Re: 220 volts/230 volts/ 240 volts: What\'s the diff?
Ches, I realize the questions been answered. For a little more info, know that the voltage to your home will change somewhat throughout the season. During the summer, it is not unusual to see voltage swings as much as 6 volts normally down from the high voltage. At my place, I average about 121 volts and have metered as low as 113 volts. The one thing that stays constant is the cycle, frequency or Hz. In the US it is 60 Hz. For other countries, 50 Hz is typical. It is important for things like clocks with motors and electronic equipment to be very close to 60 Hz. It would be unusual to be 61Hz or 59Hz. While most people still say 110v or 220v, more accurately it is 120 volts rms and 240 volts rms, as mentioned but the actual voltage will vary even from one leg to the other (120V is available from either leg to neutral). At your home it is not important with perhaps the exception of a few items. Power tools, lights, heaters, and many other items just aren't sensitive enough to care. More important then your voltage will actually be the current the welder draws. This will determine your wire and breaker size. The longer the wire run, the larger the wire size will need to be to keep the voltage drop to a minimum, this is important! Most folks will simply wire the welder based on the nameplate rating, ie., if it is 60 amp max at 240V, they will run a #6 THHN wire. The NEC actually allows you to base the wire size on the duty cycle as well. For simplicity, running a wire size based on a 100% duty cycle is always the easiest and safest bet. Rat...
