ive been looking and it seems like the hobart ironman 230 is the best buy. ive looked at the miller 212 and lincoln of the same level. what ive read is the hobart gets good reviews. much better than the ironman 210. it has 7 preset amp out puts opposed to 5, i think, from the others. for .125 alum it appears it does a great job. youtube vid's show it laying a nice bead. guess what im saying is for the price you get a good u.s. welder. i know every body has there favorite but i just need a good welder at a reasonable price. i know there are much higher price welders out there but for 1600 with a gun is all i want to pay.

whatcha think?

What kind of warranty is offered? I'd think on somthing like this you get what you pay for but I'm no expert I've only just begun welding.

Same as the rest

Have you looked at the thermal arc machines?

Yes I have. They have some good features to include 12 amp settings but not us made and not as much support for some of the consumables. Most welding supply that sell them don't stock parts and would have to order them. Where as with the US made they would have parts on hand. You do get alot of features for the dollar with them.

We have several thermal arcs at the school I teach at and I wouldn't buy one if it was the last machine on the planet.

Stick machines go out if you try to long arc it. Steel MIG feeders wont feed right half the time. Stick/TIG machines are pretty good with foot pedal but lift arc or starch start and walking cup TIG try's to go out on you like if trying to long arc on stick.

If you are using a miller spool gun then half the work is done by the spool gun and the other half is the power source. Pair a TA power source and TA feeder, tell me one that works so I can tell the school lol

Hobart machines are Miller knock offs.

Never heard bad things about the mig machines but a lot of the stick welders (electric and engine drive) have a low duty cycle.