Stick Welding Tips, Certification tests, machines, projects
BeeRanDyn
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:26 pm

I'm new to welding and I'm considering buying a Longevity Stickweld 200 or 250 to practice with, and eventually make some money with it. So my question is, what are my options if I want to run a 220v welder at home when I only have 120v outlets to plug into? Please give me all available options. Thank you!
Artie F. Emm
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:53 am

You have a couple options, depending on the layout of the house. I use the 220v 30 amp outlet for the electric dryer. Another option is your kitchen's range, if it's electric. That's 220v, usually 50 amps. If either of these is near a window you may be able to run it outside the house to a work area like the garage.

I made an extension cord that has a dryer plug on one end, and a NEMA 6-50 receptacle on the other end (because the welders have a NEMA 6-50 plug). You can get parts to do this at the Home Deep, if you decide to go this route. Let us know how it goes!
Dave
aka "RTFM"
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Jan 22, 2014 12:00 am
  • Location:
    Connecticut

you really need to run a new 230 volt circuit to the location where you want to run the welder.
Multimatic 255
Adam's Got Skills
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:32 pm

I kinda have the same problem!...I need or would prefer a 40-44 amp 230v plug to hook up my welder but the problem is I am renting an older house that has a gas range and believe it or not it has a 115v dryer!!! I've never seen a dryer run on 115v in my life! An really I think it draws more power than a 230v would. So I've been wanting to get a plug put in the garage but the electrician told me I'd have to have probably 60-70 ft. of 8-3 w/ground and a breaker which comes out to a few hundred bucks! An I'm gonna do it but I have been running my welder (Miller Maxstar 200 DX) on 115v with a 20amp breaker, and I'll be honest it shocks me sometimes how good it runs on it. But then again I'm nervous to use it a lot cuz your wires will heat up if there's too much draw thru them. And also MOST IMPORTANT my welder is compatible with 115v 230v, and 460v. The best route is getting a plug put in, otherwise you might have to spend more money on a welder that can even run on 115v. That's my opinion cuz a lot of welders draw anywhere from 40-50 amps cranked up to max output. Some are even more so you end up using 3 phase power...which I don't know much how that works...other than I can plug something in to an outlet....
Post Reply