Wire size and such for welder(s)

[schmism]

40 amps at 220 is a lot of power.

I guess thats relitive.

a "moderate" 5ph craftsman 220v compressor will draw 10amp

down to 30amp 220v or 60amp 120v

15 amp lights (120)

down to 45 amps

which sounds like a lot until im useing the 25 amp 110v plasma cutter and my buddy cranks up the 25 amp 110v Miller to stick some 1/4" material together.

2 min later you find yourself standing in the dark.

(and thats not to even mention the bulkhead assembly im working on for the Enterprise NCC-1701-F. deturium is a bi*ch to work on)

 

[Sully2]

But...it sounds to me like someone didnt run enough amperage to that area to start with..?? AND..I have never..and will never...wire an overhead light to the same circuit that any "wall plug" is wired into...just for that reason.

If your going to run with the big boys ( which I have no intention fo every doing) ya got to learn to pee in the tall weeds!!

I got no plasma cutter ( and dont want one)
Got no 5HP compressor. My 2 hp does fine and its on its own seperate 20 amp circuit (120V)
SOMEDAY...I'll get me a SMALL MIG welder. "Weight" wont matter in the weighlessness of space"....LOL

 

[schmism]

.I have never..and will never...wire an overhead light to the same circuit that any "wall plug" is wired into...just for that reason.

well i dont either... but if you trip your 50 amp main on the sub pannel....

but like i said... i dont plan on running out of power at my new place

 

[Sully2]

well i dont either... but if you trip your 50 amp main on the sub pannel....
but like i said... i dont plan on running out of power at my new place

All kidding aside..I MAY just run wires to a sub-panel box instead of all the way to the outlet..??
1) It will shorten my LG wire run by about 15 feet
2) I can wire the OUTLET ONLY for..say 120V..and if I want to change at a later date...it would be easy enough to just pull the wire ( straight shot thru conduit) and re-wire with "different" wire.
3) May assist in one small problem I have. I have a 200 amp main panel...with slots for 48 breakers..OF WHICH I have 5 open..no more..and after that Im basically screwed!! ( I have LOTS of different circuits here and other that kicking a GFI out at times..have NEVER popped a breaker...dont think I can even..lol ) A 220V breaker will use 2 slots and that leaves me 3 still open..and IF I EVER ( fingers crossed here) get a small impliment shed built for the B3030 and some tools..I will still have slots to run some wiring to it for lights...nand outlets to be able to run..say a battery charger..electric drill..etc..etc ( all small 120V items)

 

[Dargo]

I guess thats relitive.

a "moderate" 5ph craftsman 220v compressor will draw 10amp

down to 30amp 220v or 60amp 120v

15 amp lights (120)

down to 45 amps

which sounds like a lot until im useing the 25 amp 110v plasma cutter and my buddy cranks up the 25 amp 110v Miller to stick some 1/4" material together.

2 min later you find yourself standing in the dark.

I have to admit that when I was building my place I thought I was planning way ahead (this was in 1992) and I had 800 amp service installed. Since then I added a guest house, pool house, and a 60X80 barn. Now I'm running at max capacity. I already had to have a larger gas line trenched in because everything kept shutting off if any of the water heaters were on and the pool heater kicked on. I kind of figure it's like the old card saying "go big or stay at home". At the time I really disliked the cost, but I ran AWG 0000 copper wire to my barn. Now I'm glad I did.

No tanks or battle ships repaired, but it's surprising how much more of a demand for power seems to arise as time goes on that I never thought of 15 years ago.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Dargo, If you are maxing out 800 amp service I don't want to know what your electric bill is like! The way energy prices are heading I think you need solar heat for the pool.

Schmism, when I said 40 amps at 220 is a lot of power I kind of meant single machine. If you wire a small shop, 100 amps is a good number. I have a separate meter and 200 amp service in my shop.

The most exciting thing on Friday was watch the motor turn for the first time on the machine I am having installed at work. 250hp vfd.