Clicky

Review: Hobart 500502 Stickmate Welder

Our Rating

Value
Design
Quality

Summary:

4.5

User Rating: 0 (0 votes)

Stick welding is a skill that can get you out of a lot of trouble on a project. The only problem is that many stick welders dictate to you what your amperage is going to be, which means you’ve got to hope you can adjust the welder to a setting that fits your needs. With the Hobart 500502 Stickmate welder, you’ll never need to worry about that issue ever again.

That’s because this Hobart stick welder features an infinite current control. It allows operators to be able to adjust the output of the welder by as little as 1-amp for each increment. When combined with the forced-draft cooling fan that runs continuously, you won’t have to worry about heat causing a premature end to your brand new welder either.

What to Expect with the Hobart 500502 Stickmate Welder

This welder comes with a clamp cable length of 10 feet. The electrode cable length is 15 feet, while the power cord is just 5 feet in length. You may wish to invest into one of the best welder extension cords to improve the portability of this unit because of this design.

It has #4 gauge, 600-am leads, with the stick lead about 3-feet longer than the other. We found the design to be useful for most small-to-medium projects. If you have overhead projects that need to be touched up, you may need to look at a different setup.

The duty cycle is 100% at 90 amps. You can also have a 20% duty cycle at 165 amps if you prefer. It only operates off of a 230v outlet, however, so you will have limited outlets in many homes that can support this particular welder. It does require a 50-amp breaker in order to operate.

Features to Focus On with the Hobart 500502 Stickmate Welder

It does have a full welding amperage range of 30-205 amps. If you do run the amperage above 165, you do need to be careful about how long you are continuously welding. It will overheat pretty quickly, even with the fan continuously running, especially as you get close to 200 amps.

We found that it tends to work well with 6011 and 6013 rods. If you’re using the 7018 rods with this equipment, the cycling tends to be a little fast and that lessens the quality of the weld that can be achieved.

It is one of the few welders of any type that did an excellent job when it came to welding cast iron. It also handles steel and stainless steel with relative ease. We wouldn’t recommend aluminum or exotics with this welder.

Our Bottom Line: The Hobart 500502 Stickmate Welder is a solid option for residential, commercial, or industrial use. It’s supported by a 5/3/1 warranty for most applications, those industrial users have a 90-day warranty instead. We found that it tends to be a good all-around welder for most projects of any size, though some industrial applications are limited by the initial setup. If you’ve been thinking about trying stick welding, you’ll want to give this welder a strong look.

Click here to view the price on Amazon and get the best deal.

Visit this link if you’re in search of the best stick welding machines.

Load More Related Articles
Load More In Product Reviews

Check Also

Review: 3M Speedglas 100 Black Welding Helmet

If you like the idea of having an ...