Hobart Handler 140 Review 500559 – Is This MIG Welder for You? 2024

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The Hobart line of welders has a well-established reputation among both professional and amateur welders. These welders are regarded as good products offering high quality for the prices.

This is evident in just about every Hobart 140 review you can find online.

Feature image for Hobart Handler 140 review article

As the average Hobart welder review will reveal, this product line boasts of American manufacturing pride and a good user interface that is technologically up-to-date. High quality and excellent workmanship are apparent in Handler 140. This machine happens to be the second smallest flux/MIG piece of equipment in the Hobart lineup, thus making it suitable for homeowners and DIY enthusiasts.

The Handler can run off a standard 110v power source and weighs only 57 pounds and is, therefore, easy to move from place to place if necessary.

The Right Tool for the Job

There are always pros and cons when it comes to buying anything, especially electronic and mechanical equipment. But, when it comes to this model, there are definitely more pros than cons.

If you are looking for quality welding from a heavy-duty machine without the price-tag that usually accompanies that designation, then you have come to the right place, product-wise.

The list of things that you can weld with this machine is almost endless: BBQ pits/devices, trailers, sporting equipment, work machinery, ornamental designs, works of art, etc.

Hobart 500559

This machine isn’t fragile—in fact, it feels like a workhorse type of equipment that will take the punishment, deliver excellent results, and on the next day, be ready for more work.

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Performance

The Hobart 140 is a nicely compacted MIG/Flux-core welding unit. Its popularity and simplicity are comparable to many other models out there costing more money—yet it delivers a reasonably strong power of 140A. The unit boasts of a duty cycle of 20%@90 amperes, certainly more than enough for everyday household metal-involving chores and projects.

Using MIT capacity/function, this machine can weld thin materials, including stainless steel, steel, and aluminum; by the same token, the additional flux-core option can be used on thicker stainless steel or steel materials.

This unit can weld items that are only 24-gauge in thinness but also items that are ¼ inch in thickness. The Handler is a good choice for construction, maintenance, home repairs, farm use, rental shops, and auto body work environments.

This machine is relatively lightweight (compared to many professional models), thus making it easy to transport—something not to thumb one’s nose at, especially if you will be using the unit as part of your peripatetic work routines.

It also won’t take up too much space in your work van or truck—and you guys know how important it is not to overload a work truck, considering the price of gas and the fact that you should only take what you absolutely need on each job.

Is This Welder for You?

Considering how affordable and cost-effective this machine can be, this is definitely a good investment on your part, considering all that you get for the price. Additionally, your investment, the company says, is fully protected by a hard-to-beat Hobart 5/3/1 super-duper industrial-quality warranty.

This gives you peace of mind knowing that the unit is protected from manufacturing defects or problems for a very reasonable amount of time.

Hobart 50059 at work at garage shop

Unless abused or misused, this unit should last you a long time, by all accounts. Should it malfunction, though, you are entitled to free repairing or replacement services!

More on 120v welders here

Pros & Cons Summarized

Pros

  • It can run on a 110-volt outlet, which is great for beginning welders
  • Provides great arc performance with a stable and smooth arc on every thickness
  • Industrial-quality cast aluminum wire driving systems; a professional piece of equipment boasting a lasting wire feeding performance
  • A low weight of only 57 pounds
  • Convenient polarity changing-over capacity
  • Less welding spatter while providing high-precision arc performance
  • Even with low electricity for the whole process, wire feed-out is accurate for every job
  • Dual-processing capacity makes it possible to work on a rich variety of thicknesses and materials
  • Low operator skills okay for this tool
  • Easy & quick equipment set-up time means you can be welding in a jiff, thus saving time/labour investments

Cons

  • Its 110-volts power usage can also be a minus in some settings
  • You may need a cart to carry it around on if the unit is to be moved often
  • For MIG welds, you may need an additional gas cylinder, thus an extra expense
  • Ideal for many small projects but not necessarily for big jobs
  • May not be suitable for use with most generators or out at sites where there is no direct AC power supply
  • This unit is best suited for small, independent-operators, not for full-fledged industrial operations
  • It can be more expensive than gas-operated units

What Do They Include in the Box?

  1. 10 feet or 3 meters cables with clamp
  2. Ready-to-deploy, grip-friendly H100S2-10 gun
  3. 4 to 8 inches spools-accommodating spool hub assembly
  4. Built-in dual-gauging regulator & solenoid valve plus gas hose
  5. A sample spool (.030 inch or 0.8 millimeters) flux-cored wire that is self-shielding
  6. Supply of contact tips (.030 inch or 0.8 millimeters)
  7. 0.24 inch (0.6 millimeters) & .030/.035-suited Quick Select, state-of-the-art drive roll
  8. 030/.035 inches (0.8/0.9 millimeters) flux-core wires & 0.8/09 millimeters solid wires
  9. Plug-fitted power cord
  10. Material thickness gauging & welding guide
  11. Gas-utilizing built-in solenoid

Key Features

  • Units come with built-in wire feeding & rapid releasement drive roll levers.
  • Can weld 24 gauges up to a one-quarter inch in steel
  • 120 VAC input voltage
Better wire feeder mechanism
  • Built-in, ready-to-go contactor can ease use; this is a great safety feature that makes wires electrically “cold” while the unit is not in use
  • 4 voltage output, wire feed tracking settings that provide easy and rapid adjustments for different thicknesses and materials
  • Facile accessibility to polarity change-overs featuring spare-tips-accommodating storage holes
  • Dual grooves in drive rolls that simplify switching from one wire size to other; 1 smooth groove and 1 knurled groove for 0.30 to .035 inch or 0.8 by 0.9 millimeters wire
  • A self-reset thermal over-loading capacity and special motor damage protection
  • Five-position tapped voltage controlling selector that makes it possible for you to fine-tune your arc, thus producing a stable, smooth arc on different thicknesses every single time
  • All units are equipped with industrially-strong, cast aluminum drive systems and heavy-duty, reliable work clamps
  • Short circuit protection against current overloads
  • 25 to 140 amps of welding ranges
  • 24 gauge to one quarter inch material thickness
  • 20% of 90 amps duty cycles
  • 10 feet long Mig gun ground clamp leads make it possible to work without having to drag welders around; because the gun uses standard consumables, picking up tips at local stores is a cinch

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Conclusion

The Hobart handler 140 is a versatile, trustworthy, work-horse oriented, and easy-to-use piece of equipment that’s also excellent value for the price.

It is ideally suited for small-to-moderate scale projects; the Hobart welder 140 will also “handle” itself well, however, for some big projects. Then again, this unit is part of a series of other welders that can handle much bigger jobs, if your operation takes off and it expands.

If you happen to be starting out or you will mainly be using this unit at home, in your private shop or as a backup unit, the Hobart handler 140 is most probably exactly what you need. And in the case that it does not check out this blog Best MIG Welders 2021!

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Adam Mason

Welder by trade for a decade and more. Now also a web designer and a blog owner. Doing product reviews and writing blogs about welding trade and perks and minuses of being a welder.

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