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Have you made up your mind on choosing a MIG welder for your needs? Or are you spending all your day searching for a good-quality, reliable, and feature-packed welder? Through our extended research on various videos and reviews articles, we have fine-tuned certain choices that make this MIG welder the right one for you. We hope ‘Hobart Handler 190’ suits all of your welding needs and gives you satisfaction for the investment you have made.
Description
The Hobart Handler 190 is a low-priced welder that can weld both steel and aluminum. This welder is simple to use and has a robust build that has loads of features.
This welder is mainly used for household repairs and small DIY projects. It has the functionality of welding 24 different types of gauge materials and metals of thicknesses up to 5/6”. The power along with the thickness it supports can be used for automotive manufacturing, maintenance, and construction work.
Being very compact and robust, it can be easily powered using a generator and definitely is the perfect choice for one who has various locations to go around to do their welds. It is built with high-quality materials and is sturdy enough to withstand daily use.
Specifications: | |
|---|---|
| Brand name | Hobart |
| Model | Handler 190 |
| Height | 12 – 3/8 in |
| Length | 19 – 1/2 in |
| Width | 10 – 5/8 in |
| Duty Cycle | 30% @ 130A |
| Input Voltage | 230 V |
| Process Type | Flux Core, MIG |
| Product weight | 68 lb |
| Weld Thickness | 24 gallons – 5/16 in |
| Wire Feed Speed Range | 40-700 IPM |
| Welding Amperage Range | 25-190 A |
Features
Power
The Hobart Handler 190 requires a 230V current for use. This low voltage power requirement makes it easily portable and is used using a generator. It supports up to 7 voltage selections for use, good-quality magnetism,/ and infinite wire speed. It provides advanced arc performance and a smaller number of cracks and distortions in the weld along with reduced spatter production.
Welding Range
The voltage ranges from 25 to 190 amps. The welding range is from the thickness of 24 gauge to 5/16 inch.
Duty Cycle
A duty cycle is the amount of time the welding unit can operate at its maximum load and it does not overheat during this time period. It supports a duty cycle of 30% at 130amps. This means that it provides a proper 3 minutes of welding and 7 minutes of relaxation time.
Portability
The Hobart Handler 190 weighs around 89 pounds making it easy to carry around and highly portable for use. It has amounted handle that helps you carry it quite easily. It wishes you to use it in several locations for repair and maintenance works, getting a wheeled cart is ideal.
Interface
The interface on the front panel of the welder has a simple layout and minimalistic design for easy use and understanding. It has a control switch, a knob to control your wire speed settings, a trigger-required connectivity button, and a simple knob that has 7 voltage options. You can select various wire types and sizes like the flux-cored wire which can be controlled using the quick select drive mechanism and dual-groove roll mechanism.
The welder also has a manual/guide that is printed directly on the machine itself that helps you choose the right parameters and settings for your welding process. It is based on the material used, wire type, feed speed, voltage, and shielding gas supply is maintained to facilitate the weld.
You can visit “Hobart Welders” and go under the ‘Resources’ section to view a detailed video to get a hand on the welder and understand its functionalities.
Safety and Wire Compatibility
When the welder is kept switched ‘ON’ but is not used, then the wire feed gets hot. During this time, the built-in safety-enhancing contractor lets us keep the wire ‘cold’. This is highly essential for both beginners as well as professional welders. It also houses a short-circuit protection mechanism that helps prevent overload of current. Motor protection helps the wire feed on overload ad prevents thermal load sometimes.
The Hobart Handler 190 is highly compatible with wires of 0.30-0.45 inches and aluminum wires of 0.24-0.35 inches and stainless steel of 0.24-0.35 inches.
Major functionality
It can weld aluminum, flux-core steel, stainless steel, and mild steel. This welder comes with its unique SpoolRunner 100 spool gun which helps you weld aluminum wires without any issues and increases the feeding efficiency of the welder.
The pre-built circuitry system helps you prevent the need for extra kits and tools to be purchased additionally. The selector switch helps you switch between the spool gun and MIG weld in seconds.
Contents in the Box:
- Handler 190`s unique SpoolRunner 100 gun
- MIG gun (10 ft)
- Spool adapter (8″)
- Gas hose and a dual gauge regulator
- Power cord (10ft)
- Work cable (10ft)
- Clamp
- Contact tips
- Flux-cored wire
- Set up guide
- User manual
- The wire feed speed gives you infinite control over it.
- It assures you high-quality weld using 7 types of voltages on different types of thicknesses using the 7-position voltage control selector.
- The quick-release tension feature helps you do some easy changeovers.
- DIY projects like exhaust repairs, auto body panels, trailer frames, garden equipment, and metal sculptures can be done at ease.
- The coolest feature is its ease-of-use and the interface that enable a beginner to use it effectively.
- It has a ton of safety features that are built-in along with self-resetting thermal and motor protection.
- Light in weight and compact that makes it highly portable and mobile.
- It offers simple and compatible aluminum welding with the spool gun.
- The welder supports a wide range of power inputs but cannot be used for heavy industrial work.
- It cannot be used with a household power supply as it required a solid 220V.
- It is quite expensive for the features that it offers and comparing other brands in the market.
- It can only run on a generator that has around 7000W or more.
Warranty
The welder has a 5-year warranty and this means that you get a 5-year warranty on the transformer, 3 years on the electronic parts, and 1 year on the MIG gun alone.
FAQ
1. What does the Hobart Handler 190 box contain?
Its box contains a gas valve, dual-gauge regulator with a gas hose, 10 feet MIG gun, 10 feet work cable, and clamp along with a 10 feet power cord. It also consists of a setup guide, owner’s manual, 0.30 contact tips for connectivity, an 8-in-1 spool adapter for welding aluminum easily, and 0.30 flux-cored wire samples.
2. When should a welder use the Hobart Handler 190?
This welder can be used when the welder requires more power input for their welding process like for welding automotive body parts, decks, tool carts, lawn, garden, and farm equipment, and other metallic sculptures, frames, exhausts etcetera.
3. How do you use the spool gun?
A unique spool gun, the ‘SpoolRunner 100’ is provided in the box of the welder which can be directly connected to the welder and remove all the feeding problems for the wire while welding aluminum wires. You don’t need any external adapter or power supply for connecting the ‘SpoolRunner 100’.
Conclusion
The Hobart Handler 190 is a great option for one looking out for budget MIG welders which are portable and can weld aluminum. It can handle most of the household and shop repairs. The product is supported by a great warranty and customer support team who is there to help you at any time of the day.
Hobart itself offers a cheaper product than this if you are on a tight budget, but I would recommend you to go for this welder. This is because this welder has very few flaws to it and comes at a very affordable price-point.
It provides its users the ‘Door chart’ which has certain predefined initial settings based on the use of different wires, shielding gases, metals, their thickness, and the technique used. It gives you a quick start to your welding process whether you are a beginner or a professional welder already.
Moreover, a durable wire feed system provides you with reliable performance on the go. This could be a great investment as a welding professional. I would recommend this product 100%.
Sean Coby is a welder par excellence and well respected among the welding community in Woodbridge, VA. He prides himself to be the fabricator and mechanic in the automotive/ diesel industry for the past more than eight years now. As the chief editor of his https://weldinginfocenter.com, he shares his experience to be safe during welding and to take proactive steps for becoming a successful welder like him.