Whatever you do he Will outgrow it, like a gold fish people expand to fit the size of their surroundings, I would present him with the prices and lrt him make the call. Personally I feel bigger is better, I would try to sell him some 6awg wire just to have the headroom. Greg is right on the nose with the welder, I have one that Hobart says needs a 50a breaker to run, been running it on a 30 for 3 years and never had a problem. Low amps and light duty cycle equals low required current.
