Just using the harborfreight cheapie wire-feeders ($99 when I bought them, IIRC) for stuff I can only do near a "normal" 110 outlet, or on long extension cords (and they're also what I used for years originally), and for most major stuff I can do near the house, I use a HF $250 mig-capable wirefeed version; I didn't know much of anything about welders when I got it, but it was way way less expensive than even the cheapest similar brand-name welder (which I could not have afforded).
This is the closest thing they still have to the cheapies I've had
https://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welders/flux-125-welder-63582.html
The cheapies have at best a 1/6 duty cycle, and will overheat the transformer if used more than that for very long. There are thermal switches on the transformer and somewhere else (I forget where, ATM) but they don't work properly. On my first one, whcih I guess lasted a couple years or so, the TS became intermittent after the first time it had to cut out to protect. After that, it didn't pass current properly and I had so much trouble welding I ended up having to bypass it and just monitor temperature manually and stop when needed. Eventually the feed circuit also failed, so it became scrap. I later used the heavy-gauge transformer wire to redo the phase wires on a hubmotor for some high-power controller testing.
It wasn't until *after* I did that that I thought of turning it into a stick welder.
The other cheapie, even though the casing is different style and color (looks like what they sell nowadays), has essentially identical guts, but I haven't used it enough to wear out out yet, as it isn't my primary welder. I only even have it because after the housefire almost a decade ago, CrazyBike2's frame broke and I needed to weld it but had no access to a 220v plug for my main welder, so I bought this 2nd cheapie to take to a friend's place and weld it up in the driveway. These days I mostly use it for fence/gate repairs, and taking to other places to fix things for friends. Not much option on it, just a high or low power setting, and on/off, and a wirefeed speed knob (it's feeder is no better than the first one or the big one, pretty much identical construction). Have thought about adding a stickwelder cable and clamp to it to use for thicker metal jobs that the wirefeed sucks at.
This is the closest thing they still have to the big one I've got
https://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welders/170-amp-dc-240v-migflux-cored-welder-68885.html
The big one I only use as a wirefeed fluxcore welder, the MIG gas is too expensive to deal with for what I do. (the cheapies dont'have the MIG option, so they're just fluxcore). It isnt' very adjustable, just a switch for high and low mode, and a second switch that divides that in high and low, so you get four levels. I mostly use the middle two levels, which can pretty much be used continuously, but the highest level (which has a very low duty cycle) has been useful for very thick metals 1/4" or more, nearly a centimeter for the thickest stuff I did. (motor axle in one case). Gets good penetration, but is inconsistent along a weld because the feed mechanism sucks, and doesn't feed consistently at the same speed, regardless of the speed setting knob position. (same problems even with better brands of wire spools).
It does support very large spools of wire, unlike the cheapie welders, which is cheaper as the larger spools are usually significantly cheaper per lb of wire you get...but it's feed mechanism doesn't work any differently with one vs the other, it's just not well-made. I haven't been able to adjust anything to work any better; I think there is just too much slop or something in the manufacturing of hte rollers or bearings or other parts, or perhaps too much friction in the feed tube in the welding "torch" cable.
The system is a push-type, with the spool and feed inside the welder box, pushing the wire thru the tube and out the handle. I don't know if it would be any better with a smaller spool on a feed at the handle, but I suspect it would be--the problem with that is I dont' think I could use it if it was like that; I can't hold stuff that heavy for very long anymore, and my hands go numb randomly, so I'd be dropping it all the time and probably break it.
Plus it wouldnt' fit in many of the spaces I need to get into to weld things for repairs of various stuff (I can barely get into them with just the handle).
One thing I wish it had on it was a camera to view the welding, because often I can't see well or at all into the space being welded because of other stuff in the way, and the only angles available for welding obscure viewing. So I've been considering using a USB phone-display-type endoscope I've got behind a piece of welding glass to help with these situations, which come up often enough to be worth dealing with. I just don't want to damage the camera, so I need to first figure out what darkness of glass is required to make it work safely but still clearly see the welding, and if I need to do any RF shielding of the camera and cable to prevent the arc RF from making it not communicate with the phone's USB port.
Other than the feed system, the biggest problem I have is the feed tips. It's not uncommon for the wire to stick inside them, welded there upon first trigger pull, and I have to "yank" it out with pliers, or just unscrew it and trash that tip and replace it. I use 030 wire and tips. It doesn't happen all that often, but it can happen with a just-installed new tip or an old one, so it isn't something to do with wear or heat.... I suspect it's a fault with the manufacturing of some of the tips, where the hole is just too small (causing "grabbing") or too large (causing arcing) but I can't tell. I thought it was the HF wire itself at first (inconsistent draw / diameter during manufacture), and tried different brands, but it didn't really change the problem.
Have also thought about adding a stickwelder cable and clamp to this one to use for thicker metal jobs that the wirefeed sucks at. If I do I'd probably make it a bolt-on so I can swap it from this one to the small 110v welder for fence repair jobs I can't reach with teh other one (not without buying a whole lot of expensive thick wire for an extension cable to reach that far from the house).
I did make an extension for it to reach out to the "porch" of the shed I park the trike at, out of a heavy duty server-rack supply cable with 10g wire for the wall-to-connector part, and a heavy-duty 12g 110v extension cord and some scavenged connectors for the welder-to-supply-cable part, and it works alright, but can't be used on the higher two settings without significant voltage sag and problems feeding and even drawing a consistent arc. I would guess I'd need 10g all the way, or thicker, to make it work right at those settings. That's not going to happen.
The smaller welder doesn't perform any better when it's on a 12g cord long enough to reach the fences, but I don't need to do much work with it so I live with that problem.
I used to use this
https://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-shade-auto-darkening-welding-helmet-46092.html
but it doesn't darken very fast and I think my eyes were damaged by it before I stopped using it and replaced the auto stuff with a dark glass instead.
(I had significantly better vision before I got it, and have had increasing various subtle problems after using it a long while, but no increase in the problems since changing to a solid dark glass).