argh! welding quetions

Scott and John.

Good suggestion. But I have a brand new 14 guage 3 wire running to my garage. I was an electricians assistant for a summer a while ago and we wired it near the end of that stint. We put that on a double 15amp breaker. My welder at it's hottest setting wants 20amps.

Regardless, it's working a lot better now. Keeping the ground close to my work, proper clamping, and practice have made it much much better.

john vanlandingham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Scott Manley Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > hudson Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > I think I need to upgrade to a
> > > 20amp breaker to get much use with .030.
>
> > (I'm
> > > ussing a 110v jobbie)
> > >
> > >
> > > Andrew McNally
> > > Hamilton ON
> > > 26
> >
> >
> > No you would need to upgrade the wire ( I'm
> > talking about the electrical connection, not
> the
> > welding wire), breakers protect the wire -
> they
> > don't supply more power. Find out what size
> > electrical wiring you have, install the
> correct
> > electrical connection for your equipment and
> use
> > the appropriate size breaker for the wire.
> If
> > this is too much, hire an electrician. Don't
> burn
> > your house down.
> >
> > Scott Manley
> > Spokane, WA
> > 86' XR4Ti
> > 32
>
>
> Spokane Scott does bring up a good point.
> I have seen houses with little teeeeeeenie 16g
> wire in the wall, and I have seen garages with the
> old 20s and 30s style CLOTH cover wire and I was
> staring at the turbs and wondering why I couldn't
> weld anymore (premature senility was my answer).
>
> Check your house wires, make some home made
> extention cords with some herk huge wires so the
> welder sees what comes off the pole, it makes a
> big difference.
> Or go 230v..
>
> John Vanlandingham
> Sleezattle, WA, USA
>
> Vive le Prole-le-ralliat
>
> www.jvab.f4.ca

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

JB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> what are you welding anyway?


A 59 PV. Needs a whole lot. And since I paid 500 bucks for it, it's a great practice car.

John, I will go back to 30 wire soon, I think you're right about the 25 getting a bit too hot.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Andrew- What make and model of welder do you have? I have 120V 150amp Mig and it doesn't pull 20amps.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37

Scott Manley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Andrew- What make and model of welder do you
> have? I have 120V 150amp Mig and it doesn't pull
> 20amps.
>
> Scott Manley
> Spokane, WA
> 86' XR4Ti
> 32

Scott,

It's a 70amp Mastercraft (rebadged campbell hausfield I think). It has 4 heat settings 3 clearly marked for 15amp circuits and the last 20amp. I've tried it on the 4th heat setting and not tripped the breaker (15amp) though.

Product# 58-8027-4

* 70 A wire-feed welder
* Infinite wire speed control
* High-efficiency transformer
* Includes wire-feed welder, gas regulator, gas hose, two hose clamps, welding shield, one spool of flux-core wire, hammer/brush, quick-start guide and instruction manual
* Uses MIG (gas) or flux-core (gasless) wires
* Heat selection dial with four settings

I paid $270 for it new.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

You get what you pay for. Not all welders are the same. I am in the business, and at one point bought a cheapy that cost roughly $270. I lost $270 plus I had to buy a new welder. Hobart is miller, and they are a great cheap alternative to miller. DO NOT buy a lincoln from Home Depot. Do yourself a big favor and at least buy a reputable good cheap welder. Hobart, Lincoln (not from HD) or Miller. Miller has the best cust service and warranty. Go 220V, you'll get better results!

Just my 2Cents
Cable Rhodes
norco-inc.com

http://www2.northerntool.com/cat-1/768892+2000005.htm

link to something just a bit better than vise grips. Just the sam but you don't have to adjust the screw!

---

Cable Rhodes
Boise, Idaho
'87 Mazda RX-7 Turbo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2006 10:05PM by cablerhodes.

Careful on the Hobarts, the cheaper ones have Alu. windings and don't weld so nice. Find out before you buy. If it's really lite weight, chances are its Alu.
I personally have a Craftsman made by Century. The Century name has changed hands many times, so production quality seems to be a problem. And they get slamed alot my Miller owners. However a lot of auto body shops in my area use Centurys (probably old ones). Mine is freaking awesome, better duty cycle then a Miller 135 and nearly $200 less. I don't think Sears offers this model any more though.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37

cablerhodes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You get what you pay for. Not all welders are the
> same. I am in the business, and at one point
> bought a cheapy that cost roughly $270. I lost
> $270 plus I had to buy a new welder. Hobart is
> miller, and they are a great cheap alternative to
> miller. DO NOT buy a lincoln from Home Depot. Do
> yourself a big favor and at least buy a reputable
> good cheap welder. Hobart, Lincoln (not from HD)
> or Miller. Miller has the best cust service and
> warranty. Go 220V, you'll get better results!

I agree, but this is working well enough for thin sheet. I'll just have to borrow a bigger/better welder later on or take it to one.

> link to something just a bit better than vise
> grips. Just the sam but you don't have to adjust
> the screw!

Yeah I've seen those before. I don't have the money for jazz like that. Hence the cheap welder!

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Century is Lincoln, and since it's from sears, is probably the quality of the HD model. It may weld nice for now, but Sear probably won't cover warranty or have the parts available when it eventually (sooner than later) quits working. Haven't had to worry so much about alum windings, longer down the road I guess. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I'm in the retail side of the welding trade, and like to sell things I know won't come back with warranty issues. Lincoln/ Century are not good bets IMHO. I've seen too many come back and customer service is less than acceptable.

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Cable Rhodes
Boise, Idaho
'87 Mazda RX-7 Turbo

Well, it seems like things are covered fine for now, but regarding the extension cord that JVL mentioned, I needed to get one so I could work further away from the outlet than the 6-ft cord on my Lincoln (SP175-Plus, 230V) would let me.

I happened to be at Menards (Home Depot or Lowes or whatever would be equivalent) and ran across a 25-foot extension cord for an RV, like what they use to hook up with when they pull into a campground. I just hacked off the ends that came with it, and put on the ones for my welder. It's got thick insulation (to prevent cuts and such from being around the garage) and very flexible, and 10/3, so it'll give my welder everything it wants.

So, if anyone else happens to be looking for something like that, well then, there ya go.

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---** To be in compliance with the Anarchy **---
Jorden R. Kleier
Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA
1990 Mazdog Protege 4WD
1973

Hey Sarge,
Good tip. Also nice for those sparks that go POP-sizzzzle.
Had one of those land on the cord for the grinder and just as I lifted the helmet the thing began to spark and burn and the fawkin braeaker didn't pop!!!

All I could say was Holy WAAAAAAAAA!!!!

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I made up my 25m welder extension from some nice 10/3 I got from a local film lighting place. This is the kind of wire they use to rig event lighting, so it's wonderfully weatherproof and abrasion/sparky resistant. Added some used twist-locs from their parts bin and I've had zero problems so far.

Paddy and all - That wire is usually called "SO" or "SJ".

Cablerhodes _ "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I'm in the retail side of the welding trade" Are you a Miller dealer? And thanks for the concern, but my Craftsman/Century (made by Century BTW, not Lincoln) has been working just fine for many years now.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37

Scott, please unbunch your panties. Cable's a regular (and fast!) rally competitor, not just some shill that wandered in here. He's just giving his opinion.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

So am I.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37