I was skeptical about buying this welder after reading some bad reviews but believed it after reading some good ones. I installed it a few days ago and am very happy with the ease and quality of the welds. I'm more familiar with welders, but I've been able to weld some things that would be difficult (at least for me) with my welder. First of all, folks, this is a 240 volt welder! Up front is that people who set it to 120 are guaranteed to fail. It's compact and weldable, with just a little play with the settings (I said you're a beginner so I don't know the best settings yet) I get good results.