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What We Like
- 5-position voltage selector
- Wide 25-140 Amp amperage range
- Supports 2 welding processes
- Welds different strong metals
- Multi-size spool support
- Fast and simplified setup
What We Don’t Like
- Weighty at 57 pounds
- Not pocket-friendly
Bottom Line
Excellent arc performance, robust voltage settings, and a wide amperage range make this MIG welder a versatile tool for home welding projects.
Introduction
If you’re a DIY welder, a hobbyist, or are just looking to step up your beginner welding skills to the next level, Hobart 500559 is a wise choice for MIG welders.
It is a versatile unit and will support multiple welding applications and styles, especially because of its robust voltage and amperage settings, convenient controls, and an array of safety features to safeguard the welder.
Hobart 500559 Review
Photo: Hobart
Performance: Versatile for Home Use
The Hobart 500559 is, without a doubt, one of the most versatile MIG welders available for all-round home use, including maintenance/repair, DIY, metal art, auto body, and farm projects. And there are many advanced features to support these applications.
Also known as the Handler 140, this welder operates on common 110/115/120-volt household power. You won’t require additional electrical installations or modifications to use the welder.
When it comes to power output, this is one of the areas the welder excels best. It offers an output amperage of 25-140 Amp, which is notably broad by MIG welder standards. With this range comes superior versatility especially when welding thicker materials with multiple passes.
You can accomplish high arc fine-tuning with the welder’s 5-position voltage control. This flexibility allows you to increase or reduce the voltage of the welder to control the heat it produces, effectively governing the types of arc you make on different metals.
Another high-performance and versatile feature of this welder is its support for multiple welding processes, including MIG (GMAW) and flux-corded (FCAW). You can alternate between the 2 depending on the kind of welding work you’re undertaking.
In practice, the MIG welding process is great for enclosed spaces because of the flow of air that could disrupt the flow of shielding gas, while the flux-corded process is ideal for outdoor as air movement doesn’t affect it much.
With this MIG welder, you can weld 24 gauge up to 1/4-inch steel. And to help accomplish this, the welder supports different wires including 0.023-0.035-inch mild steel/stainless steel, 0.3-0.035-inch flux-cored, and 0.03-inch aluminum.
The performance of this MIG welder is further enhanced by some of the accessories that Hobart offers with it. You get a long 10-foot H100S2-10 gun, a 10-foot work cable with clamp and sample spool of 0.4 inches self-shielding flux-cored wire.
Speaking of spools, the hub assembly of this MIG welder accommodates 4-inch or 8-inch spools. Then there’s the Quick Select drive roll designed to minimize setup time providing 3 grooves; 2 are responsible for different solid-were sizes while the third handles the flux-core wire.
Finally, the wire drive system is made of industrial cast aluminum, which ensures that the wire feed is not only durable but also a high-performance one.
Design & Construction: Strong Construction and Simplified Controls
Enclosing the welder is a solid steel housing, to help in thrive in different working environments, including those that may present some degree of harshness to the tool. You can operate it outdoor without worrying much about tool wear.
The welder’s control panel assumes a well-thought slope design, which increases the visibility of the machine’s controls for easier adjustments. It helps avoid the awkward bending and squinting associated with a flat control panel.
Speaking of controls, the ones on this welder are simplified for all levels of users, especially beginners who may just be starting to get accustomed to the tool. The sloped panel offers 2 main knobs, one for the voltage position adjustment, and the other for wire feed speed adjustment.
Overload Protection: Robust Protective Safeguards
Hobart invests a great deal in this welder’s protective technology. The 500559 features advanced thermal overall protection, which is self-resetting so that you never have to interact with the system, for instance, when an overload is detected.
If you accidentally exceed the duty cycle, an occurrence that is common when getting familiar with welding and MIG machines, the system automatically kicks in and powers down the machine to allow for cooling.
When the unit has cooled sufficiently and after the recommended cooling time has elapsed, the system powers the welder back on, while resetting itself to continue protecting the power transformer.
