My personal preference is to get a stick welder instead of one of the cheap wire feeders. My welder may be one of the cheapest ones on the market- the AC only version of the red Lincoln buzz box. Bought it as a return at Home Depot for $160, and it has been great. I have used those small wire feeders before, and even though it may be rated for 1/4" plate, it will have trouble getting really good penetration. They are really designed for thin work, like sheet metal. My stick welder on the other hand is capable of cranking out 225 amps (okay, at 10% duty cycle), and it is more than powerful enough to weld heavy stuff in one clean pass. I even used it to weld the new exhaust under by F-150, so it can handle thin work too. If you can spend a little more, get the AC/DC version, which is a little more versatile. Really, if you stick with the big names you won't go wrong, and Lincoln, Miller, and Hobart all make excellent quality and comparable small welders.
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