What owners do with it
Input power26 owners said
Generator88%
240V outlet8%
Both 120V and 240V4%
How it is used17 owners said
Paid work59%
Hobby and home24%
Farm and repair18%
Process used11 owners said
Stick82%
Flux core9%
TIG9%
Specs
What it does
- Processes
- Stick
- Plugs into
- Gas engine
- Amperage
- 25-225A
- Duty cycle
- 225A at 100%
The machine
- Weight
- 373 lb
- Warranty
- 5/3/1 years 5 years on the transformer, stabilizers and main rectifiers; 3 years on PC boards and drive systems; 1 year on the gun.
Prices
47 owner reviews
I have the Hobart champion 225 with the Kohler motor but I bought it new I have never had problem I also put the cover on when not using. Your videos are very helpful. I do mobile welding on the side and the Hobart is decent welder but it’s a great power supply, I run my 220 MiG off of it and my tig. Having portable power is the greatest asset.
I have one also, I run an everlast cyclone 212 off of it and cap every in 5/32 7024 no problems. Also it runs my whole house when the power goes out, even the a/c. I have the champion elite with the Kohler motor and I would recommend it to anybody.
@Cheesebakers I think you might be right about the soot coming from chocking the machine. I check oil regularly and not once did I have to add oil. I also had an issue with the idle solenoid but I just fixed it this weekend (Its my newest video). Thanks for watching!
I’ve noticed the sut coming from the exhaust on mine as well but I’ve singled it out to be from choking it at start it black smokes for a second but goes away when i push it back in idk if that was the same issue as you but that’s my input on that, i do have the issue of it not idling up in the idle/run setting im gonna contact Hobart and see if there’s something they can do to help with that other than that it’s been a good machine welds good and runs good, good video man!
@johnnycortez46 i bought it 4 years ago,it's still running and welding great!
Honestly, I would not buy this machine again. Haven’t used it much it’s at 27hrs. I would recommend you spend the extra money on a miller or Lincoln. Or buy the older Hobart model with the Kohler engine. Only reason I say this is because I have noticed when I go to strike an arc sometimes it doesn’t idle up and the arc gets cutoff, then the machine will idle up and you can start welding again. It’s just too new to be doing something dumb like that.
Overall yes I would. Assuming that I feel the machine can accomplish what I need it for. So far Ive been pleased with it
I have a Hobart champion 16 and it seems really good got a deal on it for 1500 came with a trailor had a problem with the brushes which just edges need to be cleaned and gave me some carb problems but other that it runs great
For me personally, the biggest advantage is that this machine is easily mobile. I now have it mounted on my 450 and it handles any field work with ease. The AHP only gets used in my shop and I prefer it for shop fab work, especially since it has A/C current capabilities.( which I like to use if I'm welding tight corners/spaces to prevent arc blow. ) Although I mostly use it just for tig on aluminum or really thin steel. This Hobart has more than enough power to run the AHP and not affect performance. Ive tried the AHP on a smaller generator but it would overload the breaker if my amps were over 100. But that might've been I had to run it on 110 instead of 220v. But the Hobart will handle the 220v like nothings even plugged in. Ive had the AHP turned up hot and it won't even pull down the engine speed on the hobart running wide open when I strike the arc. Hope this answers your question! Let me know if you have any more!
I sure due have a big head. The machine has served me well and even saved me from freezing during that Texas freeze we had. Thanks for watching.
Does the job pretty good for me, can’t complain really at all
We got 2 of these at my work and we put 300 hours on both of them in like 2 months. Good little welders. Been doing small bore pipe and making brackets and such. Works well for the price.
This is a great machine to use on a farm or home. The prices have gone up a ton since I got mine but its a great machine. I weld lots of purlins, oil field pipe and scrap metal and never failed me.
Yes i change the filter every time my machine can run pretty hard on some jobs if i have alot of gouging to do before welding i also run a miller extreme 12vs off it with dual shield flux core any thicker material i like to run 27-29 volts so she works hard.
