Like anything you will get what you pay for. Buy a cheap welder you will likely have nothing but problems. My experience is mostly with lincoln and Miller machines, but any machine from Miller, Lincoln, ESAB, or even Hobart should be pretty good. I have found that for small machines that run on standard household power lincoln makes a better machine than miller.
My advice to you though would be wait around and do it right. If you plan on doing anything serious at home save up your money get some industrial power (240V or better) wired into your garage and buy a nice multi-process machine. I cannot stress what a huge difference the type of power makes for a welder. I have a small 20% duty cycle lincoln wire feed welder at home and honestly I hardly ever use it, I find it easier to run 15-20 minutes to the shop I work at and use their TIG welder.
Picking a welder is so subjective though it all depends on what you want to do with it, how often you will use it, and what kind of result you are looking for.
Personally though I will never again buy a small wire feed welder like that for home. I currently have my eyes set on a Miller Dynasty350 with TIGRunner package. But that is something you will have to use alot to justify buying. TIG is the way to go as far as I am concerned, Change out the tungsten and the filler rod and you can weld anything you like. If you know how to use it it will also yeild the best results by a mile.
How aften and for what are you planning to use this welder? Just knowing that will help narrow down what kind of machine will work best for you.
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