The problem here is the trade off between cheap and good quality. 50 watts at a good location, with a good antenna, will cover a lot of ground. I would much rather run 50 watts of transmitter output to a good gain antenna, than run 100 watts with a lower gain antenna. The higher gain antenna will not only improve the transmitted signal, but that of the received signal as well.

Most of the repeaters I have ever been involved with, have always been operated at well under maximum output. It's much easier on the equipment, and all that RF is unnecessary. The same is true of ops on HF. I wonder how many people are running full tilt boogie 1.5KW into a POS antenna, when a 100 watt transmitter running into a well designed antenna will out perform it every time. It is almost always a lot more cost effective, and a good station practice, to improve the antenna system, than to just run more power. At least, that's the way I've found it to be.

You would be surprised how well a good repeater running 30-50 watts, into a Super Station Master in a good location will perform. And, a good set of well tuned cavities is an absolute must.