I run a lot of 1/8 7018 if it’s good solid metal I will run it at about 7. If it’s kinda rough metal I’ll run a quick pass at a lower setting let 5 or 6. Doesn’t seem to hurt the machine any. For the I was welding thicker pipe to thinner sheetmetal so I had it turned down. Generally I’d keep 3/32 7018 rod, or even some 6011. But I had a lot of 7018 left over so I’m trying to use it up.
It stays outside all year long I don’t have a cover for it. I believe it said the machine was weather proof. It seems to be holding up just fine
@cranerigging3604 Honestly you can't beat the simplicity of it. I found I was able to get the hang of it within a few minutes on selecting my amperage, now its practically muscle memory to change the amperage. Mine too will soon be truck mounted once I finish restoring my rig.
@dawsonpresto745 Good Deal look forward to it ! What I like about it is it's simplicity . Ya got the choke , starter switch , 3 position wide range and fine tune welding adjustments powered by a 23 horse Kohler . I really like it so far . It's truck mounted . Fast forward to 5 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv6PRuGxe7o
Great Review ! We have had one for about a year now and really like it . If you can't weld off this Hobart Champion Elite 225 gas drive then ya need to quit welding !
@thecordlesscarpenter7956 Mine is #2 I'm pretty sure. The chart I saw says that #2 is good for 200 amps up to 100ft. (I have a 100ft on my electrode holder and 100 for my ground clamp). I probably could've went with #1 cause its rated for 250amps at 100ft but I never run my machine at wide open amperage so the #2 does work for me. I haven't noticed any current loss over the length but if I run a 5/32 7018 for a long period the leads get a little warm where they are coiled around my reels (not enough to concern me) but past them they stay cool. But I do have a set of 2/0 leads about 50ft each I think that I keep on my rig to use just in case I might have to run at high to wide open amps for a longer period of time.
@justinkozlansky4440 Sorry for late reply. I usually set my 1/8 7018 at what I guess to be 125-130amps, which is coarse range set at 50-150 and fine control on 7-8. (But it could vary depending on what thickness of material I'm working with. Next I hope you mean a 3/16 7018 because the machine doesn't have enough amperage to carry a 3/8. It will run a 3/16 but it would have to be set at wide open amperage for best results (IMO). The largest I run is a 5/32 7018 and the settings I run are 80-225, fine control set anywhere from 7-10 (again depending on material thickness). Hope this helps!
Yeah that’s what Ive ended up doing, I guess I just wish it had a fuel gauge on it, but all and all it’s a good machine
So with this machine I’ve welded some thick plate, a good example would be a excavator I worked on over the summer. The material thickness on that thing was 1” thick and I welded it with my Hobart engine drive, with multiple passes, but I think it say with larger rod it can do half inch one pass. For me personally I run a lot of 1/8 rod, it’s pretty universal for what I do so I like to be able to purchase one big box.
I needed a gas driven welder and back up generator and this one fit the budget. The Lincoln 250 GXT had better features for expandability but did cost way more. Welders have gone up in price and really depends on your needs. I wanted a SA200 pipeline welder but was going to be about $6000 after rebuild. I like the welder and sure helped during the Texas Freeze running 3 or 4 days. I think this is an entry welder that competes with the Lincoln Eagle gas driven welder from Homedepot.
It's not just you, i have 20 ish hours on mine and have never been able to see fuel level. Great machine for the money i personally love mine.
Yeah Miller and Hobart are basically the same machines. I can lay some pretty slick beads with this machine and so far it always performs flawlessly. I also use it to power our shop right now until we can get power ran to it
I have the hobart champion elite 225 at home. It's a job site beast. I'm a millwright/skilled trades mechanic at GM. We use miller bobcats at work. And when I open up the panels I can't tell the difference between the hobart or the bobcat. Same welder basically, extra features is only difference. I use my hobart elite for a generator mostly, runs my whole house. But it welds just as good as our millers at work.
I cranked it up yesterday after work I luv it
I picked it up at night and the next day started welding. I have to do an oil change after running lots of hours during the Texas power outage. The welder works great and was one of my best investments.
Right now I only have 50ft on it and most of the time thats more than plenty. The reel is capable of holding 100ft but so far I've never needed that much.
