welding time......boost 110v to 220v?

[hhlragnarok]

My 110v/90a welder turns out to be useless when I try to weld brackets to hold spools on the swimarm......those 220v welder seems to be much more efficient...but how can I get 220v output in my house without burning anything down?

[skirecs]

call an electrician

[saxman]

No 220V outlet for the dryer hook up?

[Jared]

Yeah a dryer plug would work as a source for your 220....Could get an electrician to set you up an outlet  in the garage -is the panel in the garage? I ran 60 amp 220 out to my garage myself (145 feet  from the panel..)-but maybe leave it to the pro's if you're not comfy doing it...


You're welding essentially a piece of pipe to the underside of the swingarm that your spools bolt to right? How thick is the bracket you are welding on to your swingarm?

90 amp mig welders will usually handle a max thickness of 3/16ths of an inch material . Assuming your swingarm is down to bare metal  where you are welding and the mount is clean bare metal too... You're probably at the  edge of what the welder can do...( welder plugged directly  into a 20 amp outlet-not plugged into an extension cord- nothing else running on the circuit ...?).This is a Gas welder...not using flux core right?

Show us some pics of what/s happening/not happening...?

I'd love top have a 220v welder too...

[hhlragnarok]

wired thing...I test my dryer and it is 110v.......It seems like the air-conditioning compresser runs on 220v, but the fuse max is only about 50-60a, maybe not enough for an effiecient welder?

[tt_four]

I hate electrical stuff, none of it makes sense for me. I need to go pick up a high school text book so I can learn some basics.

I picked up a cheap 110v welder to learn on, but I've planned on getting a 220 outlet put in my basement eventually. Someday when I know what I'm doing I'll definitely pick up a nicer welder.

[lopee]

you dont need 220v, you just get one of these or the like. i bought the one from northern. it plugs in to a 110 outlet, i even use an extension cord and it will weld 1/4" no problem. i dont have a bottle, but shielded wire works great with a little slag to clean. the one here has wire speed adjustability and heat adjustability. there is a cheat sheet on the cover, tells you thickness setting w/ heat range, then you adjust the wire speed as needed.also tells you what gas to run with different metals.get a book like the haynes and youll have enough to do lots of stuff.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332691_200332691

[Jared]

Some older dryers run on 220...( My parents house for instance...). Yes 60 amp is plenty for any 220v Welder you'll likely bring home ( we ran the one at the awning shop on 30 amp 220volt without ever a hiccup..)

Electrical (home) wiring is easy ( to me )- electricity is just very intimidating to a lot of people and if you're not comfortable/confident/competent at doing it- get someone who is...( the smart thing for sure...)

Lopee - yes you don't have to go 220... That welder you linked to peaks at 135 amps but is still single pass rated at 3/16ths  (pretty much what My welder does..)...
That's a decent price too ( comes with Gas kit..). Extension cord....not all of them are heavy duty and it makes a difference -having a nice heavy one (not too long..) is fine. Trying to run 100 feet on a light weight cord you run your Xmas lights on will reduce the power you get to the welder.  If his welder is comparable to what you linked  ( it may be..)- he should have enough of a machine to handle the job...

Get a bottle- you'll love welding with gas if you're happy with the shielded wire....


HHL, how thick is the bracket that you're welding to your swingarm? You do have the swingarm off the bike right?
Show us a pic of what you're trying to do...

[hhlragnarok]

I'm planing to weld them right on the swimarm without take it out...lol.....haven't got the right brackets, will update pics when I got them

Some older dryers run on 220...( My parents house for instance...). Yes 60 amp is plenty for any 220v Welder you'll likely bring home ( we ran the one at the awning shop on 30 amp 220volt without ever a hiccup..)

Electrical (home) wiring is easy ( to me )- electricity is just very intimidating to a lot of people and if you're not comfortable/confident/competent at doing it- get someone who is...( the smart thing for sure...)

Lopee - yes you don't have to go 220... That welder you linked to peaks at 135 amps but is still single pass rated at 3/16ths  (pretty much what My welder does..)...
That's a decent price too ( comes with Gas kit..). Extension cord....not all of them are heavy duty and it makes a difference -having a nice heavy one (not too long..) is fine. Trying to run 100 feet on a light weight cord you run your Xmas lights on will reduce the power you get to the welder.  If his welder is comparable to what you linked  ( it may be..)- he should have enough of a machine to handle the job...

Get a bottle- you'll love welding with gas if you're happy with the shielded wire....


