110V Wire Feed Welders- Need opinions

I was doing some work on a trailer today and my Harbor Freight 90amp flux core died, up until now, it has done what I needed it to do. It was the wire feed selector/circuit board broke, kinda my fault :-[. So I am now in the market for a light duty, 110/120v, sub $350 wire feed welder. I like the idea of being able to do both MIG and flux-core as most of my welding with this machine will be outdoors. I am a student and in a welding program, so I have access to anything from gas welders to pipeliners to syncrowaves and Dynasty 350's, so when I need a real welder I can get a hold of one. Right now I want to spend around $250 to $300 my MAX MAX budget is $350, some of the welders that have caught my eye are a Northern Industrial 135, Eastwood MIG 135 (my favorite at the moment), and a Lincoln Handy MIG. I might just buy another Harbor Freight 90 amp special. I know they are all made in China, you get what you pay for, but I am just looking for something inexpensive until I graduate college and get some money together to buy a gas drive unit like a Ranger. There is next to nothing for sale used in my area.

Northern Tool has the Hobart Handler 125 for $369. My 140 has been a beast. Amazon sells factory refurbished models for under $300.

http://www.amazon.com/Hobart-500521R-Reconditioned-A-Stock-Handler/dp/B0090X1KAM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_6/180-4053557-9144867?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XASB24Y64ZH9856C9NN

deviant said:

Northern Tool has the Hobart Handler 125 for $369. My 140 has been a beast. Amazon sells factory refurbished models for under $300.

http://www.amazon.com/Hobart-500521R-Reconditioned-A-Stock-Handler/dp/B0090X1KAM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_6/180-4053557-9144867?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XASB24Y64ZH9856C9NN

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Thanks for the info! I have it narrowed down to two welders-
Hobart Handler 125 refurb 500495 for $295
and the Eastwood MIG 135 for $300
I cant decide, I like the Hobart name but I like that the eastwood has good reviews from users and comes with a gas regulator and has an infinite adjustment for the voltage and wire speed- the hobart has a 4 preset for the voltage

I have the northern tool brand 135 a friend of mine has a Hobart handler 135 and they are the same exact thing mine was a little cheaper though. I know since I bought mine they have revised it and it now has infinite wire speed and amperage settings and it also has some type of pulse option.

I have a Lincoln 140 at work, have used a Hobart, and a china special. The infinite settings are much better when welding two different thicknesses together. Preset settings can leave too hot one the thinner at one setting or too cold on the thicker at another. Wire speed is key when filling a gap, so infinite settings work much better there also. I know these machines are all rated at 15 amp but I have found hooking up to a 20 amp outlet is much less frustrating. Keep in mind a 20% duty cycle only gives you 12 min. out of a hour to weld. Good luck!

Cannot say enough good about hobart handler series welders. My 145 has been a great machine for several years.

I love my Lincoln 110. I'd get on CL and see if you can find some good used Millers or Lincoln's for your price range.

I did one last check on my local CL and there was not a deal to be found
BUT FWIW, I ended up purchasing the Longevity MIGweld 140. It is a very similar machine to the Eastwood 135, but this model has an option to run a spool gun for aluminum welding It was on the high end of what I wanted to spend but the possible spool gun feature made it worth a little extra for me. The best price I found was calling Longevity directly and speaking to a sales rep- they will get you fixed up right for a good price. I also found out that they are now have made an updated version from when it originally came out with a metal wire feed mech instead of a plastic one that seemed to have been getting the bulk of bad points about this machine. It should be here thursday and Ill update with my feeling once I see it in person and make some sparks!