Hobart 140

[rrainey86]

Hey guys I posted before but Im finally ready to get into welding. Im going to pickup a barely used Hobart 140 with cart, gloves and helmet for under $300. Found it on craigslist and cant pass it up. Im going to be fixing my trailor with it and i have no idea what Im doing so I will be posting lots of ???

My first one is it says it can weld up to 1/4" steel. I read alot about how you want a 220 machine for car framing and structural work but I have yet to see a frame 1/4" thick, what am I missing here?

 

[Rocket79]

If you are going to try to weld anything of "thickness" with a 140, you will have to prep the joint first. A strong lasting weld has as much importance put on the preparation as the weld itself. a 140 can not penetrate through 1/4 in a single pass. you will need to grind the edges at an angle, then run a root pass, clean the joint, and run a second pass to cap the joint.

Don't let that scare you though. A 140 will weld most material well. just pay attention to the specific job before you just burn and pray.

 

[rrainey86]

Here she is. Just picked her up. Had the guy run a few beads and I ran a few too. Seemed to feed and heat well so I got it with 2 extra spools of wire, gas gauges, the protective gear and the cart for $270. The thing looks brand new, he said he used it maybe 10 hours on a grill he built and its been sitting ever since. Anyway, Im off to watch Youtube videos on how to use this thing, that my wife doesnt know I bought....lol.

 

[rrainey86]

Thanks for the reply Rocket. Im hoping to learn a lot tonight about this and spend the weekend welding stuff together. Im sure someone video will cover this but, how exactly do I know if I have good penetration?

 

[brucer]

Put the machine on a dedicated 20 amp circuit.. If you need an extension cord get a darn good heavy duty one and I wouldnt go over 10ft long.

What you run into is the machines duty cycle when welding 1/4" thick stuff.. I would say 3/16" thick is pretty much its limit, which you can do quite a bit with 3/16 thick material..

 

[RedneckWelder]

Congrats on your purchase.

The Hobarts are excellent welders, and the brand is owned by Miller, and most of the Hobart line seems to be economy versions of the Miller machines (but still plenty capable!)

As mentioned by previous posters, your 140 is a bit light for the thicker critical stuff such as trailer components. You'll probably want to run multiple passes and make sure you have good welding techniques.

You'll find that where the 120v migs really shine is thinner stuff like sheetmetal and thinwall tubing.

For penetration/sound welds you can "test" it by fabbing up a few joints and beating the **** out of them with a hammer till they break and you see how much force it took to break and where the metal breaks...a good weld will tear the base metal out. Bad welds break down the middle. You can also look on the back of your metal and see a streak if the weld has penetrated thoroughly...this is where the incoming wire has heated up and fused with the base metal. So long as you ain't burning through, you should be good to go. You don't want your welds to be cold on the thicker stuff

Some great resources on youtube are ChuckE2009 and WeldingTipsandTricks.

I'm not a MIG guy, only used them a very little bit, so I can't advise much beyond those generics.

 

[Rocket79]

Nice sporty in the background.

 

[Rocket79]

I was so enthralled with the Sporster I missed your question. This says it best.

a good weld will tear the base metal out. Bad welds break down the middle..

Good welds don't "break". When you test as described above, make sure when it finally separates, it is one of the two original pieces ripping away. Generally, cold welds will break and still show evidence of the original edge of the piece. Too much heat and the weld will snap quickly. It should be like trying to beat 1 single piece of metal in two.

Don't get discourage. It takes A LOT practice to get it right.

I weld so much that I invested in a Lincoln Power MIG 256. But even with a higher dollar welder and 20+ years of practice, I still find little things that I could do better.

 

[rrainey86]

Thanks for the replies and resources. I'm still reading and haven't done any welding yet. I'm going to tackle a few scrap metal pieces tomorrow. I'll post up pix. Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Just curious, what kind of wire are you running in it? I'm assuming flux core since you have no tanks in your pic?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I bought the same exact machine from another GJ member and have nothing but good to say about it. I have used flux core in mine until I finally bought an ArCo2 tank. It's not cheap but well worth the expense I use it with .023 wire for rust repair on my '55 Chevy truck. Welds just fine.

 

[great white tj]

As Dan and everyone has said you have a very good welder. I have the same welder and use it every week. If you ever have the need for a bigger welder, keep your HH140 for small wire and light welding.

 

[Paticus]

I have the 140 and it works great. I've welded up to 1/2" with it (That is way over it's advertised capabilities). The key with thick metal is prepping and multiple passes. 1/4" has been a breeze when prepped accordingly. You will find flux core will get deeper on thick metals. Enjoy!

 

[bullnerd]

I second the welding tips and tricks web site. Great vids and cool dude.

Hobart owner here too.

 

[Rocket79]

You will find flux core will get deeper on thick metals. Enjoy!

True, but the amount of spatter flux core leaves behind is a pain. I would rather spend the time prepping the joint than the time it takes to clean the surface later. Of course that also depends on what you're working on. if it's not a high visibility piece then it doesn't matter.

If you ever have the need for a bigger welder, keep your HH140 for small wire and light welding.

I wish I would have done this when I bought my Lincoln. I used to have a little off-brand 125 amp. I swear that thing could weld toilet paper. I have a very hard time now getting my welder low enough to not burn things up.

 

[csp]

I have a very hard time now getting my welder low enough to not burn things up.

Have you tried a smaller diameter wire? That can make a big difference, depending on what size wire you have in it now.

I run 0.035 in my 220v welder and 0.023 in my 110v. The 220 welder will do a great job on thin stock or sheetmetal if I change the wire to 0.023.

 

[Rocket79]

Have you tried a smaller diameter wire? That can make a big difference, depending on what size wire you have in it now.

I run 0.035 in my 220v welder and 0.023 in my 110v. The 220 welder will do a great job on thin stock or sheetmetal if I change the wire to 0.023.

It currently has a 15 ft. torch lead. Anything smaller than .030 will bind. I have debated about a spool gun, But by the time I buy the adapter kit and the gun itself, I'd be better off buying a second welder for the thin stuff.