The good news is both those welders are about the best you can get in their class, so either will be a good choice. Getting both would have you set up about as good as you can get. Asking someone else to pick which type welder is about like asking them to pick your wife. Lol Everyone has their own preferences and needs. If you do mostly mild steel repairs on farm machinery including sheet metal then the mig has an advantage. If you get into thicker steel or hardened steel such as axles or cast iron then you need the stick.
That mig will handle 1/4" well, but with a short duty cycle, so if you are welding up something like a new loader bucket you will have to take some breaks to let the welder cool. I had an older model I think was an SP 175 and it did well up to 1/4". They claim you can do aluminum with that welder, but it won't be much. Aluminum takes a LOT more power than steel in the same thickness. My miller Vintage has 2 power ranges with 6 settings per range. I almost never use high range for steel because on 6 low it welds 1/2" steel well. For aluminum I most always use high range.
If you do a lot of heavy welding then the stick is better. It also allows you to do cast iron. It is hard to do sheet well tho. Some can do sheet with stick, but it takes a fair amount of skill.
Finally, for simple ease of welding the mig is easier to do for a novice. You will have to watch for wind tho because that can blow the gas away. I use my mig outside all the time and with practice you learn to block the wind so you have to have a pretty hard gust to give problems. And with experience you learn to time your welds between gusts.
So, as far as I'm concerned both welders are good choices, its up to you where your priorities are. I hope this was helpful.
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Today's Featured Article - A Lifetime of Farm Machinery - by Joe Michaels. I am a mechanical engineer by profession, specializing in powerplant work. I worked as a machinist and engine erector, with time spent overseas. I have always had a love for machinery, and an appreciation for farming and farm machinery. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Not a place one would associate with farms or farm machinery. I credit my parents for instilling a lot of good values, a respect for learning, a knowledge of various skills and a little knowledge of farming in me, amo
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