Welding Tips and Tricks

I was using my Hobart Handler 120 for a few hours with no problems when it started acting up.

It would only produce a very small "spark" with very piddly intensity. The wire feed was fine at first. Then it got worse and I got only an initial light spark when I pulled the trigger with no current after and the feeder stopped pushing wire. I let it sit overnight and now I have the same small initial spark with no ongoing current and no wire feed. The fan runs so I know some power is getting to the unit and gas is fine (75/25).

Any suggestions? I think I'll be taking it in for repair tomorrow but I had a days worth of projects planned for today.

So what happened?

After consulting a few people I decided (sadly) that it would cost more to fix the machine than it was worth. Parts are hard to find and expensive. It's like the rectifier and the board. Now I'm looking into a Lincoln electric powermig 140 or the Weld Pak 140. I'm trying to figure out the difference between the two

One is what LWS sell and Weld Pak is what HD sells. I have found an $80 difference in pricing. I'll call Lincoln Electric on Monday to ask them

I think one is fluxcore only, where as the other one is both fluxcore and MIG capable but doesn't come with any gas accessories that are necessary for gas welding.