My stick welding history goes back several years on a 50 year old Montgomery Ward "Buzz Box". When the Bestarc ARC200 welder showed up, the size comparison was dramatic -- 1/10th the size. Most welding tutorials focus on 7018 welding rod - which I've had almost no luck with on the large MW box. The ARC200 machine strikes and welds cleanly with some new 7018 rod, some tiny 1/16" 7018 rod and even my old 5/32" rod that I've had sitting in the barn for 5+ years (in a tight plastic case). I've made a systematic effort to weld on common items around the barn: 1/2" rusty rebar, 3/8" mild steel, galvanized thin-wall square tube and 1/2" thin-wall EMT electrical conduit. Not every weld worked the first time -- part of my learning journey but within a couple of adjustments, I've been successful on every type of material so far. I am very pleased with the clean welds and the penetration level -- all done on 120VAC so far. I was delighted to find out that the 240VAC plug mates with my buzz-box outlet -- so, I could step up to 240V if I needed to. This welder runs cool -- even after burning through 4 rods, the ground clamp and stinger are not warm. The connectors and the box are not warm. I bought a harbor Freight ammo box and I can put the welder right into the ammo box after each use. I've shown it to some friends and it wouldn't surprise me that they will want to borrow it or buy one for themselves.