HH175 or MM175

[wayne]

I'm shopping around for a new mig. I will be doing some bodywork and fab work such as tube bumpers and rollcages. I went to my local supply and he deals in both Hobart and Miller. He said save the $100 and get the HH175 but some friends of mine say go with the MM175. I need a smaller portable machine. I will not be welding anything over a 1/4" and most of the tube will be .120 wall or less. Which one should I get??????

Thanks,
Wayne.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

HI WAYNE......... I CAN HONESTLY RECOMMEND EITHER....... THEY CHOICE IS ENTIRELY YOURS...... BUT BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR DECISION SURF THE OLD WEB SITE AND SEE WHAT THE GENERAL CONCESUS WAS WITH THE FOLKS BUYING THEM......... DO A LITTLE LEG WORK AND SEE....... IT'S FUN AND PAINLESS.... THE PUBLIC OPINION DOES COUNT............ROCK[email protected]

[Dan]

Wayne

Either machine is going to be a good choice. Generally, I recommend the HH 175 for the home hobbiest welder. The biggest reason is that the 4 voltage tap selections on the HH 175 simplify tuning the welder in for the less experienced operator. Where as the variable voltage control on the MM 175 can actually give the less experienced operator to much control possibly making it difficult for them to tune the machine in properly. So I guess my opinion is that the HH 175 is a good choice for the home hobbiest weldor. This too would allow you to focus the extra $100 toward a bottle of shielding gas.

To this post I m attaching a few pictures of welds that I have produced with my HH 175 . The welds that you will see are produced by using solid wire and shielding gas. Please keep in mind that I have been a professional welder for 14+ years, so you may not achieve the same weld quality at first.

The first two welds are horizontal fillets and the third is a vertical up fillet.

[Dan]

Sample 2

[Dan]

Sample 3

[wayne]

Dan, I guess I forgot to mention that I have over 8 years experience in welding. If money was not a factor I would just get a MM251 and call it a day. I'm just not familiar with the smaller welders. I'm looking for some feedback on both machines to help make my decision. At this time I'm leaning toward the HH175 because the few differences between the 2 is not that big of a deal.
Thanks,
Wayne.

[wayne]

Dan,
One other ? for you and that is how do you like the HH175? It looks like it does a really nice job.

[GWOL]

Wayne,

I have the HH135 and love it, I was in the same situation between this and the MM135. The main diff, is that the Miller has varialbe power settings, not just 4, and I believe the spindle is made of metal, not plastic on the HH. Since Iam not using this unit in a manufacturing situation, just for hobbie stuff for now, I used that savings on the Hobart to get a varialbe shade hood.

Just my 2 cents worth. And if I had to do it again, I would get the HH135. Hope this helps.

[wayne]

We have a MM135 at work. It is a pretty good welder for a 115 volt unit. If I was just planning to weld sheet metal under 1/8" I would probably get the Miller since I have used one. I have not used either of the 175's so that is where the problem comes in. Plus I never used a Hobart so I don't know much about the quality of them.

[Dan]

Originally posted by wayne
Dan,
One other ? for you and that is how do you like the HH175? It looks like it does a really nice job.

I have been quite pleased with the performance of my HH 175 . I have had no problem tuning the machine in for mild steel thicknesses ranging from 16 ga.-3/16".

The duty cycle rating on this machine is a very conservative rating. I have never had a problem with the machine shutting down. This includes a fair amount of weld length ran on 3/16" material.

A question could be would I buy this machine again? The answer would be YES. But then again this is not my main MIG welder. I also, have a MM 210 and a CK systematic 175. The miller is my main machine that I use here at home and the Systematics machine is at my dads house for completeing repairs at his place. I use the HH 175 as a floater machine between both places. The compact size of it allows me to do jobs that the two larger machines do not allow me to reach. Also, a lot of the time I just like using the HH 175 because of the smalller gun.

The only real complaint that I have with the machine is the parameter chart. I disagree with the recommended settings . But then again I have yet to find a machine that I totally agreed with the parameter chart on.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

HEY WAYNE

HI WAYNE........ THIS IS JUST AN INFO DEAL HERE........ BOTH MACHINES ARE MADE AT THE SAME MANUFACTUREING FACILITY....... ONLY FEET SEPERATEING THE LINES FROM ONE ANOTHER ABOUT 25' APART............ THE QUALITY IS OF EQUAL PROPORTION TO ONE ANOTHER......... THE STANDARDS (MANUFACTUREING AND ENGINEERING) ARE THE SAME. HEY I EVEN KNOW ALL THE ENGINEERING STAFF AND SUPPORT TECHNICANS.........AND SPENT 3 MONTHS THERE AS A TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR............. NOT CHASTISEING JUST INFORMATION... ONE IS DESIGNED MORE FOR THE HOME HOBBIEST AND THE OTHER MORE IN LINE WITH COMMERCIAL MARKET PLACE..... JUST CHEWING INTO DIFFERENT MARKETS..............I'M JUST FULL OF WALKING INFORMATION AREN'T I......................REGARDS.....ROCK[email protected] [email protected]

[Hobart Rat]

Hi Wayne,

I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago deciding which machine to buy. I went with the Hobart since it has a better Warranty than the Miller or Lincoln. Great Machine.
The Hobart has a 5 year Warranty on the Transformer and the others only had a 3 year.

Hobart Rat

[jimcaf]

HH175

i Have a HH135 and a HH175,I feel its a great product,i know of hobarts in some production shops,a bodyshop,fence company and a welding shop and they just dont quit ,,
good luck,,,jim