Linclon 125 DC 115 volt is tripping the breaker

[ampa]

Thanks once again guys.....I'm learning lots about electrical.....one thing thats hard to take in....is...different brands of 110 volts....are they all basicaly the same....or do some of these wire feed welders draw less than than my Lincoln welder ?.....the queston put forth....are all extention cords solid wire or stranded ? to the question (stranded/solid.... they are all stranded to my knowlage.....if not the contractors with their beast of generators.....be buyin' extention cables every other day...(I'll class them as cables and not extention cords)......maybe a contractors heavy duty extention/cable would serve my needs.....I could get away with 50' because of the fused panel bein' at the front part of this duplex house we rent.....I may have to change the end male plug on the welder or use an adapter....because of the different male an female electrical plug above 15 amps.....someone mentioned going to an RV supply to get a heavy duty extention cord/cable....but I'm afraid of running 230 through my Lincoln.....The panel in this house has two 15 amp breakers not even hooked up to anything....I gather these are just spares in case a breaker goes bad....I'm not a electrician....it seems these breakers just pop in and out very easy....now the ones that are 30 amp black in color 2x15 as one tied together breaker making it 30 amps.....How are these breakers wireed together for say 30 amps without getting 230 volts to an dedicated single 110 30 amp receptical ?....it don't seem like rocket science to me.....but I'd be afraid of grounding positive to the negitive....that would make a big bang ....wouldn't it..!?.....lol....okay guys I'm gettin' closer to solving this breaker problem....keep the much needed information coming my way....I may not need my friend electrician to come down and wire this up....makin' it a DIY.....once again...a... big thanks to all you guys.....take care....Ampa...: and still...confused2:....somewhat...........

 

[_RaT_]

Breakers that are tied are for 240V devices. That tie bar ensures that even if only 1 leg of the circuit trips, both legs are turned off. A 15 amp circuit breaker tied with another 15 amp breaker in the configuration you mention only provides 15 amps. My guess is that the largest extension cord available is not going to solve your issue. Welding just takes power and why most of the time they are at least 240V volt and not 120V. The 120V are for light welding and provided mostly for convenience. To put it another way, a 120V 20 amp circuit can provide as much as 2400 watts, a 240V 20 amp can provide 4800 watts. That is about the maximum non continuous power output. You can see why 240V is more desirable. To get that kind of power from a 120V circuit you would need #8 copper wire on a 40 amp breaker. Very rarely do you see 120V circuits over 20 amps.

 

[DiskDoctr]

I'm not a electrician....it seems these breakers just pop in and out very easy.

.it don't seem like rocket science to me.....but I'd be afraid of grounding positive to the negitive

I may not need my friend electrician to come down and wire this up

Okay. First let me say that I am all about DIY and figuring things out, even if there is some risk or even danger. But you have to do your homework and understand the basics and the risks/dangers.

If you have never worked with breakers or a breaker box and aren't sure about the wiring, this is not the place to go by yourself. A breaker box is not like a receptacle in your house. They have *some* controls.

A breaker box can kill you easily with just a slip. The components are often close to each other and often not very neat.

I am going to offer this advice that I sincerely hope you take.

"Call your electrician buddy. Have him come down and show you how to do it."

He will have the knowledge, right tools, and will be able to show you how to safely work with this stuff. He will make sure you are safe and can oversee your work, if he feels comfortable with your ability to do as he tells you.

If he isn't comfortable with you doing it while he watches and instructs, you shouldn't be doing it at all (unlikely).

Then you will be on your way to understanding enough to start on DIYs like this.

This is coming from a guy who thinks nothing about putting a ladder in the bucket, raising it high, and climbing up the FEL to the top of the ladder with a chainsaw.

There are levels of safety and risk. From what I am reading, you are well into the bright red zone. Get your buddy and you will learn something.

