Question for Welding/Electrical Experts

94GTLaserRC · May 27, 2008

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

SQUEEZE&STROKE · May 27, 2008

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.

divit250r · May 27, 2008

You should be able to pull one leg of current from one circuit, and the other leg from another circuit, that should give you single phase 240V. That's how I wired my compressor in the barn.

Scott

madams74 · May 27, 2008

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.

94GTLaserRC · May 28, 2008

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

Bosko5.0 · May 28, 2008

can't you get a generator that can run that much power???

94-302-vert · May 28, 2008

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...

madams74 · May 28, 2008

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

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.....

j_lutter31 · May 28, 2008

You have to make sure which phase the 220 is set up to, Make sure its right or you could have problems

SQUEEZE&STROKE · May 28, 2008

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

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...

Good luck in whatever you decide...If I was closer, I would just let you borrow my 120 VAC Lincoln MIG welder...

94GTLaserRC · May 28, 2008

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

94-302-vert · May 28, 2008

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

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...

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.

madams74 · May 28, 2008

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........................................

desertcox05 · May 28, 2008

why don't you just buy a male plug to fit your female dryer outlet and change the plug on the welder

94GTLaserRC · May 28, 2008

desertcox05 said:
why don't you just buy a male plug to fit your female dryer outlet and change the plug on the welder

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.

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.!
RC

madams74 · May 28, 2008

Shucks, I was hoping to get a ticket to "dushbag" Good luck, keep us informed and send up some pics.

94GTLaserRC · May 29, 2008

madams74 said:
Shucks, I was hoping to get a ticket to "dushbag" Good luck, keep us informed and send up some pics.

WE'll post pics under "New Project Day 3" pretty soon.

RC

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