Looking for a welder in Pleasanton, CA (selection help and battling being cheap too)

67dart273 you have posted a good explanation of what mig is and how it works but there is also a little misinformation in there. True most box stores can and sometimes do spec out things to meet a price point but the main thing is they are made by a big name manufacturer and parts can be sourced from them *as long as they support it* Most big name welding manufactures are turning form that *we will support it forever* attitude to *we will support it for about 7 years* After that you are left to what they have in stock until it is gone. That is true for both Miller and Lincoln. Hobart is even harder because they were sold off several times so sourcing parts for those can be even harder. As for the switching from mig to flux, when a machine comes from the factory to support mig welding ie has a gas valve then you are good to go with some minor switching the biggest of which is switching polarity since mig is best run electrode positive and flux is best run electrode negative
The rest goes for switching between any type of wire when you change sizes. #1 you have to have the correct tip and #2 you have to chose the correct drive roll size. Most 110v welders come with a dual groove drive roll which has an .023/.025 groove and a .030/.035 groove. As for the line the only time you need to change it is #1 when it gets a kink in it because it impedes the feeding of the wire or #2 it is too small for the size wire you are running. The tweeco gun on that machine is a decent made gun and since they are already running flux cored wire (most common size you find in 1# spools being .035) you would have no issue running .023 or .025 wire in it. Don't mean to step on your toes just wanting to set the record straight. I have been running a welder repair shop for more than 20 years now so I have seen and worked on most of them.