Garage wiring for welder 220/240 Volt

Nitram88 · Tue May 13, 2014 9:01 am

Hello,

I plan on buying a TIG/STICK/Plasma from Everlast and I need to wire my garage for 220/240 I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or recommendations I know that I will already need a new sub panel in my garage because the current one uses glass fuses and really shouldn't take anything more than 20 amps but beyond that I'm lost I don't know what I need or if I should rewire power to the garage I know the panel in the garage is 220v going into it from the mainpanel in the house it's a dual 30amp breaker. I was told I could get away with 100 amp breaker panel in the garage and wire a 220/240 volt off of that with a 50amp breaker any thoughts?

ljdm1956 · Tue May 13, 2014 10:58 am

Don't know which model you have, I have the PowerUltra 205. 200a Tig/Stick, 50a plasma. Running off a 30a breaker, 220/240v. I also switch that with a 180a mig welder. Neither unit has had any problems with that size breaker.

mcoe · Tue May 13, 2014 1:22 pm

I have the Super Ultra 205, 200 amp tig, 150 amp stick, 50 amp plasma, and I am running 110 right now. I know that they do draw a good bit of power. It draws more than my Hobart Handler 140. Just keep that in mind.

Nitram88 · Tue May 13, 2014 2:32 pm

Thanks guys I'm going to wire it up here in a month or so I'll answer back if I have any issues or questions.

dynasty200sd · Wed May 14, 2014 12:28 am

Where are your washer/dryer machines in relation to your garage? Before I had a dedicated 220V line in my garage I powered my welders using the dryer plug by running my welder extension cord from it.

Nitram88 · Wed May 14, 2014 6:09 pm

Unfortunately my washer and dryer are in the house I have a detached garage I'd need a 40ft cord to run a welder from the dryer outlet.

Wed May 14, 2014 6:20 pm

Nitram88 wrote:Unfortunately my washer and dryer are in the house I have a detached garage I'd need a 40ft cord to run a welder from the dryer outlet.

If your garage is already wired, it has an existing ground rod. You could make that 40' extension a bit cheaper by using a 2/8 w/ground (stranded wire carries more current than solid, and is much more flexible), and use the ground in the cord as your "neutral", and a 12 or 14 ga. stranded wire from the extension outlet's gound terminal to the ground rod (with a clamp, so it's not a "permanent" connection). Note that an extension cord does NOT need to meet a code, it only needs to be safe and sufficient.

Steve S

Nitram88 · Wed May 14, 2014 7:18 pm

I will keep that in mind but I am seeking a more permanent solution as I know the garage needs rewired anyways as I said my current garage sub panel is glass fuse type probably from the 60s.

RichardH · Sun May 18, 2014 11:25 pm

Nitram88 wrote:I was told I could get away with 100 amp breaker panel in the garage and wire a 220/240 volt off of that with a 50amp breaker any thoughts?

Working backwards from the demand...

You're likely to need a 240v/50A outlet for a welder above 200A output (which aluminum will push you towards). Ditto for a good plasma cutter. Then you need lighting and accessories (say, 10A), and a compressor for the plasma cutter (another 240v/30A outlet).

You can have more tail circuits than the panel's input, but you need to look at what's likely to be running at the same time. The peak load is likely to be plasma cutter + compressor + lighting + a few accessories all at once. So, 80-90A. A 100A feed would be close to minimum for a 1-man shop; more if multiple people could be using big tools at once.

But... If your garage was wired with fuses, I'd wonder if your house's panel has enough juice to feed 100A.

Cheers,
Richard

Nitram88 · Thu May 22, 2014 8:31 am

RichardH wrote:
Nitram88 wrote:I was told I could get away with 100 amp breaker panel in the garage and wire a 220/240 volt off of that with a 50amp breaker any thoughts?
Working backwards from the demand...

You're likely to need a 240v/50A outlet for a welder above 200A output (which aluminum will push you towards). Ditto for a good plasma cutter. Then you need lighting and accessories (say, 10A), and a compressor for the plasma cutter (another 240v/30A outlet).

You can have more tail circuits than the panel's input, but you need to look at what's likely to be running at the same time. The peak load is likely to be plasma cutter + compressor + lighting + a few accessories all at once. So, 80-90A. A 100A feed would be close to minimum for a 1-man shop; more if multiple people could be using big tools at once.

But... If your garage was wired with fuses, I'd wonder if your house's panel has enough juice to feed 100A.

Cheers,
Richard

Thanks for the info I've been researching having the garage fed from the meter and I'm thinking thats a good possibility and then I can use a 200amp panel which I'm sure I'll never need all of even if I have friends over.

Wade Patton · Fri May 23, 2014 11:21 am

My residential panel is from the early 60's and I "made" 220 for a well pump by pulling a hot off each side (using 2 fuses). If you have unused space in the panel and pull the proper sized wire, then it can be done.

Breakers/fuses should always reflect the capacity of the wiring they are putting voltage into.

A second meter means a guaranteed monthly bill whether you use it or not, and it won't be residential rate. (in my state).

In my shop I added a proper breaker to the panel and wired directly to it with #8 stranded x 20' and then only had to buy a 50a plug for the end of the cable. Everything but the plug was donated by an old pal, who welds and used to build/wire houses.

I learned to wire when i set up my shop (which wasn't for welding).