I am considering buying a 220v MIG welder. My electrical box has only 1 breaker spot open so I can't run 220v to my garage. Would a good 20 or so foot 220v extension cord from the dryer be safe and allow the welder to work properly? Or maybe an add on to the box for a couple of breakers. I obviously have no electrical knowledge. This would not be a professional welding shop just home use. Thanks, Bill
I did exactly that in a rental house 30 years ago. The only problem was the dryer circuit was only like 20 amps so I couldn't run the welder too long or it would blow the breaker. And the wiring in the house wasn't stout enough to handle a 50 amp breaker, might have burned the house down. Did swap in a 30 amp, not saying you should .......
if you have 2 different circuts in the garage pull a leg off each one to get your 220. you might want to bump the breakers up to 20 amp ones though.
depending on what type of electrical panel you have what they call piggy back breakers ! so if you only have one space left you could put a few of these in on some 110 circuits and free up space for your 2 pole breaker , they are basically a breaker with 2 switches on them , and available for most popular brands !
Please do not subs***ute 20 amp breakers where there are 15 amp. They are 15 for a reason. A 30 amp dryer outlet could work. The welder should have an amp rating on the tag. .............if you have 2 different circuts in the garage pull a leg off each one to get your 220. you might want to bump the breakers up to 20 amp ones though. NO. Current rating (amps) not enough & experience level not enough.
I have a 25 foot cord attached to my 220/230 volt arc welder that I plug into the drier outlet when I use it. It works just fine. The outlet is a 30 amp outlet.
I've hardwired my 220 Miller into the fuse box before, rather than having a plug in, never had a problem. I also had a hard time finding a 220 extension cord and ended up making my own out of the white sheath wall wiring from H.D. Then I had to buy a couple of different plug in styles, so I had myself covered no matter who's place I needed to plug my machine in at. Carl Hagan
I have used the 30 amp drier connection for years with both a buzz box and a Miller 210. Do use a 10 gauge extension cord though.
I agree with OldBuzzard. The only case where you could sub***ute 20 amp breakers would be if you're absolutely sure the entire circuit (outlets, lights, whatever) was wired with 12-2 wire, not 14-2. If it's wired with 12-2, it should handle upto 20 amps. Really, the outlets should also be rated at 20 amps. The 20 amp outlet has one of the slots with a cross in to allow for two style plugs 115v 15amp and 115v 20amp. The other question is the size of the breaker box and your total amp load at any one time. If the breaker box is a 200 amp box and you don't weld 24 hours a day. You could probably get a double breaker which would open up enough room for another breaker. It would certainly be best left to an electrician, since you don't have any experience. On the other hand, the only way to get experience is to do it. You might want to go to your local electrical supply store (not Home Depot or Lowes) and get some advice.
Thanks to all. I found a 220v extension. NOT cheap for 33' about $130 w/shipping. http://www.steam-brite.com/store/volt-prong-extension-cord-p-123.html I'll also look into the piggy back breakers. A friend does electrical work so he'll be doing it. Haven't had a chance to talk to him. Bill
I ran a sub-panel off the main breaker panel. That gave me 220v/30a service in the garage. Talk to your electrician about this idea.
Yeah...that's the deal. You can choose the plug ends that you need when you make you own cord. But mines not super flimsy either, I loop it into a pretty big roll when I roll it up and It is still house wall wiring. Carl Hagan
I also made my own cord.But it is 10/3 like the wire that is on the welder.I just matched the dryer plug and added a welder female on the other end. Just got tired of only being 3-4 foot away from the plug all the time. Now I can walk all the way over to the other end of the garage. I also useed a 40 amp breaker. As been said.Just get a piggy back breaker(thin ones) and it will free up a place for you to install a 2 pole for your welder. If you already have one spot open.Then you would just need to replace 1 of them to gain your spot.
i did that for years. made my own extension cord with the plugs i needed and the thick wire.you cant just find a cord pre made.
I have a 25' extension chord that I made up to do the same thing until I got the Garage wired. Its made out of 10 gauge 3-wire SJO cable (same stuff shore-power cables are made from)
piggyback breakers are also known as tandem breakers........they colud free some space on the other circuits
NO! Bad idea, what if you have an overload, one breaker trips, the other doesn't...please don't do stuff like this, it's just not good. Call the electrician if you aren't sure.
I did 100 ft w 10-3 on a dryer plug, may not be best for max welding also got a 100 ft 3 phase cord, buy cord and plugs, ***emble and go also ask for competent advice to keep smoke in cord
Yea , But if one breaker kicks , the other one will too . The piggy back twin breakers have the metal bar across both switches , so they will both jump together to prevent an overload on just on breaker .
the only way it will hurt anything is everything on that circuit is going at the same time. been doing it that way for over 30 yrs and have never had any problems, fires, burnt wires or short circuits. I could have told him how a friend did it for years then you guys would have been scared! he would s****e off the coating on the drop wires to the house and had big "J" hooks with 8ga wire attached to them and would drop them over the bare spot and weld away!! Another thing how big is the welder? how many amps?
I once checked a electrical book for wire size for 220 at 30 amps and made an extension cord for a welder by hooking 2 extension cord in parallel.
There's some pretty dangerous advice being offered on this post. I did some of those things when I was young before I learned about electrical wiring. One thing that I have not seen mentioned is the fact that if you overlook something and your house/garage burns down,if the insurance company can find where modifications were made by a non licensed electrician,they are off the hook and don't have to pay! The loss is all yours! Saved $100 bucks by doing it yourself huh?
Yep, this is the way to go. I have an old buzzbox that requires 40amp service, so the 40 amp breaker is correct. The 10/3 extension wiring is right too, just use SJO wire as it is flexible. The piggyback breakers are fine as long as you stay with the proper rating for the circuit. 14 gauge = 15 amps, 12 gauge = 20 amps. Getting an electrician to do the work is a wise decision.
A 40 amp wire is a #8 conductor. A 30 amp wire is a # 10 conductor. Fellows if there is one thing that shouldn't be offered is electrical installation advice. Every time I see a post like this the info is always all over the map. Mostly wrong and always dangerous. CALL AN ELECTRICIAN!
I am an electrician (licensed for 28 years now) and most of what has been offered here is wrong. Bill, ignore this thread, call an electrician. For the rest: 10 gauge wire is 30 amp wire. 100' of 10 gauge wire is 20 amp wire. Tandem breakers do NOT have a common trip mechanisim. 2 pole breakers do. Know what you are talking about. Do NOT wire to two independent breakers, no matter how many years someone else has been doing it. Do NOT parallel wires! Guys, stick to building hotrods. As electricians, YOU ****! and here I am, an electrician tryng to build a hotrod.....
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