Hobart 175 Bit the Dust

[banzaitoyota]

My HH175 bit the dust today, the cast piece that the gun liner is secured to and the gas is fed thru it; melted down today.

Why is a main component of a welder Made from POT METAL? I'd expect that from a cheap welder. So I am now believing that the HH175 is a cheap welder. I Guess ITW expects me to pony up to the bar and buy another one of their "fine machines"

[84ZMike]

Are you going to fix it....if not how much ya what for it?
Mike

[Sundown]

Any idea what happened to cause that ?

[banzaitoyota]

Who knows, I'm just a lowly hobbyist trying to spend my money wisely, This part does not seem to be well engineered, a threaded potmetal body with a thumbscrew to provide the current path? Maybe some accountant can provide the explanation why this happened.

Wheres ROCK when you need a straight answer from ITW?

[Hobart Expert Brian]

banzaitoyota, shoot me an email, I may be able to help you out. ;)

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy!

As with ANY welder, with use, it is mandatory that the main current carrying portions be firnmly secured and checked often. I'm sure you were having other slight issues with the welder due to this, and staying within the duty cycle and/or investigating loose connections to solve those problems would have left you with labor in tightening some connections, and a working welder. Screws can loosen up through vibration, and even the heating and cooling cycle of welding. This happens in house electrical systems as well. One reason why aluminum house wiring is no longer used. Aluminum is a great conductor, and should not be blamed for this failure. You are probably correct in there being pot metal involved, but that still should not have caused this electrical issue, unless the threads within it had been overtightened, causing to strip, then loose connection, then too much resistance and heat, then meltdown.

With anything electrical, when having problems, unplug the appliance, and find the hottest part. That most likely is the loose connection. 70-90% of electrical issues are actually the connections becoming loose, or corroded bye weather or chemicals, or electrical arcing. I'm not saying that you did not have a defective part in your machine, but next time something is acting funny, and it is electrical, turn off the power and look for the hottest part. This is where the most resistance will be, and the most likely location for your issue.

Good luck! Brian Lee Sparkeee28
P.S. I am sure ITW will treat you right. they have the best customer service I have seen in this industry. (Lincoln take note, your reps SUCK!) though I like your products

[Sberry]

Yes, I agree, I also put some no-lox on most any screw with alum where there is an electrical connection. Some lube helps with tightening, keeps the treads from seizing. I use it on the treads on panel lugs too, allows for re-tightening later if needed but rarely find a loose one as with some grease they tighten properly the first time. I see torque specs on panels but they are about useless with bone dry threads. Even a drop of WD40 on a thread will keep it from seizing.

[banzaitoyota]

Dave at Hobart Tech Support helped me out today.

Guess I will add checking the thumbscrew to my list of "to-do's"

it still seems strange to have a critical threaded component tapped into a soft (relatively) metal. An insert would work well in this situation I think

[Sundown]

Dave at Hobart Tech Support helped me out today.

Guess I will add checking the thumbscrew to my list of "to-do's"

it still seems strange to have a critical threaded component tapped into a soft (relatively) metal. An insert would work well in this situation I think

I never thought it would turn out any other way knowing Hobart, good to hear they took care of you.;)