Hobart 500553 Handler 210 MVP MIG Welder - Empower Your Welding with Precision and Power Small

This is a nice "concentrated" type of compact welder..... that is a good thing for most folks. It is not a light weight unit with little going on inside of it. The one question that I personally wondered about was if the dual voltage would be worth the extra money over just buying the lighter single voltage unit. Now that I am using it, I think that I will indeed get some use out of the convenience of the 120VAC input. But do be aware, and know, that when using the 120VAC input you will NOT be able to do any heavier welding or aluminum welding unless it is paper thin materials. Aluminum sucks all the heat away so fast that much higher currents and voltages are required than with steel. I put it up on voltage levels 6 & 7 and ran two beads of about 1.5 inches long at 30% wire feed speed..... it tripped a 20 amp single pole Square D breaker immediately. Biut, that is exactly what one should expect to happen, right? Also, Square D is one of the best made and most sensitive breakers on the market so if you have an old GE panel or a Cuttler you may get away with more. (Just a not from a Journeyman Electrician for over 30 years now: the breaker protects the wiring within your walls.... prevents fires, so if it trips there is a reason and do not merely reset and go on. These are thermally triggered so need time to cool down or a wiring fire might result.) This machine has some great engineering in merely the packaging, let alone the rest of the machine! It is well packed and should get to you without any problem. The assembly of it is easier than many and should present ZERO trouble for anyone..... the instructions are excellent.... but what else would one expect from a USA made machine?? To say it is "Made in USA" at least the majority of the unit must be assembled from USA made parts as well as labor - I was glad to buy USA and support my fellow workers. This machine has a novel way of swapping the wire drive wheels too! Just push it in, turn 90* and slip it out, turn it over and slip it back in and it is ready to go: no screws or tools needed at all. The stinger is quite good for the size and price of the machine..... oh yeh, like some commented, the trigger is pretty easily tripped, but most of us do not use the big heavy leather guanlets with a buz box because they are not as hot and do not present such problems to require such heavy gloves. I just used some good medium duty leather gloves and the switch was ZERO problems at all.... at least it was zero for me. Would I buy this again? Yes I would, and I think that if you want a slightly larger/heavier unit with greater capacity than the smaller units, this might be just what you are looking for. Hobart has a very good warrantee, and that too is a bonus. Buy with confidence. Enjoy.

This is my favorite MIG welder. There are no issues and the users diagram keeps you from guessing as to the proper settings. I absolutely love this welder. I use it 85% and is the heart of my operation.

I frequently have need of a welder around my 10 acres. I was using a 30-year-old Lincoln 110 volt MIG unit until I ran it over with my tractor. It was getting a little long in the tooth anyway. So read everything I could about different manufacturers with my final decision being being cemented with a pleasant conversation with the Hobart tech support guys back at the factory in Wisconsin where Hobart comes off the line apparently along side the Miller MIG machines. I've never used a Miller MIG welder but I sure do like welding with my new Hobart. I got the dual voltage version for a few hundred bucks more but have only used it on 220 setting so far. Just did some 1/4" to 3/16" today and it was a breeze. Settings are very easy to adjust....just follow the chart they give you. And even as a "hobby" welder, my beads with this thing are looking pretty dang good. I have not tried the flux core yet since I am used to welding with the argon mix for a clean weld so can't comment on that. I got the dual voltage package for those rare occasions when I might have to weld something away from the shop with only 110 available. 110 volts limits your thickness probably down to around 3/16" steel. Yes, you can get a welder that claims to have similar performance numbers but is made in China, but I prefer to buy USA when I can and I really like the pleasure of getting right to a factory tech rep who speaks excellent English and is a welder themselves. Side note: I like to use Amazon Prime because it is so easy...and easy to return if damaged. This was a big ticket item for me so I watched its shipping progress with the tracking number they give you. It bounced around a couple of UPS locations and then made it to the UPS Sacramento warehouse....where it disappeared. (Amazon shipped my welder UPS in the box that Hobart packs it in...with lots of beautiful color pictures on the box of what is on the inside). So gee, what a surprise that someone in that warehouse might have decided they could use a nice welder like that! How they got that 80-pound package out of the warehouse in a lunchbox is beyond me. You would think they might have cameras in those warehouses. No problem, a phone call to Amazon, and another welder was on the way....absolutely no hassle. My only gripe is that ultimately the consumer pays for that kind of thing in higher prices.

MVP, not Most Valuable Player, but Multi Voltage Plug! This allows you to weld utilizing a 240V outlet in your workshop, or the standard 120V outlet found almost anywhere else! I am only aware of Miller Welders that have this feature as well. I upgraded from a Hobart Handler 187 up to this unit because of the higher capacity, MVP, and the SpoolRunner. The Handler 187 can use a spool gun (to weld aluminum), but you need to purchase the expensive Miller spool gun controller and the spool gun itself (need to spend at least $500 to weld aluminum), whereas this unit already has the spool gun controller built in. The SpoolRunner 100 costs about $200. This unit is very heavy. About 70-80 lbs, so being portable is a frame of reference. It could be light for some people, but heavy for others. You need a good welding cart to hold this puppy! The MVP is super easy to use! No switches to fumble up. Just replace the plug on the end of the cord and you're ready to weld at whichever voltage you choose. There are 7 different voltage settings, and an infinite wire-speed control. There is a welding chart on the inside of the door (to change the welding wire), so you can easily set the voltage and wire-speed. It has a super powerful fan in the unit to help cool it down as you weld. Sometimes the loud noise gets annoying. But it's understandable, as the welding process produces a lot of heat within the transformer in the unit. My only complaint with this welder (along with my Handler 187) is the trigger for the MIG gun is too soft. If you have the welder on and you bump the trigger, the MIG wire will feed. It gets annoying after a while. I think I will need to figure out how to put a stiffer spring in the MIG gun. But, still, I will rate this product with 5 stars.

