I would avoid a lower priced multi-process unt. I bought a stick/tig/plasma. I bought it for the plasma which want the greatest and doesn’t work now, the stick can’t run 6011, and i haven’t found a good reason to spend several hundred dollars on a bottle of argon. My point is i compromised on everything.
A friend has a Hobart 140 and i think it’s pretty nice. Enough power to weld brackets snd such things, more than just sheet metal. Its a simple machine that i think you could count on to work. My dad had a 90 amp mig welder in his garage that i used for the sheet metal on my car and that was all it was good for, not enough power. This Firepower 200 is an interesting deal. I’m sucker for the bells and whistles (why i bought the multi of that tells you anything), but having trigger lock(4t) would be a big deal if i wanted a mig welder. That makes manipulating the torch much easier. Also, if it actually works, which i am skeptical considering the price point, inductance adjustment is nice to have when short-arc welding. 200 amps is plenty of output with 75/25 gas.
To the point of starting with gasless flux core, I work with a guy who bought a similar size mig outfit, to do sheet metal on his truck, that included a regulator for gas. He used the complimentary spoon of gasless flux core first and is satisfied enough with the results that he hasn’t bought any gas yet. With sheet metal on vehicles the appearance of the weld isn’tcriticsl, you’re going to sand it anyway.
As for the welding helmet. All i have ever used, professionally and at home, is a Jackson HSL-100. It has a large viewing area and you can get an auto darkening insert that just clips in. The cover plates are on the shelf anywhere they have welding stuff. Most welding i do at work is with a passive lense because i like to have the whole viewing area. I only use s separate hood with the auto for tacking because we are required to, otherwise i really don’t care for it.
