110 or 220 wire welder?

   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #11  
What he said.

Can only add a couple of thoughts.

110 MIG very versatile. I've used it with extension cords, generators, several widely different locations for little jobs (transports fairly easily). A Lincoln 135 Plus, does 90% of my welding up to a quarter inch or so.

220 AC/DC stick for heavier stuff.

Stay with a good brand for service, reliability, resale.

You can't go wrong with Hobart/Miller (same company), or Lincoln. Suggest looking for used, there's a lot of them around. You might consider a brand that a nearby dealer features in case service is needed.

Best regards
Sherweld
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #12  
I started with a 110v buz box.

I ended up with a Miller BlueStar 180 amp DC stick.

For me works great, can weld anything I'd come accross.

I would think for thin metal a mig would be great. Nothing like DC stick for the big stuff for a novice like me.

Joel
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #13  
I have a Lincoln Pro 100 mig welder that I've used on thin sheet metal (quarter panels for a hot rod for example) and I've welded up to 3/4 inch steel (building a hitch). I built a few things that have some thick metal on them. The links below are a few things that I've built using my 100 amp mig welder. I'd like to have a 220v unit but my 110v units does everything that I have asked of it. My shop is wired for 220v, so that is not a issue. And if it wasn't, I've wired a dedicated 220v plug for it (all it takes is two 110v lines...simple).

Road Grader

Building a waste oil burning stove for my shop
 

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   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #14  
... My shop is wired for 220v, so that is not a issue. And if it wasn't, I've wired a dedicated 220v plug for it (all it takes is two 110v lines...simple).
...

That statement scares me a little. Would you care to expand on it?
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #15  
As long as you use one of each "Leg" of the 220. I'm sure that's what Tom meant.

I paralleled my electric stove breaker for my Miller stick welder. I just have to make sure and check with Mother that she doesn't intend to use the stove. Not much chance of that anymore. Ha!
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #16  
Perhaps I will attempt to simplify on the statement. With modern electrical panels (not sure about fuse panels) in residential homes, they are fed with 220 volts. 220volts is achieved by an alternating between + and - 110 volts. Coming into your house would be to black wires (hot) a white common wire. Between the common wire and one black wire is 110 volts, between the two black wires is 220 volts. In Canada kitchen counter outlets are split duplex. You really have 220Volts at each counter outlet as each upper and lower recepticle is fed from a different (Hot) side of the electrical panel. Its not as simple as taking 2 110 volt lines, but it is as simple as taking a 110volt line from each side of the panel to achieve 220 volt. To make all this easier, every other electrical panel breaker position is feed from the opposite side of the "HOT bus". Those double breakers for the Stove, kitchen outlets and perhaps clothes dryer get fed from each side of the two incoming Hot wires. Please call an electrician.
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #17  
That statement scares me a little. Would you care to expand on it?
What I should have stated, my shop is wired for 150 amp service. The wires from the house sub-panel to my shops sub-panel can handle 150 amps via a 150 amp double pole breaker. Pull/turn the 150 amp double pull breaker off. To make 220v for a 220v welder, you will need a 30 amp double pull breaker. That breaker has to have two 110v legs to get 220v. By code here in Kentucky, you have to mark both 110v legs with red tape to show you are using two 110v legs to make a 220v plug. I've wired a 5 hp 2 stage compressor (50 amp double poll breaker) and a 10,000 pound rotary vehicle lift (30 amp double poll breaker) in my sub-panel. It's not a hard job, just takes a little time to run and pull the wires. Like I said, simple job. :D
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #18  
.... It's not a hard job, just takes a little time to run and pull the wires. Like I said, simple job. :D

Ok, Whew!!

When I first read your description, I envisioned you tapping into two existing 120 circuits (on opposite legs) to get a 240 outlet. I'm glad I read that wrong.

Technically, that approach would work and provide 240v to the outlet. In effect, each leg of the 240v outlet would be supplied by different 120v circuits with different single pole breakers. I don't think any local code authority would approve such an installation. There's a reason the NEC requires both hot legs in a 240v circuit be protected by a double pole, common trip breaker.

Now if you took two existing, adjacent 120v circuits and replaced their breakers with a 240v common trip, you would wind up with a single 240v, 4 wire circuit with 120v taps. You could put a 240v outlet across those two legs, and be compliant. My workshop has a couple of sets of circuits that were installed like that by licensed electricians and approved by the inspector. The purpose was to provide both 240 and 120 volt service at each receptacle location.
 
   / 110 or 220 wire welder? #19  
The only thing I miss about my old 120V Clarke MIG welder is the portability.
It worked fine with gas, though I never spent the time to learn how to
make good welds with flux-core wire. Limited to 3/16" steel max, IMO.

Since I like to do light guage steel framing, I could have used this welder on
an extension cord away from my workshop. But I replaced it years ago with
my Hobart IronMan 210. I have no decent 220V extension cords. BTW this
220V MIG does the light guage stuff better than the 120V machine. Better
current control, maybe? It handles up to 3/8" no problem. Even 1/2" as
the work piece heats up. Generally I use the DC stick for 1/2", however.
 

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