is the hobart 210 enough for home fab?

[Elly_VanHouten]

Finally had some time on a Hobart MVP 210 and I've got to say, it runs hotter than the chart suggests. I was working on 1/4" and 3/8" with the 3/16 settings, bumped the wire speed, and still had no problem burning in. Had to crank up the gas a little to avoid porosity, but overall it laid in nice once I let the puddle sit and used small circles.

Butt joint on 3/16 to 1/4 gave me maybe 70% penetration, not perfect but more than usable. Beveled the 3/8" and got around 50–60% with stock settings. I'm convinced with proper prep and maxing it out, you could push 1/2" if you wanted to prove a point. For anyone debating machine size for home or small shop work, this unit feels like plenty of welder. Curious if others have had the same "runs hot" experience?

 

[56cambridge]

Yeah, it runs hotter than I thought too. I got the MVP 210 last year for my garage after my old Lincoln gave out, and it worked great right away. I've used it on 3/8" steel with a small bevel and got good welds by turning up the wire speed, letting the puddle build, and moving slowly. Had to turn up the gas a bit, especially on upright welds. For a 120/240V welder, it's stronger than it looks.

 

[IamMckenzy]

Get the settings tuned and prepped my joints well, it handled 3/8" pretty comfortably. It's more than enough machine definitely for a small shop work