Use: mild steel, usually around 1/8" thickness. The ability to weld thinner is desired. Being able to weld 1/4" would be great too.

This machine would be used only once or twice a year, after the initial novelty wears off. Storage space for this welder is very limited. Low price is a good thing, especially for a recreational welder that does not get used much.

110 volt input would be a lot more convenient than 220 volt.  A 220 volt extension cord from my garage back wall to the back yard, over a hundred feet, would cost more than I can spend.

Light and easy to move is much better than heavy and bulky.

Welding outdoors in some wind is going to happen, welding galvanized is a big plus. Dirty, rusty surfaces, sometimes having to fill a gap are probably going to happen.

My experience: 50 years ago, stick welding, preferred 6010 to 6011. Same time period, lots of TIG welding on stainless steel jet engine stators and vanes. 45 years ago I built boat trailers using MIG wire feed. Almost no welding since then.  Back in the day I was better with stick and TIG than with MIG.

The classic Lincoln AC buzz box is big, heavy and needs 220 volt. It seems a poor choice for my application. That said, the red tombstone is just so cute and it's a classic.

Inverter DC stick welder: the size, weight, 110 volt input and price look inviting. Reading forums, hot start and arc force seem to be good things.  I'm thinking Inverter DC stick might be best for my needs.

Flux core wire feed looks very appealing.  My skills with MIG have been poor compared with those using stick or TIG.

Then there is Harbor Freight vs name brand. Price is a factor, especially for a toy that will mostly sit unused.  A great welding machine, that I can't have, is of no value for my use.

Bottom line: is there a cheap welding machine that will meet my needs?

Thanks,

Mike S

What do you use, what do you recommend?

Well, you can get a cheap IGBT Chinese stick welder for less than $150 on Amazon and it'll probably work ok for a bit. They'll run 6013's and 7018's no problem, but test a bit so you know how much amperage is really coming out of the machine, not what the dial says. That will probably be your best bet. It's not gonna run cellulose rods. They're so cheap because a stick welder has got nothing to it. If you want to be able to run mig or flux cored you're going to have to spend some more money. If you want to tig, you can certainly grab one of the little inline block kits, but you're doing single amperage scratch start and that's it. Nothing wrong with that, but it's limiting.

My personal recommendation would be to save up a little bit and get one of the cheaper multi-process/multi-volt machines like the Lincoln MP210 or the little ESAB Rebel 215 or 235. They'll do DC stick, mig/flux, and tig no problem. The MP210 will do aluminum with a spool gun, but not AC tig. The Lincoln won't run 6010 but the ESAB has a 6010 mode to run cellulose rods. The Lincoln runs 6013 great and loves the 7018's. My experience with the ESAB is pretty minimal, but a friend has one and really likes it. It's probably out of your price range, but having the multiple capabilities makes it a fantastic tool for doing all around work. You can take it outside and hook it up to a generator in the back of a truck and blow through rod and flux-cored all day, then put it in the garage and tig whatever you want.

Just for clarity-sake, I consider those cheap, around $1000, although adding tig and spool gun will cost extra. In my mind an $18,000 Miller Pipe Pro or $15,000 Lincoln SA-2 is expensive. I recognize that not everybody will feel the same way, and if you want to stick to a single process you can get a decent import welder like an Everlast for a couple hundred bucks, it will just limit you. I would not buy a Harbor Freight welder. I like HF fine for plenty of things, but a welder is not one of them.

Edit: That being said, if 100' of cable is going to blow your budget, you're probably stuck with one of the cheap amazon china specials. Something like this: Chinese Stick Welder It's the size of a toaster.