putting in plug for welder

[deereman75]

We had actually payed for 20 feet of 8 gauge cord, and the new guy at the cable dealer got us 25 feet of 4 gauge, and it only cost us like $50. We actually have to have the cord running through the basement, to the garage right now, but we will be setting it up with its own circut soon.

 

[Travelover]

At my local scrap yard they have piles of large gauge THHN wire that are new, but off the end of a huge roll. I bought some 25 foot pieces and made my own welder extension cord. I don't recall the gauge, now - be sure to check before you buy.

 

[Bobby R]

The best and safest way is to install a "piggy back" breaker box next to your existing one, and run a new line for your welding machine with the proper size wire and plug so it will be on a circuit of it's own. That's what I did and I haven't regretted it for a minute.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I may look into that. My main box is 75' away so that will be $$ in materials.

 

[Bobby R]

Yeah, you're right. The heavy wire required to carry a welding machine and the distance you've got to run it will cost you, but once you've done it, you won't have to worry about it. At least that's the way I looked at it. I had to run about 35 feet of wire from my piggy back to where I wanted my welding receptacle.

 

[mjncad]

Doing it right is cheaper than doing it wrong and burning your house down.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Doing it right is cheaper than doing it wrong and burning your house down.

I am not sure how that helps me.

I could build a new metal building with a concrete floor with a moat around it and get fire suppression system installed. I am looking for options and pitfalls. The crux of my question involved getting my welder on the end of a proper ex. cord that I already own and use with the welder.This would allow me to use the welder in a safe spot. I thought this might keep me from BURNING MY HOUSE DOWN.

I don't mind being warned of a danger of a specific action, but telling me that "The sky is falling" really does not tell me much.

 

[rjmack]

I'm not sure what size welder you want to run but I doubt that the water heater line is more than 10 ga. You will probably need 8 or 6 ga. Also I am unsure what happens when you put a 20-30 amp water heater on a 40-50 amp breaker.

i'm NOT an electrician.

the water heater is probably 12 or 14 gauge, not even close to big enough. and the breaker is probably a 10 or 15 amp 240v 2 pole.

the basic bottom line is that the whole system, from the main breaker on your main distribution panel, cannot 'step up'. if your water heater breaker is 15 amp 240v, then that is all you will get from that circuit... if your dryer plug is 30 amp 240v, then that is all you will get.

i know from experience that you can run a miller 252 plenty hot on a 30 amp 240v circuit... going to a 10 or 15 amp sounds a little dicey.

btw, the power at my place runs about 117-118v/234-236v. the distance from the pole to the main panel is about 100'.

ampacity and voltage drop charts are readily available online, that's probably where you should be looking.

i'm assuming you have a meter to measure actual voltage on your system? voltage drop is an important factor.

how to get 120v AND 240v from the same breaker without a sub panel to split the 240v through a single pole breaker is beyond my knowledge.

for all other 220v circuits im fairly shure your not allowed more than one device on it. ie you need a dedicated run to the welder or other 220v device.

i have 2 240v plugs running from the same feed, one runs the plasma cutter/welder, the other is for the compressor. they will run at the same time. i imagine the welder turned up all the way and welding while the compressor is running might trip the breaker, but it hasn't happened yet. either way, the wire is heavier rated than the breaker and the voltage drop is within the specified range, so i'm not worried about it.

 

[mjncad]

Sorry for the general tone of my replies as I figure you're smart enough to find out the proper way for your location. Lots of local governments love to monkey with national codes as a revenue generator.

I don't mind local code enhancements for legitimate reasons (e.g. earthquake or hurricane zones); but it pisses me off when they do it to make a buck.

 

[RickB]

I am not sure how that helps me.

.

It helps you a lot more than the guy who wants you to go to the scrapyard and buy THHN to use as an extension cord.