- JC

 

[flusher]

Yep this is what it's doin'..... think maybe I should lower the amp settings to perhaps a 100 or less....or maybe just switch out a 15 amp for a 20 amp breaker from another spot on the panel that don't really need a 20 amp breaker...it's not our house.... we only rent it....we pay enough for rent....so I don't want to spend or invest money on something that is not ours.....another thing is I'll be usin' this little welder outside and run it from the very short extention I have setup for my 1000 watt block heater for my Compact diesel tractor.....I may have to install heavier wire for this as I only plug it into the basement wall plug that as far as I know only runs the basement lights....just need some solid advice....the reason for me buyin' a 115 volt unit is I'll only be welding up very light weight material....thanks in advance....Ampa....:confused2:

My Porter Cable air compressor was tripping the 20 amp fast response breaker on one of the circuits in my shop--large inrush current on startup. So I replaced that breaker with a 20 amp breaker with a built-in time delay. Problem solved.

 

[Soundguy]

stranded wire on that cord. it plugs into my 4 pin dryer plug.

soundguy

 

[ampa]

20 amp breaker with time delay!.....Hmmmmmm.....I'll check that out.....rather have a single 20 amp breaker than a double 15 amp (2x 15 = 30 amps)...I'm thinking maybe I should try that 12 guage extention cord....the only thing is it's still only rated for 15 amps.....I checked out the wire size in the electrical panel and most of it reads 14/3 which the 14 is the guage of the wire.... and the 3 stands for 3 wire black/white/green......as mentioned before the welder it's self has a 20 amp reset button on the back side of the case....okay guys.... I'll call my buddy down and let him hook up this dedicated... single receptical box...this guy is also a welder by trade plus a pilot flying small twin prop aircraft....so he'll fill me in with what I need to run this 110 volt 20 amp Lincoln....If I can remember... I discussed the problem I'm having a few weeks ago....we have a 230 volt electric stove in this place....and a washer/dryer down the basement which the dryer is running off 230 volts....and I've counted at 5 2x 15 amp breakers all the rest are single 15 amp breakers....I'm still gonna' see what Lowes has to offer in heavy duty 20 amp rated extention cables even if I have to add an adapter to connect the welder instead of cutting off the 15 amp male plug....says on the top it's has a 3 year warrantee.....and I don't want to modify in any way shape or form.....once again thanks a bunch for your input on this topic....take care.....Ampa :thumbsup:

 

[toy]

rat he mentioned it being stiff so I just wondered , my extension cords don't seem too stiff. The 220, 110 volt combination is what I was getting at, there is some possibilities to use it to make your work more convenient, but I wouldn't describe it because someone might goof around and get hurt. Others might think of it their selves but I don't know if it would meet code however we have used it successfully. Sorry for talking around in circles but I wouldn't want to advise someone how to do something and then they get hurt.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

rat he mentioned it being stiff so I just wondered , my extension cords don't seem too stiff. The 220, 110 volt combination is what I was getting at, there is some possibilities to use it to make your work more convenient, but I wouldn't describe it because someone might goof around and get hurt. Others might think of it their selves but I don't know if it would meet code however we have used it successfully. Sorry for talking around in circles but I wouldn't want to advise someone how to do something and then they get hurt.

You just created yourself a legal disclaimer there so you are off the hook.

 

[AlanB]

Heck, I will throw in again even if sallys dad thinks me a fool. And for reference run all the 20 amp stuff you would like on 14 gauge wired dedicated circuits because the book says it is ok. Most folks I know and deal with would snicker and say have a nice day as they walked off. For me, I will just go ahead and run 12 gauge and be "right" (my definition of right by the way)

Anyway, back to Ampa, take a second and go by lowes or whatever is up where you are and look at the wiring displays for a minute. You will see a variety of plugs, etc. etc. and notice they are in many different configurations. I am assuming which could make all these discussions BS if it is the wrong assumption that your wiring is similar to the US as I believe you said Canada.

