Question for Welding/Electrical Experts

94GTLaserRC

94GTLaserRC

Squint as you approach, lest you be blinded by my
15 Year Member
May 7, 2002
11,178
13
89
Ernan Says "here it comes... dushbag"
#1
I have a friend coming over to weld the engine bay. He has a Mig(sp) welder. It has a "regular" plug, but it requires a 240 v outlet. The only outlet I have is a 240v outlet for the dryer. Is there a plug that will allow me to connect the welder to this 4 prong dryer outlet?...If not, what are some other possible suggestions?

Thanks
RC
 
#2
I believe home depot has an adapter cord that will allow the three prong to be used with 240 V...I cant remember thought if it takes it down to 120v...I know for sure they have some type of adapter though...we used to use them when Andy gump put in temp power at construction sites.
 
#4
A welder with a "regular" plug like a lamp, or TV will only need 120VAC to operate at satisfactory settings. You will NEVER find a "regular" plug on a welder "from the factory" that can not run on 120 VAC for its needs. The welder power supply on some portable and newer welders will automatically switch when it senses the different plugs placed on the cord. Miller calls it the Auto Line technology. If he is in need of 240VAC (which can give him some more amps and better welds, then he should just get a dryer connector and hook it up this way to your recepticle.

Usually the ground pin on the dryer with 4 pins is the round U, the 240 VAC are the 2 verticle pins, and the Neutral is in the shape of and L. The 3 pin style dryer plugs usually have the 240 VAC on the 2 tilted pins across from each other, and the Ground/Neutral is the L shaped pin alone on the bottom. You can make up your cable from this setup. He may be afraid to use your regular wall recepticle for the 120VAC since the demands of the welder may pull more than your breaker or wiring can handle, and wants to steal your 120 VAC from the dryer recepticle. This is fine, just use 1 of the 240 pins, and the neutral on a 3 pin dryer connector to get 120 VAC, or the same for the 4 pin connector. You simply need 1 neutral, and 1 of the 240 VAC to get your 120. Again, if he has a regular plug on the welder like your lamp or TV, 120 will suffice.
 
#7
The compressor I just bought had one of these cords... HD does sell the actual outlet you need for like $16ish.... I would go that route and jsut wire it up for the time being...

I had a dryer cord so I changed the cord on the compressor instead...
 
#8
94GTLaserRC said:
Home depot does NOT have any parts that will work. The guy I talked to there "seemed" fairly knowlegeable, and said he has gotten asked that before and there are no parts....Im thinking of maybe renting a generator that I can plug into.

Thanks
RC
Click to expand...

A generator is no better off than your dryer receptacle my friend. Is it the distance needed from the receptacle to the welder that is an issue? Your "typical" garage mig welder will run any anywhere from 2400 at watts to 4600 watts pending on your voltage source. Basic Ohms law. You need to make sure your get a generator that can handle it, but you could still be plagued with a plug problem. Your being a little vague on your welder so it is not easy to respond. You said it had a regular plug on it. I have been doing this a long time, and no welder comes with a regular US household plug on it, and NEEDS 240VAC, plain and simple. It does not exist. It may look like a regular plug in some aspects, but I guarantee you the blades are much larger and it is a 240VAC supplied welder, or he most likely would not have asked for your dryer plug. You can buy a 4 pin dryer plug (Nema 14-30P), at Home Depot, and a Nema 6-50R recepticle (WELDER side) and make your adaptor. You need to get as many feet as you need to allow the welder to move around the car of "range" cord which home depot has, and run the 240 VAC from the 4 pin dryer plug "y and x" on the picture) to the 2 slotted blades that are side by side on the welder plug . The ground is the U shaped holes labeled "g"

This is very easy to do.....
 

Attachments

  • 6-50R.webp
    6-50R.webp
    14 KB · Views: 173
  • 14-30p.webp
    14-30p.webp
    1.7 KB · Views: 203
#10
94GTLaserRC said:
HOme depot does NOT have any parts that will work. The guy I talked to there "seemed" fairly knowlegeable, and said he has gotten asked that before and there are no parts....Im thinking of maybe renting a generator that I can plug into.

Thanks
RC
Click to expand...

:scratch:


Maybe on of the contractors built one of thise things...Thats scary.


I distinctly remember a 220 plug and three plugs coming off of it...kinda looked like an octopus...:shrug:


Good luck in whatever you decide...If I was closer, I would just let you borrow my 120 VAC Lincoln MIG welder...
 
#11
It's my friend's welder. He says he and his dad put a "standard" wire on it and it runs 220v. I cant call him a liar...He built is own car using this welder.
HD does NOT have what Im looking for.

Last resort is to just rent an actual 115v welder for $47 for the entire day and use IT.

Thanks for the replies.
RC
 
#12
94GTLaserRC said:
It's my friend's welder. He says he and his dad put a "standard" wire on it and it runs 220v. I cant call him a liar...He built is own car using this welder.
HD does NOT have what Im looking for.

Last resort is to just rent an actual 115v welder for $47 for the entire day and use IT.

Thanks for the replies.
RC
Click to expand...

HD does, at least the one in Lisbon CT does. In my HD it is in the same area as the surface mount dryer recepticals, etc... It looks like a 20A duplex but it was a single outlet. Read the package it says for 120/240V and up to 20A... :D

I will telll you my guy was useless so I festered around a while until I saw this... but for $16-17ish for this vs $6.88 for the surface mount that I already had a cord for I changed the cord and the outlet.
 
#13
Lowes, ACE, a welding supply store that sells gloves, rods, helmets. Let you fingers do the walking and use the yellow pages for welding supplies. Standard wire does not mean squat. All he did was use the range cord I mentioned, threw it on the terminal strip on welder backside and got the plug that he uses at HIS house for 220VAC. Your plug is different, so he wanted the dryer plug. Go get, order, steal, whatever your plug for YOUR house, and place it on his cable, using the directions I gave you. I order you to obey, or you will be vanquished from the Mustang project, and you will be forced to buy me a plane ticket to help you........................................
 
#15
desertcox05 said:
why don't you just buy a male plug to fit your female dryer outlet and change the plug on the welder
Click to expand...

Actually it's taken care of...He just changed the cord on the welder to fit his generator, and we're going to run the power off of that instead of inside the house... My wife will appreciate that.:rlaugh:

Thanks for all the replies.

Oh BTW Madams.. He did say that it is his "own" cord that he used on the welder, not one supplied with the welder.! :hail2:
RC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Progress Thread mnky99 2001 V6 evap core, ac compressor, heater core replacement
Replies
1
Views
709
1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
mnky99
M
revhead347
SN Mustang Magnum T56 swap
Replies
15
Views
7K
1994 - 1995 Specific Tech
GearHeadGuy
GearHeadGuy
CarMichael Angelo
  • Locked
“Doing stuff the wrong way for the right reasons”: A related stupid story.
Replies
7
Views
5K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
a91what
a91what
9
96 Cobra questions
Replies
3
Views
1K
1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
Shuttleman83
S
D
1New recruit, hello, and help i have no clue what I'm doing anymore
Replies
3
Views
1K
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
08GT500
08GT500
Top Bottom
Back
Forums
Menu