I have been reading many of the threads here, agree that Shield Arc is very helpful and a wealth of information. My broken Deere deck clevis was 1/4 inch and that would be the thickest material I forsee the need to work with, and that is well within the capabilities of a 150 amp 110 volt MIG. The issue of having to run 220 to my garage 150 feet away is the main reason I want to avoid that voltage. I would be running new wiring under an existing ten foot deep concrete patio, then under an 8 foot wide concrete driveway, and then under a 20 foot deep garage pad. It's not like I can simply dig a trench and run the new wiring.
i'm assuming the garage at 150 feet away already has 120v power, or are you planning on running an extension cord to use the planned welder? either way, you may be close on the power you have out there already. a 120v welder will probably only have a 20% duty cycle when drawing maximum power, but you may still find yourself heating up the supply line pretty well due to that long distance. if you ever do have a new line run to the garage, plan ahead and spend the extra on heavy wiring for future use. the labor is the same to lay one run of 12-2 as it is to lay three stands of 1/0 and a #2 ground.
many people on here like stick welders and consider them more versatile because they can weld thicker material at a cheaper initial cost. i actually consider them to be far less useful because they don't deal well with material less than 1/8" thick, and they don't leave the clean finish of mig. if you have heavy equipment then that's one thing, but i own all sorts of things made out of metal - dump truck, equipment trailer, farm implements, etc. and probably 95% of the material is under 1/4" thick.
i got by with an older 120v flux core welder for years, and it only had a 110a rating, but i managed to find ways to effectively weld everything i needed up to 1/2" by either leaving a gap or beveling the edges, or both. 1/4" is a good guideline for what can be easily welded with most 120v welders though. i now have a slightly larger unit (miller 211) and I use it for everything. i have only turned the stick unit on for an aluminum repair (tig) in the last year. i will need to use it soon though, for a cast iron repair.
as far as paying for themselves... well, if you buy a used / inexpensive welder you can probably financially justify it easily, but a larger one will likely take many years. as another poster noted: how much does a flat screen cost compared to its return? leather interior upgrades in a car, a cruise that is over in two weeks, ski lift tickets, golf memberships, and the list goes on and on... it's all a matter of what is important to you and your family. i work a desk job most of the time, and often when i work i end up doing 10-12 hour stress filled days, so the welders, mill, lathe, automotive tools, finished workshop, and so on are like having a vacation every time i come home.
D) and many other 220V tools. OK, so I'm dreaming a bit but if you don't wire it with 220V initially it will cost you much more later when your needs expand - and they will.
