Like I said on the show, It has been an honor to be a partner with Hobart on this project and while it has taken awhile it is really cool to know that Hobart came to you guys, the readers of Pirate4x4 to find out what you wanted in a portable welder.

the end result is a very badass welder that has a lot of versatility to it.
http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/battery-powered/

it is portable,
welds 1/4 mild steel in a single pass
has the option to run gas and solid core wire
charges quickly

and while it is a sizable investment I have to say that it is a very solid and well crafted piece of equipment that should give even demanding users years of trouble free performance.

Aside from our usage in Desert racing and trail wheeling I can totally see this unit being used by contractors in many industries to do field repairs.

Would not surprise me in the least to see the military adopt the unit because of it's capabilities and it's rugged construction.

I have not priced shopped it but was told by Hobart that Norther tool has them in stock
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200390405_200390405


.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa153/camo_p4x4/e87b3bba.jpg

Thats pretty neat. Defintely an innovation in the industry. Wonder how long the batteries last before they go bad, and how much they cost?

I emailed Hobart and told them they need to develop a mask with an autodarkening square stitched to some sort of soft head cover so it can easily be stored away. Like a ski mask with a welding autodarkening window ('cept made of nomex or something)

also told them I saw the welder on Pirate4x4 TV

So could this be a dedicated shop welder for hobbyists if you keep it plugged in or will the duty cycle and battery changes (long term) be an issue?

Obviously it's not a replacement for an mm252 but for those of us who are away from our shops or don't have easy access to 220v (rentals) would this thing be fine for building bumpers, sliders, cages or will we have to stop to let it cool ALL THE TIME if we're doing a lot of .25 plate (think 3/16" bumper or complicated 3/8" diff cover with a fair bit of continuous thick welding, etc.)

I'm not really sure who can answer that question since it was just released.

Very cool idea.

Ideally I'd get a used mm210 and a readywelder but if this thing has a decent duty cycle (20% at 120amps doesn't seem too impressive but those duty cycles don't always tell the whole story), it's portability and ability to weld thick stuff on 110v is nice.

It would be cool to do a giveaway or give out a couple for testing so we can get a feel for if these things are really purpose built for portability and the ability to weld in remote places or if they'd do ok spending most of their time in a light duty homeshop setting where it gets "undocked" for field repair.

So could this be a dedicated shop welder for hobbyists if you keep it plugged in or will the duty cycle and battery changes (long term) be an issue?

.

well we just built the chase rack for lances dodge with it. It is going to Baja with a $17k satellite dish on it. :smokin:

obviously we need to spend more time with it but I will venture to say that it could easily replace your 110v welder and then some. you would be quite happy with it.

it is never going to match up to a 220v welder.

This item to me fills so many voids by current portable welders it's amazing. All in one, options to expand, can be used in-shop, strong enough to cover probably 95% tasks on a farm, no risk of hurting your "vehicle battery" so you can get home, big enough you won't lose it or smash it, small enough to fit in most rigs, powerful enough for most hobby welders, etc, the list goes on and on.

I believe this is what was in the new Crawl Mag too.

This + a mini oxy/acet setup and you have a pretty badass portable fab station.

We've got one as well :)
Jeff Mello has it and this thing is very cool!
We are hauling down to Baja to chase Camo with and can't wait to put it to use.
We have ours mounted inside a backpack so it is easy to carry and semi-protected.
If you will be in Baja, find the soon to be 4 time Baja 1000 champs in team pirate4x4 1702 Jeepspeed and we will be more then happy to let you burn a few beads with this bad boy.

If you're not going to Baja, well you suck. Jeff goes everywhere (really most events in CA, some outside) and has this thing with him. If you did not know Jeff Mello is a contractor by trade and even uses the welder on jobs. It is truly the most versatile welder out there.

We got a demo unit this summer, during comps we leave it around the announcer stand for use by who ever needed it. There were quite a few of our competitors that may use of it this past season along with us.

One of them saved our ass in V2R as well.

I think it's good for 6' of weld on 1/8" material. Less as the thickness goes up.

The times we have used ours it has always worked very nicely.

One of them saved our ass in V2R as well.

I think it's good for 6' of weld on 1/8" material. Less as the thickness goes up.

The times we have used ours it has always worked very nicely.

6' of 1/8" then needs a recharge ?

6' of 1/8" then needs a recharge ?

"•Welds approximately 100 inches of 1/8 in. mild steel before recharging with extremely fast recharge times (approx. 20 min. on 115 VAC outlet) from its built-in charger"

Does this suffer from the always on annoyances like the Ready Welder?