I would have given this a 5 star review, but my machine came with a gun problem (casing kinked). I have ordered a new casing. I have used this machine before and it was awesome. Duel voltage, plenty of power, built nicely. I do not want to return the one I bought but there is no way to get the casing replaced without replacing the item so I will have to spend the 30 dollars to repair it. I have used this product with gas and without, working great either way. The only product improvement I could suggest is making the spool holder have some kind of wingnut grip or some way to tighten or loosen without have to get a wrench. Very minor, but sometimes could be handy. I would recommend this despite my gun liner being bad (its just a giant spring). If Amazon would just send me the replacement part without charging me, it would have been a definite 5 star. Im confident I just got a bad one that was put in the box incorrectly bending the spring.

I usually TIG weld aluminum, but I wanted to weld thicker/larger pieces faster. To MIG weld aluminum requires spray transfer, and 200 amps is about the bottom end for thicker pieces. The Hobart 210 MVP with the addition of the SpoolRunner 100 spool gun welds 1/4 inch aluminum like lightning! I can weld in a 1/4 of the time of TIG. No stack of dimes look, but nice smooth fully penetrated welds. The MVP 110/220v feature makes this a good light duty flux-core field welder also (although it does weigh 75 lbs, so I wouldn't want to hand-carry it daily). For occational field welding, I throw it in the truck and go! (140 amps at 110v, 210 amps at 220v). Now I can use my TIG for what it's best at, heat control on thin material. I also contemplated buying the Miller 211 MVP with Autoset. I tried the Autoset feature at the local college on two seperate Miller 210's, and was unimpressed. Ended up just simply setting the volts and wire-speed manually. The Miller does have the better continuously variable voltage select vs the Hobart 7 position voltage tap switch. Not a problem for me as 7 taps is more than enough to dial in the sweet spot. They both are quality american made machines. The main pluses for me are the Hobart is somewhat smaller and less expensive. I purchased a new cart and a 125cf cylinder with the cost difference and still had change left over. BTW, If your looking for an indstrial/commercial welder with a long duty cycle, look elswhere. Both the miller 211 and Hobart 210 have limited duty cycles. But for their intended purpose and for their price, they are both top notch. UPDATE: Its been over a year now, and this thing is a dream to use. It welds with a smooth frying bacon sound and it lays perfect beads on steel. I actually now prefer the 7 voltage taps vs the continuously variable voltage control on other MIG's because I seem to find the sweet spot quicker. Highly recommended

Like most people I wanted to stick some metal together and so I needed a welder, but before buying this I spent a ton of time looking over MIG welders and various multi-process welders like the Forney 190. I like the 190 but I already have an arc welder I seldom use and the only reason I would need TIG would be for aluminum. This welder can easily do aluminum with the $200 spool add-on and can do some beefy welds hooked up to 230v. Even on 115v testing it out (see images of some first free-hand test welds) it welded great and those welds are literally the first welds done with this welder after I switched it from flux core to gas, and I was fiddling with settings and gas flow, so don't judge too harshly. It's heavy, so you will not be just carting this thing around a lot, I'm happy I got a welding cart to put it on, though I am putting together a steel welding table with casters and I might just add on a shelf for this. Flux-core welds are going to be "alright", I tried both flux and gas and suggest anyone with this welder spend the money and get a 75/25 gas bottle and a 10lb solid wire spool and you will be thrilled. The settings are fairly arbitrary and you just follow the chart on the inside panel, I was a bit skeptical of this format of dialing in the welder but pretty quickly I realized it works well. Overall, this is a great purchase and a great welder and I would recommend it.

Purchased this unit in October of 21. We used it for a very short time over a few days. When using the machine it mad a strange sound from the fan in the back. As the unit was brand new at the time we contacted Hobart and they gave us a few authorized repair shops to take it to. We dropped it off for service and they had to replace the control board, fan. It took months waiting on parts. I had just paid for a brand new welder and was not able to use it.... Final got a call that it was ready, picked it up and started using it. Made 3 spot welds in a few min, and the noise occurred again. The fan was moving forward and hitting the heat sink causing the fan to stop. Took it back to the authorized dealer. A week later picked it up again and five minutes later the same issue occurred. I have owned this welder for 8 months and have only been able to use it for about 45 min. This is unacceptable...

Very nice decent priced MIG for general light to medium use! Straightforward settings, so far everything works nice. Personally found the flux core wire close to useless, getting a gas tank is almost a must for anything a tad more demanding work. 110V - 220V option is great, for my use I went directly into shield gas and 220V but for light work 110V could likely work nice. Used to weld big excavator bucket lips with a really powerful MIG, would not use this for that but something like patio stairs, fences etc. no problem for this, easy to recommend the product!

This welder is very powerful for home use, very adaptable with the dual voltage. easy to use with the optional spool gun to use for aluminum. works as it should and super handy when you don't have 220v available. The power switch would be my only "complaint" It is now infinitely adjustable, however it does work well. Overall I would recommend this welder even for a Med-light duty welding pro.

i just unroll with Amazon.ca,and good i did because on the first i save 1100.00 plus dollars paid 1200.00 plus tax now amazon don't have them but i see seller asking 2300.00 plus Tax,,,,,,the only thing i dislike its very heavy....but its ok tells me the quality its there.........and its MADE IN AMERICA....vivre a America and Canada...if i can avoid China i will thousand for cent.......

Only complaint ground clamp is garbage. But love the welder. Works excellent for body panels and heavier weld jobs.

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