A 20 amp 110/120 plug and outlet one eye will be a T a 15 amp outlet both eyes will be vertical. Be aware, not worried, but aware, that in 220 they also do a T but it will be the opposite eye. (so if you get grabbing stuff off the shelf make sure you get 110 not 220 stuff) That said, I am not sure how Lincoln and others put a double vertical eye on the machine rated for 20 amps, both my lincoln and Miller came that way so there is probably an exception in the NEC about how you can do that.

Why do I say this, because the plug on the extension cords that are rated for 20 amps will have that T plug as well. Seldom do I see them though as they would often be unuseable in the field.

So I am betting that the extension cord that you purchased was rated at 15 amps because it has two vertical eyes in the plugs.

As to your welder, it is a fine machine. Some folks will argue Lincoln, miller, hobart, esab etc. and yes, I know miller owns Hobart, but most folks will agree that all those establishments produce fine welding machines. I am sure you can find something from kung pow ironworks that does a million amps on a milliamp draw and welds 1" plate steel single pass beautifully plugged into the cigarette lighter of your car, but the reality is any of the aformentioned welders are doing about all they can with the electricity provided. I am also making the assumption that you are not talking inverter / chopper technology here as the entire discussion is about getting 20 amp service for your existing baby Mig.

The simplest thing I think you could possibly do assuming you have all 15 amp service in your box is add one breaker, a short length of wire ( I would do 12 gauge, Sallys dad 14) and a 20 amp receptacle somewhere close and easy to get too. Then get yourself a good 12 gauge extension cord and plug it into that receptacle and weld away. I would make sure to have good quality ends, but for the most part, my extension cord ends are the standard 2 vertical eyes, while I normally put the 20 amp receptacles in for ease of identification. My son's Golf cart plug gets a 20 amp end though so it does not get plugged into a 15 amp outlet.

Even on 20 amps you will have the potential to trip that breaker doing long heavy maxed out welds. But if you are doing that constantly then you need to re-evaluate the jobs you are doing or the equipment you have.

Also, that said, I have a shop full of welders, big ones, little ones, and several in between. My little MillerMatic 125 probably does the bulk of the number of jobs that come into my shop. They are just so handy, easy to use and can do thin stuff so well that often pops up that they are great.

Good luck, you really have a fine machine, feed it 20 amps and it will do a lot of welding, or feed it 15, keep the heat range three or below and you can still do a lot but not quite as much.

 

[ampa]

I was talking to a fellow in the electrical dept at Lowes...he seemed to know what he was talking about.....he told me that the 50' 12 guage 3 wire extention cord I bought at Princess Auto would be fine .....he mentioned that these cords are normaly under rated after a certain length..... I told I had a dedicated 15 amp receptical outside the electrical panel running a short piece of 14/3....I asked him if I changed out the 15 amp breaker to a 20 amp breaker would it be okay... he told me I'd be fine ...but didn't recommend anything over a 20 amp....without changing the recepticle to a twist lock wired to a breaker of no more than 25 amps 110/115 volts....and at least a 10/3 guage heavy duty extention cord.....I showed him the exact 125 Lincoln welder I bought... as this is the brand they also sell....he really didn;t recommend me running a heavier guage than the welder and just stick with the 20 amp breaker and maybe change out the short piece from the electrical panel to the dedicated 15 amp recepical to 12/3 wire.....going any larger guage than the Lincoln comes supplied with and because of the built in 20 amp reset of the welder that would trip before the 20 amp breaker in the main electrical panel.....which makes sense to me....so here I am back to square one.....the back of the Lincoln.....reads 120 volts 20 amps....so that means if it draws anymore than 20 amps the reset breaker on the rear panel will trip....anyhow guys I'll get my buddy or someone to change out the 15 amp breaker to a 20 amp plus a short piece of 12/3 wiring and try it and see what happens....I'll weld for a little bit and keep checking the extention cord all the way down to the electrical panel to see if it gets overly hot....It's still way too cool here in Ontario Canada to do any kind of work outside....take care Ampa :confused2: :confused2: :confused2: