I am currently looking to purchase a Hobart 187 but also considering the miller 180, the Hobart would fulfill my needs plenty but if the Miller is a more reliable unit I'd consider it. I know Hobart is made by miller but do they make the millers of higher quality? Trying to decide if the extra $100+ is worth spending to get a Miller vs a Hobart... Thanks
CK5
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Hobart vs Miller?
- Thread starter viperrgh2
- Start date
I've never ran the smaller welders and never a Hobart, But.
We have the Millers at work about every style from over the years and a few Lincolns. In the 5 years i've been using them Miller is(I.M.O) a superior machine. Get the Miller and the biggest one you can afford.
We have the Millers at work about every style from over the years and a few Lincolns. In the 5 years i've been using them Miller is(I.M.O) a superior machine. Get the Miller and the biggest one you can afford.
It comes down to personal choice. I have the Hobart 180 and like it. The Miller has infinite voltage settings IIRC. The Hobart 187 is upgraded from the 4 stops (the 180) to 7 voltage stops.
The Hobart uses some Miller parts. Same warranty.
A lot of guys on here use Hobart with no issues. If you are using it for production and industrial use, you may want to spend the extra coin on the Miller. Shop use and weekend worrier, the Hobart is just as good IMO.
The Hobart uses some Miller parts. Same warranty.
A lot of guys on here use Hobart with no issues. If you are using it for production and industrial use, you may want to spend the extra coin on the Miller. Shop use and weekend worrier, the Hobart is just as good IMO.
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
I'd spend the extra 100 for the miller. The hobart is a decent welder but when it comes to longevity you can't beat millers. Only thing both my last 2 bosses would buy. They last forever. Most of the multimasters we had were at least 10 years old and still worked better then most newer machines.
hobart blows goats...no offense to those that have one. 
After 21 years using every brand you've ever heard of my preference in order is:
Lincoln
Miller
Esab
Cambell Hausfeld
Clarke
Two batteries and a coathanger
Hobart.
Rene
After 21 years using every brand you've ever heard of my preference in order is:Lincoln
Miller
Esab
Cambell Hausfeld
Clarke
Two batteries and a coathanger
Hobart.
Rene
My Millermatic 200 was built in 1979. I didn't own it when new, only the last year or so. It has worked flawlessly since I got it. I can only guess at the amount of wire this thing has had passed thru it. I would say alot. I have gone thru 2+ 44# spools myself.
IMHO go with the Miller.
ALL of our welders at work are Miller. Mig/Tig/Arc/ portable and generator/welders. We have 9 Miller Bobcats alone. Around 40 Tig welders and 6 Mig welders. All Miller. We had a few Lincoln gen/welders but they only lasted a few years.
Bruiser
IMHO go with the Miller.
ALL of our welders at work are Miller. Mig/Tig/Arc/ portable and generator/welders. We have 9 Miller Bobcats alone. Around 40 Tig welders and 6 Mig welders. All Miller. We had a few Lincoln gen/welders but they only lasted a few years.
Bruiser
hobart blows goats...no offense to those that have one.
Lincoln
Miller
Esab
Cambell Hausfeld
Clarke
Two batteries and a coathanger
Hobart.
Rene
cegusman
3/4 ton status
Just bought a Miller 180 a week ago. It is a very nice welder. Got AirGas down to $850 with a $50 mail in rebate for it.
I would certainly buy the Miller before the Hobart if for no other reason than the MIller having infinite heat control. Having only a few heat settings can really suck especially if you weld much thinner (22ga-16ga) metal.
I promise you won't buy the Miller and wish you had bought the Hobart. Spend the extra C note and don't look back.
I promise you won't buy the Miller and wish you had bought the Hobart. Spend the extra C note and don't look back.
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
hobart blows goats...no offense to those that have one.
Lincoln
Miller
Esab
Cambell Hausfeld
Clarke
Two batteries and a coathanger
Hobart.
Rene
Lincoln before miller? Really?
