hobart welders

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Hello Gentleman,  Looking for some advice on welders have a backyard shop with 60 amp service looking to get two new welders to make repairs and light fabrication. We were looking at the  TIGMATE and the THE HANDLER 140 by hobart and the Stick Mate 235. Wanted the tig for some light welding on tubing and stick for repairs on the trucks etc. Have welded in the service many moons ago all phases. So any help or advice would be great.                                                                                                 Thanks                                                                                [email protected]
Reply:I think the tigmate is underpowered for some things especially AC tig for alum. You'd be better off spending the few extra bucks and getting a better tig/stick machine like a Miller Syncrowave 180 or Syncrowave 200 for a shop.You list 3 machines. the Syncro's and the tigmate will all run stick, so you would not need the Stickmate. However some "budget" tigs like Millers Diversion's and Hobarts curent EZtig are tig only machines, so you would need  a seperate stick machine as well.To me, for a shop, the HH140 is also underpowered unless all you want to do is sheetmetal. You'd be better off with a 220v mig. Hobarts got some nice ones HH187, HH210, Ironman 230 as well as a few of the older machines that you sometimes find clearance at some places. To me a good machine is Millers MM211. You can run 110v and have the same power as the HH140, but also run on 220v and have the same or better output as the 220v Hobarts..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan