I use a cheap (it was $40 on sale) arlec stick welder at home and it works well for most things. Bought it about 4 years back. Seems to work better using it with go rods and higher amps on thicker stuff but it does ok on thin steel with the same rods. I've been known to weld the odd muffler with it and can manage that so it must be ok. I've used an inverter and loved them too but can't go past this for simplicity and price. One day I'll buy an inverter and would certainly look for one to replace this when the time comes.