Welders?

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Originally Posted by stovens

Don I have that same helmet. It works great, but your right about the cheesy stickers! I left mine on, I figure when my welds stop looking cheesy and I stop burning more holes than I fill in the sheet metal on my truck, that then I can graduate to a sticker free helmet!:rolleyes::LOL::LOL::3dSMILE::D

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I have that same helmet from Northern, too, but after about two years it has started "flashing" before it dims, and there are no replacable batteries on mine. Tried leaving it out in the direct sun for an hour or two, but no change, and after welding a while I'm seeing a hot spot for 1/2 hour or more so I picked up a basic Miller ProHobby unit. My local Praxaire shop sells both, but pointed out he has no parts for the China specials, where he can replace pieces/parts on his Miller helmet. Probably should have just thrown away the old one and bought another and saved $125, but decided to try a better/different approach.

Before pulling the trigger on a welder I decided to see which are still made in the USA. I found that Miller and Hobart are owned by the same company. Northern has the Hobart 210MVP for $899.00. This unit appears to be the same as the Miller 211 and is only about 6miles from the house. Do any of you guys have any negatives about the Hobart units. They have a 5/3/1 warranty.

Hobart has been an electrical company for years and years--in addition to welders they made/make most of the big generators for ground service on aircraft--Lincoln make the others

hobarts are good welders

Sounds good to me! Thanks guys.

I have a smaller 110 volt Hobart that works great. Good quality!

You are correct, Miller and Hobart are owned recently by the same parent company. My Brother Dan had a Hobart like this for years with good results. Here are the specs:
•Welds 24 ga. up to 3/8 in. mild steel in a single pass
•Operates on 115V or 230V input power
•7 voltage settings which help fine tune for precision welding (7 voltage settings at 230V; 4 voltage settings at 115V)
•115V 25 to 140 output amperage; 230V 25 to 210 output amperage
•Duty cycle - 115V 20% at 90 amps; 230V 30% at 150 amps
•Special choke design offers unbelievable arc characteristics on all metal types
•Quick change drive roll system - no tools required
•Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between 023/.025 in. and .030-.035 in. wire
•Self-resetting thermal overload system protection with exterior LED
•Built-in contactor eases use and is an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically "cold" when not welding
•Spool gun control circuitry for the optional SpoolRunner™ 100 direct plug-in spool gun which alleviates feeding problems with aluminum wire
•Manufacturers limited warranty
These are off of the Tractor Supply Website and they sell it for $899 as well. Looks like a Win Win for you and you do not have to worry about the guy who is 4 hours away with the Miller you discussed earlier. Good luck, this looks like a winner to me. Don Jr.

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Originally Posted by stovens

Don I have that same helmet. It works great, but your right about the cheesy stickers! I left mine on, I figure when my welds stop looking cheesy and I stop burning more holes than I fill in the sheet metal on my truck, that then I can graduate to a sticker free helmet!:rolleyes::LOL::LOL::3dSMILE::D

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Stoven:
Ha! That is funny.......You know what they say "FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT" I peeled the stickers off to give the allusion that I know what I'm doing (I don't) hehe

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Originally Posted by rspears

I have that same helmet from Northern, too, but after about two years it has started "flashing" before it dims, and there are no replacable batteries on mine. Tried leaving it out in the direct sun for an hour or two, but no change, and after welding a while I'm seeing a hot spot for 1/2 hour or more so I picked up a basic Miller ProHobby unit. My local Praxaire shop sells both, but pointed out he has no parts for the China specials, where he can replace pieces/parts on his Miller helmet. Probably should have just thrown away the old one and bought another and saved $125, but decided to try a better/different approach.

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rspears,
I have heard of this happening to other people too. My goal is to use this to get started and then upgrade later to a pro model once I get confident. No replaceable batteries are a minus to be sure. Don Jr.