If you have that much money to spend on a welder get a name brand one and figure one day to up grade with gas, it will cover anything you need to do.

Most people suggest what works for them after getting it cause they can't buy a new one, you can buy many nice welding units at garage sells as well, as some people work them selves out of using them due to age or passing, and the family does not know how to use them, sometimes you can find almost new outfits setup with gas for less than your spending for new and there is nothing wrong with them.

All that being said, most name brand 120v welders today are capable of doing what you need, as they are built a whole lot different than anything even ten years ago, your most important thing to look at is duty cycle percentage, than whether it's 220 or 110 volt's !

I picked up an eastwood mig 135 its a great little machine I bought a 80cu in bottle of 75/25 argon co2. this welder has welded everything I have needed it too but if your wanting to weld 1/4 most times id get the mig 250 they have price was around 500 for the 250amp mig bottle will cost you around 200-250 if you purchase the bottle, that's what I did rather than renting the bottle. I really like the quality of weld I can lay down with it as well. most of my welding is on 3/16 steel I have welded 5/16th steel by preheating the steel first but that's with the 135 the 250 I believe the said would do 1/2 in in one pass. worth looking into for hobby welding. ive put 2 10 lbs spools through my little 135 with not a single issue other than me forgetting to turn the gas on a few times lol. just thought id give my 2 cents

This welder question comes up routinely on here. You can go to the "welding tips and tricks" website and get great information on just about everything welding, including reviews of welder equipment that would serve anyone's needs on this website. Good luck.