I like Esab better then lincoln... kind of pricey but they make good stuff.
x2.
I have a Millermatic 212 and LOVE it. I've used a 220 powered Hobart quite a bit, and don't care for it much. It's very old, my Miller is very new. Mine runs much smoother and more consistent... so, there's definitely some variables that make it an unequal comparison.
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
there was a guy at my old job that had a brand new miller 250p... everybody couldn't believe how good of welds he was laying down... He was running 75/25 while the rest of us had C02 and 10 year old machines. A well trained monkey could lay down a nice bead with the new stuff they have nowadays. I challenged him to a "weld off" and won. Sometimes machine IS everything.
Lincoln has better electronics, the most glaring example is on start up. Lincoln starts hot, never any stutter. Miller makes a good machine, but they start a lot colder and will occasionally stutter on start up.
Rene
Rene
Can't argue the popity pop on start up. If the wires hot from the previous weld it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem if at all.
Some welders have a slow start adjustment to slow the wire feed for the first instant of weld which serves to cure the problem.
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
I was just about to say... the ones with "hot start" are awesome.
randycj7
1/2 ton status
hobart blows goats...no offense to those that have one.
Lincoln
Miller
Esab
Cambell Hausfeld
Clarke
Two batteries and a coathanger
Hobart.
Rene
I would have to agree I have a Lincoln power mig 255 at home and it works great, at work we have a lot of millers and I think I have overheated every single one of them.
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
The older millers do it... but the newest models they have like the 250p are SEEMLESS...
I've used damn near every machine Miller has built in the last 5 years. All of the invertor machines, pulse machines, TIG machines and a metric assload of brand new Deltafab 350's. Input from 220V single to 600V 3 phase.
They all have done the Miller sputter ('cept for the TIG lol), not 100% of the time, but I can't recall having a Lincoln do that to me ever.
The irony is my tiny little Millermatic 135 has done it to me maybe once?
Rene
They all have done the Miller sputter ('cept for the TIG lol), not 100% of the time, but I can't recall having a Lincoln do that to me ever.
The irony is my tiny little Millermatic 135 has done it to me maybe once?
Rene
Fabrimacator21
1/2 ton status
Get any tip dirty enough with your wire too long and they'll all do it as you allready know... but I'll take your word for it.
I guess I've just had a few bad experiences with lincolns. My dad had a 220 lincoln buzzbox that ran awesome but I've run into several self powered lincold arc welders that were horrible. Couldn't strike an arc to save your life. Granted the self powered machines are never as good as shop power but the millers seemed to run alot better in the field. The lincoln air arc/arc welder I had in the shop was the best arc welder I've used to date. I could lay down beads one handed and make it look like a mig weld everytime. 450 amps
I guess I've just had a few bad experiences with lincolns. My dad had a 220 lincoln buzzbox that ran awesome but I've run into several self powered lincold arc welders that were horrible. Couldn't strike an arc to save your life. Granted the self powered machines are never as good as shop power but the millers seemed to run alot better in the field. The lincoln air arc/arc welder I had in the shop was the best arc welder I've used to date. I could lay down beads one handed and make it look like a mig weld everytime. 450 amps
Biggest machine I used was the machine I hated the most...but being I was the only to make it run worth a crap I got stuck with it. It was a really old Hobart 650 amp machine. Dual feeders, CC/CV. We ran .045 microwire on one feeder, and .093" flux core on the other (W/500 amp gun)
It did better with the huge flux core than it did with the microwire. What it did best though was gouge or stick weld.
I've never used any of the self powered versions, I've always been a shop rat.
Don't misunderstand, I don't hate Miller at all, they're a close second for me. It's just that one little issue they have that annoys me.
Rene
It did better with the huge flux core than it did with the microwire. What it did best though was gouge or stick weld.
I've never used any of the self powered versions, I've always been a shop rat.
Don't misunderstand, I don't hate Miller at all, they're a close second for me. It's just that one little issue they have that annoys me.
Rene