I haven't tried doing any tig with it yet but I will eventually. The only tig I ever do is in my shop and I've got an AHP Alphatig 201xd that I tig with. I will make a video whenever I do try it with this machine. But I definitely would recommend this machine.
I would recommend it for the 40 hr week. As long as stick welding (and I assume this for field work) is your main welding process as this is a DC stick only. But it does have 2 240v plugs and 4 110v so you'd have plenty of power for another small welder (like I occasionally do) or the various power tools. Hope this helps! Feel free to ask anything else about it!
I have not used it much but I am around 80 hours. I replaced the battery a couple months ago and that's all. I recently mounted it on my flat bed truck but haven't used either truck or welder. The machine welds nicely and also powers my 220v Dewalt 60 gallon compressor, My Plasma cutters and devices during black outs. The welder starts up fine during any weather and no issues besides battery going out after a few years of use.
I have not wired it up to the house but I have powered several big devices. 240v compressor, 45a plasma cutters, fridges, lights etc. I have 75 hours on the unit and half of those hours are as a generator.
I actually just turned the welder off. I used it to power my 60 gallon 240v Dewalt compressor this morning and now welding some 7018 Hobart 1/8 electrodes. I am building a Gin pole for my truck but so far the welder has worked great. I may use it more in October or November once its cooler outside to build stuff on the ranch. If you look at my last video it shows the 2 7/8 pipe mocked up. I am slowly recording today but ots hot. Anyways the welder works really good.
The coupon was from Tractorsupply. I tried it online to see the final price with tax and noticed it removed way more. I rushed to the store and coupon only removed what it stated, tried online again and it removed more so I bought online and traveled 45 miles to pick it up. The Rangers are nice too. I wanted the 250 but was over my budget. The battery is going bad now but unit works good.
I ran mine on high idle for 30 mins and it stoped doing what I said it was doing. Turned it off and back on and now it’s working perfectly
@JoseMartinez-xl8ux I just turned mine on again but it stays revved up kind high and did not drop down. I will keep you updated if it starts doing what yours does.
Jorge Serna I know what your saying but mine will be on idle and just randomly rev up then down then back up lol
I have owned mine for a bit of time already and today it was at idle and then I heard the rpms drop. Mine will automatically rev up when I arc it but dont recall it going that low before. I did have a bad battery so not sure if it was revved up to charge it.
It's a great machine. It may not be a pipeline rig but it works great. The generator can power alot of stuff and I should really run some test on it.
It works awesome but I only have about 58 hours on it. It ran great during 2 power outages and been great so far. Battery is still original and working good.
I have used it several times as a generator during storms and has worked great. I plan to use it more as I finish my flat bed build.
The bobcats are nice and I like the color blue more. This Hobart has been doing good and plan to use it more this month. I am doing a flat bed and this will be used a lot.
BRENT3143945 I have about 50lbs left of 6011 which I use mostly on oilfield pipe. This little machine works awesome. I just bought a used truck to mount this welder to. 2 weeks before it arrives, just paid for it.
AcePowdercoating Ace it has been working great and does what I need it to do.I poured a small concrete footer for a sliding gate and will be using welder this weekend. I was sick a few days and worked several weekends at my job so welding was put on hold.
Darcy Patterson its awesome. I plan on working on the smoker next week. I will try diffrent electrodes so we can see how it does. I have welded up to 1/2" wall pipe and lots of 1/4". I did some 24 guage steel and with the first batch of Hobart 3/32 7018 and welded great, the second batch at same setting kept burning through.
Review videos
What’s the BEST Engine Drive Welder!Apr 30, 2023 · YouTube ↗
One year review of my Hobart Champion EliteJan 14, 2020 · YouTube ↗
New Model Hobart Champion Elite 225 (Vangaurd)May 3, 2024 · YouTube ↗
Hobart Champion Elite 225 Welder Generator Review 2026Aug 30, 2026 · YouTube ↗
Hobart Champion Elite 225 Engine Driven Honest Review 2026Aug 24, 2026 · YouTube ↗
Champion Elite 225 Features and MaintenanceNov 7, 2023 · YouTube ↗
