I have the old small inverter stick welder. It's great for small stuff ... and by small stuff, I mean it won't burn anything over 3/32". Period. Every 1/8" rod I've tried just sticks. There's just not enough power there.
I picked one up last night and used it a bit today. It's pretty good. Produces a decent quality weld. And, yep, I'm only using 1/16 and 3/32 rods. Did a nice job on some 3/16" flat stock, repairing a knock down steel .22 target that had been shot off it's base because a guest thought .223 counted as a "22".