Arc Welder Question

[Greg Covington]

Hey guys....I have 220 running to my shop but it is 3 wire.....I was wondering if I would be ok to run a receptacle for a Lincoln AC225 arc welder?

Someone told me that I would need at least 6 wire...is this the case...or overkill?

The welder is just for tacking billets, etc.

 

[jhiggins]

6-wire? I'm scratching my head over that one, Greg. Sounds to me like you got 240 volt/single phase. Is that what your welder requires? You''ll have two wires connecting to one side of your service panel circuit breaker instead of one on each side. One white, one black, and one copper. The white and black will attach to one CB and the copper will go to the grounding strip. one the receptacle side, black goes to the brass-colored screw and the chrome-colored screw is where the white goes.

 

[R APPLEBY]

If you are only going to tack or weld in small sections you may be OK, what you have coming into you shop is most likly 10/3 wire, to run enough power for your lincoln for any seriuos welding you need 6/3 wire, other wise you will keep kicking the breaker, ......been there.

 

[mete]

Check the specs or the manufacturer. It's going to be single phase 240 V, three wire.But check the amperage and duty cycle. Appleby is right ,you can get away with lower amps [ smaller wire and smaller breaker] for quick jobs but trying a big job will cause you grief.A 20% duty cycle means you can run it 2 minutes out of every 10 minutes....for copper wire= for 30 amps use #10 wire,40amps-#8, 55amps -#6 , for aluminum wire use larger size.

 

[peter nap]

for aluminum wire use larger size.

Much larger!

 

[Walt2]

For most welding machines used at homes, you need 40 amp capacity. Most electiricians recommend that you have 200 amp service in order to handle the small ac welding machines.

 

[pyrguy]

for aluminum wire use larger size.

Much larger!

NOPE use copper until you get to about #2 wire than it makes sense, or $$$, to go aluminum.