"•Welds approximately 100 inches of 1/8 in. mild steel before recharging with extremely fast recharge times (approx. 20 min. on 115 VAC outlet) from its built-in charger"

:eek: fast recharge!

We've got one as well :)
Jeff Mello has it and this thing is very cool!
We are hauling down to Baja to chase Camo with and can't wait to put it to use.
We have ours mounted inside a backpack so it is easy to carry and semi-protected.
If you will be in Baja, find the soon to be 4 time Baja 1000 champs in team pirate4x4 1702 Jeepspeed and we will be more then happy to let you burn a few beads with this bad boy.

If you're not going to Baja, well you suck. Jeff goes everywhere (really most events in CA, some outside) and has this thing with him. If you did not know Jeff Mello is a contractor by trade and even uses the welder on jobs. It is truly the most versatile welder out there.


1705:flipoff2:

If you look at Northern tools web page for this item.

Look real close you will see these are shipped right from the factory if you look at the time from order to you get your new toy.

It looks like right now they are building these to order. Before they build a line maybe to see how interest grows.

it is an interesting idea that is for sure.:grinpimp:

Does this suffer from the always on annoyances like the Ready Welder?

Nope :)

1705:flipoff2:

Nope :P Number change :D

I just got thru doing a review on the trek 180. I only had .024 bare E70s6 and .030 hobart E71t-gs so its part 1 of a 2 part review. Part 2 will be with bigger bare wire and bigger better flux core.
here is the link if your interested

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/hobart-trek-180.html

So I'm really interested in this unit, but here's what I want to know: how concerned should one be with battery "memory," or any other problems often associated w cordless tools?

What if you let this thing sit in the corner of the shop, not plugged in, for 6 months? What if you completely discharge the batts on the trail and then don't recharge for a couple weeks?

I mean these are all scenarios any of us could encounter; work, sickness, family problems and we all might "neglect" the welding machine.

I just got thru doing a review on the trek 180. I only had .024 bare E70s6 and .030 hobart E71t-gs so its part 1 of a 2 part review. Part 2 will be with bigger bare wire and bigger better flux core.
here is the link if your interested

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/hobart-trek-180.html

Read your review,looking forward to part2.

Century had the 131A portable mig welder. Portable mig idea is nothing new. Mine still works flawlessly going on 8 years. It's been discontinued awhile. Bought mine new for $300. I'd like to use the Hobart to compare.

Nathan

BTT. Anyone have additional experiences to share? I'm seriously considering ordering one.

The very small amount of available use on batt power concerns me, but the convenience factor is sky high for remote areas.............OR densely populated areas (no small engine drone).

edit: I searched the Hobart forums as well, and there's not much - if any - recent posts there either. So either no one is ordering these, or everyone who has them has no complaints.

We got one in the middle of last season. We set it out at the speaker stand of all the RROCK and W.E.Rock Hannible events for any one who needed it. I has been through a number of charge cycles and it is working great.

Scott

I need to download the product manual, but as I understand it when plugged in this runs on the batts and the receptacle................

now, does this mean it'll pull less AC than my Miller 135? So I can hopefully run on a 15A circuit and not always trip breakers?

Hmm, now I'm just more confused. I just spoke w Hobart tech support and he claims it's always up to 180A output, regardless of being plugged in or not. This doesn't really jive w section 5 of the product manual which claims 120A output.

I thought it was - in simplest terms - a 120A unit on batts only and a 180A unit if plugged in.

Maybe the 120A is just where the duty cycle is rated?

I went with a Ready Welder. And as a side bonus it doubles as an aluminum spool gun....

But it is a lot more hassle to drag around batteries - but it sure kicks out the Amps at full power.

Now thru 8/15/10 Northern claims to be offering a free 800W inverter w purchase, which they say is an $80 value. Not enough to push anyone off the fence, but an added bonus if you're looking at one anyway.

What the hell, I can use an inverter............

$1,800.00

i''m out

$1,800.00

i''m out

I don't even know WTF this means. You're either referring to a different product entirely or you really suck at the intarweb because they're $1400 shipped everywhere. Best I could find was $1350 but that didn't include shipping.

I'm not saying it's cheap, but get your shit straight before spreading bad information.

Look at the retail on their website...
:flipoff2:

My unit arrived earlier this week. I charged it for 2 hours as instructed, and then fired it up (cordless) on 1/4" material w the provided .030 flux. I went off the suggested settings, which were max power and max wire speed. I got 3" of bead before it shut off and said low battery.

