Most of the big three's welders can be retrofitted with easy-to-find accessories like this spool gun. It's a great upgrade if you plan to weld a lot of aluminum. It shortens the distance the soft aluminum feed wire needs to travel and keeps it from bird-nesting inside the welder.
Another downfall of the cheapie overseas wire-feed welders is the availability of consumables-gun tips, wire-feed rolls, gun liners, gas nozzles, wire drive inlet guides, and so on (these are all wearable items). It's important that users have access to these components at a local level. A phone call to China or Italy to get a gun tip in the middle of your project may prove to be a little inconvenient.
Also, at some point, you may decide to accessorize, upgrade, or improve your welding equipment. Accessories supplied from the manufacturer that are directly compatible with the welder are important, like adding a spool gun for welding aluminum. Some manufacturers offer spool guns that are directly compatible with the welder. Many of the import welders have no accessories available, and in some cases, it would be difficult-if not impossible-to adapt them.
A welder designed for the MIG process should include a gas regulator with a hose and a provision for polarity change-over. These items will make it fully gas-operation ready out of the box. A tank for the shielding gas and the shielding gas itself (typically a mix of 75 percent argon and 25 percent CO2 is used for steel) will be required and sold separately, but most welding shops offer tanks for sale or lease. If a welder is configured for FCAW operation (flux-cored wire), some manufacturers offer a gas (MIG) upgrade kit that includes a gas-solenoid valve, a gas regulator, and a gas hose.
Some manufacturers throw in a cheap hand shield, which is pretty much worthless. It's not practical for a user to hold a hand shield in one hand and operate the welding torch with the other. For proper control of the welding gun for a quality weld bead, the operator should have both hands on the welding gun. We highly recommend a quality welding helmet in addition to wearing safety glasses. If you can swing the additional cost, step into an auto-darkening helmet with a larger-than-standard viewing field. You'll be glad you have the ease of use and extra visibility when you find yourself contorted under a Jeep welding something together. And last but not least, look for a welder with a good warranty. Hobart stands behind a 5-3-1 warranty, Miller has a three-year True Blue warranty, and Lincoln offers three years on its wire-feed welders. There really isn't a standard warranty in the industry (like the three-year, 36,000-mile auto warranty), so coverage will vary from brand to brand.
A high-quality wire-feed welder will cost as little as $350 and as much as $2,000 (or more). But it's a tool you'll likely have for the rest of your life. Designed to run dependably for decades, good machines use high-quality components and undergo extensive reliability testing. If you've never used a MIG welder and you're thinking about adding one to your toolbox, you owe it to yourself to try it. Many welding shops have test units right there in the store.