot hole way easier than the Century.

 

[rockcreek4630]

My old 100 amp Century wire feed went down recently, so I borrowed a Hobart Handler 175 that was sitting unused in a barn for a few years.
Im running 023 wire with 80/20 mix. The problem is although it lays a nice bead, it’s a very high hump when test welding on flat surfaces. This is a pain when trying to do precision work like welding a 3/8” nut to a plate.
On my Century, I could reduce the hump by turning the amps up, in some cases dang near flat depending on the thickness of the base metal. Doing the same thing with the Hobart results in porosity and burning and just an unusable mess. I have the cu. ft./hr. cranked up against the red zone but the metal just burns in the upper two ranges. New wire, contact tip, diffuser, and free flow of gas. It does have a Miller whip, however.
One thing it does that I find odd is that it never attains a steady welding buzz that the Century, and my larger LN-25 would do when everything was clean and perfect… sounds more like stick rod. The point being, I never heard another small mig noise in the 42 years I’ve had the Century, so I don’t know if it’s me or the welder. It seems like a nice machine, would consider buying it if I can figure it out.
Any advice would be appreciated very much. Thanks, Fritz

Is the polarity hooked up wright for using gas.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Is the polarity hooked up wright for using gas.

That I don’t know. Do I have to open the cabinet? The machine was on a cart with a bottle , but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

 

[rockcreek4630]

That I don’t know. Do I have to open the cabinet? The machine was on a cart with a bottle , but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

My Hobart the leeds to switch are wright by the drive rollers with instructions on how to hook up for gas and gas less

 

[Fritz Maurer]

My Hobart the leeds to switch are wright by the drive rollers with instructions on how to hook up for gas and gas less

Holy **** it IS backwards! A cute little chart inside and everything! I can’t wait to try it this afternoon!

 

[chvet73]

I have had the same machine for at least 20 years. Great welder. Buy it.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Thanks guys… it turned out to be a great little welder and I bought it.