In their defense, I was laying a fairly heavy bead, the batteries have theoretically not been fully conditioned, and they never really seem to suggest you're gonna get much out of it on the batteries alone at max power.

However today I used it on a job and got what I was REALLY wanting from this unit:

-the ability to run on a small gauge extension cord (cheaper, easier to haul)
-no need to hunt down a 20A circuit and/or ask the homeowner to make sure I always have access to their breaker panel
-180A of output if Hobart's ratings are accurate

also it's way easier to lug around than my Miller 135, both in terms of weight and size.

IOW I didn't buy the unit so much for the cordless feature, but to have a decent 110V wire feed that could use the same cords or circuits as, say, a corded drill.

Overall build of the unit seems robust and I don't feel like it's a cheap chi-com cordless tool. However the dials for both output and wire speed spin freely and have little positive feel. Arc quality to me (read: not a pro welder) seems great. I wish they would simply allow the machine to accept a standard extension cord (think Bosch direct connect), rather than having to use their short cord between the machine and 110V source. I haven't tried it, but it seems like their cord might just be similar to what plugs into a computer power supply.

was reading the specs on Hobart about this about a week ago looks like a great deal for being so versatile

Noticed in an email from Northern today they've got this unit on sale for $1100 w free shipping. As I said when I bought I looked pretty hard and didn't find anything better than $1350 + shipping.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200390405_200390405?cm_ven=Housefile&cm_cat=POWER_110110&cm_pla=110410phoneconNR&cm_ite=P15&cm_lm=wbr90@yahoo.com&state=CO&hotline=&marketcode=

Been using mine a lot. Really enjoy it, definitely the go-to machine for jobs outside of the shop. Battery life has definitely improved w time and many little jobs I can complete w/out plugging in. If I have to, at least I can use any cheap extension cord, and length of cord run is pretty much irrelevant.

The machine really fits that void between say, a Miller 135 and a full-blown engine driven welder for on-site work.

Any more opinions on these? I've been tossing around the idea of this for a while, but wanted to see how they've lasted over the last year.

20% Duty Cycle - how useful is it actually for welding items 3/16" and thicker :confused: in the field.

I love the idea behind this!

Any more opinions on these? I've been tossing around the idea of this for a while, but wanted to see how they've lasted over the last year.

I'm still a big believer. I try to use it once every 2 months just to keep things moving around in the batteries.

I still wish they woulda done a "direct connect" type deal for the power cord 'cause it'd be easy to leave their short cord behind, and then you'd have no way to charge it on a job.

Otherwise I mostly continue to view it as a 180amp wire feed that can be run off hundreds of feet of 16ga extension cord, occasionally going off the grid if necessary. I've used it cordless a couple of times lately and it's been great. Sometimes in tight quarters in the shop when the floor is already cluttered w cords and hoses I carry this unit over for quick stuff.

If you can poke around and see if there's a V2.0 slated soon I'd wait. Maybe they'll do some cool upgrades like the power cord issue..........and lead acid batts seem like old technology but I don't know if Li-Ion can stand rapid deep cycling like this unit needs????

Any more opinions on these? I've been tossing around the idea of this for a while, but wanted to see how they've lasted over the last year.

Ours is now two years old and has had a number of charge / discharge cycles and sppols run through it. It has not missed a beat, however it has only been used at comps and outside the shop so we have always had a genset or power close to plug it into after use. It has also rode around in a truck tool box for 20k plus miles and the only thing we have had happen is something will hit the power button and turn the machine on.

Any more opinions on these? I've been tossing around the idea of this for a while, but wanted to see how they've lasted over the last year.

For 2x the price and the <20% duty cycle, I still don't see how this machine compares to a ready welder.

Sure, with the RW you have to have two batteries around, but how often could that not be the case. Most anything you would drive to the location will take dual batteries.

I see the portability factor in this unit, but it's limitations and cost kill the deal for me.

For 2x the price and the <20% duty cycle, I still don't see how this machine compares to a ready welder.

Sure, with the RW you have to have two batteries around, but how often could that not be the case. Most anything you would drive to the location will take dual batteries.

I see the portability factor in this unit, but it's limitations and cost kill the deal for me.

That's my thoughts regarding its 20% duty cycle too.

RW also good since the batteries are used for other things and are somewhat already in a maintenance program to be replaced when they go bad.

I`d imagine this has more control than a RW but I haven't used either just going by the specs :D

I also own a Ready Welder and for a welder to take on the trail I carry the RW, the Hobart is on the trailer in the tool box for use at camp or at comps.