hobart handler 125 E-Z

got my hobart handler 125 ez on sept 23rd for my 16th birthday. i will have it for one year in a few weeks. i that year, i have fixed several things, built projects, and just practiced. it is a flux core only machine. (the reg 125 can be converted to mig). it is 115 volt, 30-125 amps. in the box you'll find: the welder, destruction manual, 2 pound spool of .30 flux core wire, your gun (8 foot cable, preinstalled), your ground cable (10 feet, preinstalled), a ground clamp (appears to be of somewhat high quality, requires the ground cable to be attached, which involves a nut, bolt, and washer which are supplied) and a bag of 3 contact tips, one of which needs to be installed. in the year i have had this thing, i have gone far over the duty cycle, and it still keeps ticking. hasnt skipped a beat. there are a few things i do not like: the combines WFS and amperage knob can be a major PITA, as sometimes you dont need the wire it spits out. The spool holder could be made tooless, like the higher end hobart's. those are really my only 2 beefs with this welder. welds good, feeds good 90% of the time (just keep your tips clean).. ample power for mild fabrication down to sheet metal work. now mind you, the welds are by no means pretty. actually, they flat out look like he!! i have a wire wheel for my angle grinder and that works well for removing the thick slag and ungodly amounts of spatter. WEAR LONG SLEVES!!! this thing has thrown slag and molten puddles the size of peas!!!! overall, for the price i paid, it is a good welder, for beginers and the weekend warrior. i would want a bigger one if i was doing any critical welding. ***** 5 stars from me. good job Hobart

I got a deal on 2 of them and one sits brand new never used and the other is starting to show its age. I had a millermatic and loved it but sold it as I love the auto settings on these. I also had a harbor freight special flux core welder that I burned up in a week. My Hobart is by far the nicest welder I have ever owned. There is a special spray that you can get to help reduce slag and it seems to work well. I tried to put .035 wire through the welder and it did not like it. .030 is the way to go. The welds I get with my hobart are second to none. I liked them so much I bought another. I got a killer deal on 2 new ones for 380. If your hobart ever breaks and you call their customer service they are the nicest people in the world.

My dad has a Hobart handler 135 that we run .030 wire and carbon dioxide in. It has worked great for the past 15 years, only problem is sometimes if your lead is twisted the trigger won't work.

I use a hobart 125ez also and for a cheap small machine it's taken a lot of abuse. A couple times the trigger or something has gotten messed up so that there's always power to the tip even though the wire still only feeds when the trigger is pressed. You just have to be careful you don't brush it against anything before you start welding or you get a face full of sparks. Can't really complain about it much though, I've used it a lot.