HHL, how thick is the bracket that you're welding to your swingarm? You do have the swingarm off the bike right?
Show us a pic of what you're trying to do...

[madjak30]

@hhlragnarok: unless your dryer is gas, it runs on 220V.  And it should be hooked up to a 30amp breaker.  That should be sufficient for any "hobby" welder...unless you are welding 1/2" or larger you won't need anything more.

And just to clarify, the 135amps that Jared mentioned is the output amps of the welder in DC (usually)...the welder is basically a transformer and rectifier that can sustain a controlled arc...kinda like a really big battery charger...so the 135amps is a maximum output on the secondary side...I know, blah blah blah...just check on the welder where the power cord goes into the machine and it will tell you what type of power you need to run it...it probably says 15/20amp 120V, or something like that.

As for the extension cord, Jared has the right idea...but the cord doesn't really limit the power available in a good way...most house hold cords are either 16 or 18 guage which are rated for 12amps and 10amps...some yard works cords are 14 or 12 guage, which are better, 15amp and 20amp rating...if you try to put more amperage through a cord that is too small it will start to heat up, which lowers its ability to carry power even more...and if you keep that up, you get fire and short circuits...not good...

The other thing you have to watch is distance...the longer the cord, the more power it will use (there is a certain amount of resistance to the wire...again with the heat thing...blah blah blah)...if you are running it more than 100ft, go to the next size up cable...

18 guage...not recommended
16 guage...not recommended
14 guage...good for 15amps up to 100ft
12 guage...good for 20amps up to 100ft
10 guage...good for 30amps up to 100ft

sorry, enough of my rant...just don't want anyone to hurt themselves...

Later.

[JAY W]

That sucks,my house is 240v all over (uk),except for the time i got eletrocuted.

[reajcox]

I came right out of my AC disconnect box. Down side is I either run the air or the welder. But hey I do most of my work in the winter so no big deal for me. if I need it when the AC is running I just turn the AC off till I'm done.

[madjak30]

That sucks,my house is 240v all over (uk),except for the time i got eletrocuted.

Yeah...all the info I posted is for North America (US & Canada)...I know in UK the standard voltage is 220V and you run different frequency as well 50Hz compared to 60Hz here...

The amperage for the cables is the same though...

Later.

[joshr08]

im guessing if his dryer plug is 110 then its a gas dryer.

[Jared]

They have 110 volt dryers.... just take longer to dry clothes (smaller stackable apartment size ones and some larger ones....).

Yep Madjak...right those are your limits with wire size...I use 75 feet as my guide to step up to the next size conductor... (Sub panels...say from your house to your garage....).

HHL...I'd pull the swingarm off - you can work on it much easier that way...( and remove any chance of maybe doing damage to any part of your bikes electrical system.....just to be safe...).

[hhlragnarok]

thanks for the info, I will check the dryer again....and try to build up safe circuit that won't set anything on fire....

@hhlragnarok: unless your dryer is gas, it runs on 220V.  And it should be hooked up to a 30amp breaker.  That should be sufficient for any "hobby" welder...unless you are welding 1/2" or larger you won't need anything more.

And just to clarify, the 135amps that Jared mentioned is the output amps of the welder in DC (usually)...the welder is basically a transformer and rectifier that can sustain a controlled arc...kinda like a really big battery charger...so the 135amps is a maximum output on the secondary side...I know, blah blah blah...just check on the welder where the power cord goes into the machine and it will tell you what type of power you need to run it...it probably says 15/20amp 120V, or something like that.

As for the extension cord, Jared has the right idea...but the cord doesn't really limit the power available in a good way...most house hold cords are either 16 or 18 guage which are rated for 12amps and 10amps...some yard works cords are 14 or 12 guage, which are better, 15amp and 20amp rating...if you try to put more amperage through a cord that is too small it will start to heat up, which lowers its ability to carry power even more...and if you keep that up, you get fire and short circuits...not good...

The other thing you have to watch is distance...the longer the cord, the more power it will use (there is a certain amount of resistance to the wire...again with the heat thing...blah blah blah)...if you are running it more than 100ft, go to the next size up cable...

18 guage...not recommended
16 guage...not recommended
14 guage...good for 15amps up to 100ft
12 guage...good for 20amps up to 100ft
10 guage...good for 30amps up to 100ft

sorry, enough of my rant...just don't want anyone to hurt themselves...

Later.

[reajcox]

My 20' cord is 12ga and perfect for my work.