Protection does not stop at the transformer. It extends to cover the wire feed system through self-resetting motor protection. Because the welder’s wire feed system can also be overloaded, the motor protection intervenes to prevent this occurrence, thus safeguarding the circuit breaker.
Portability: Compact and Worksite-Portable
At 57 pounds in weight, this welder is certainly not lightweight, considering there are some similar-spec models that weigh even less than 20 pounds. That said, the bulkiness of this welder does not make it impossible to transport.
Because of the welder’s fairly compact body measuring 19.5 x 12.38 x 10.63 inches, it is not difficult to transport. In fact, the compact build does a good job of countering the tool’s weight. If you will be working offsite with the welder, it’s best to transport it with a vehicle.
But in the actual workspace, shifting the welder across short distances is relatively easy especially because of the top plastic handle, which offers a secure firm grip. Also, the long 10-MIG gun and work cable of similar lengths reduce the need to constantly move the unit.
If portability proves to be challenging, you can consider getting the Hobart 194776 Small Running Gear/Cylinder Rack to hold the welder machine and move it around the worksite with ease. Also, it has a convenient under tray to hold your welding cables.
Price: Reflective of the Value Offered
While this MIG welder is designed for home use across a range of applications, its price is not in the pocket-friendly category. However, it is justified by the value that the welder offers you. Its all-around versatility makes it ideal for use across most home welding projects.
You get robust voltage control from the MIG welder’s 5-position voltage adjustment for arc fine-tuning. It offers a variable amperage to support the welding of different strong metal including steel and aluminum, not to mention the reliable safeguards tailored to protect the tool.
But Hobart has other MIG welders that compete well with the 500559. One of them is the heavy-duty 500554. It welds higher-gauge steel, operates on 230 volts of power has 7 voltage selection and a higher duty cycle of 30% at 130 Amp.
For all those performance enhancements that the Hobart 500554 offers, you get to pay significantly more. This welder is essentially a professional-grade one, so if you just want a tool for light-duty home projects, it’s best to stick with the 500559.
There’s also the cheaper Hobart 500573. Its performance is significantly lower than that of the 500559 and only offers a variable 25-130 Amp amperage as the advantage. Other than that, the 500559 outperforms it in all other critical aspects.
Verdict
A versatile all-round MIG welder with 5 voltage positions for welding fine-tuned arcs with other robust features for all-round home use.
The Hobart 500559’s voltage ranges and variable amperage enable you to weld fine-tuned arcs, while the self-resetting thermal overload and motor protection safeguard the welder as you focus on the task at hand.
Specs
- Product Name: Hobart 500559
- Product Brand: Hobart
- Product Dimensions: 19.5 x 12.38 x 10.63 inches
- Welding Process: MIG(GMAW), Flux-Cored (FCAW)
- Power Input: 110/115/120 Volts, 20 Amp
- Amperage Range: 25 – 140 Amp
- Duty Cycle: 20% at 90 Amp (18.5 VDC)
- Flux-Core Wire: 0.023-0.035 inches, 0.030-0.035 inches, 0.030 inches
- Wire Feed Speed: 40-700 IPM, 50-740 IPM (no load)
- MIG Gun: 10 feet
- Ground Clamp: 10 feet
- Weld Capacity: 24 gauge up to 1/4 inches (mild steel)
- Product Warranty: 1 year
- Unit Weight: 57 pounds (26 kg)
Key Features
- Dual MIG and flux-cored welding process capability
- 5-position voltage control enables superior fine-tuning of weld arcs
- Variable 25-140-Amp amperage support delivery of smooth and stable arcs
- Advanced self-resetting thermal overload protection
- A Quick Select drive roll system offers 3 groves for easy and quick setup
- The spool assembly accommodates 4-inch or 8-inch spools for flexibility
- East and quick polarity changeover for tubular or solid wires
- Variable 40-700 IPM and 40-740 IPM wire feed speed range
- Sloped control panel help enhance user interface visibility for easy adjustments
- A wide array of productivity accessories included