stick welder question

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Anyone know of a stick welder that puts out more than 85 amps if attached to a 115 volt circuit? Everlast has a 140 amp welder however that rating is for 220 volts. Eventually I'll have something hooked up on 220 This same welder is good for 85 amps on 115. I have a 115 volt 100 amp welder now (AC) that does miserably with even 3/32 sticks. Way too cold no matter what the stick. Clearly it is not doing anywhere near 100 amps and I doubt this old transformer welder (Century) is doing 70 when pushed all the way up. Perhaps I'd be better off with a flux wire 115 mig such as the Handler 140? Rarely weld but would like a somewhat creditable tool when I do.

 

[k0ua]

Arrow the problem is that with arc voltage around 20+ and current around 85 or a hair more, you are really pushing the total amount of energy you can get from a 115 volt 20 amp circuit.. Sure you can put in a 30 amp breaker, but now what is the wire size in the wall?.. see the problem? It is time to go to 220-240 volts so you can pull some current at twice the voltage, so much more energy is available. The same reason that you don't see a lot of cloths dryers that run on 115 volts. and even if they were designed to do so the drying times would have to be very long. There is just so much blood you can squeeze out of a turnip. And there is just so much juice you can squeeze out of an ordinary 115-120 volt receptacle.

James K0UA

 

[muddstopper]

Heres the problem with the 115v machines, Even if one is rated for 100amps, it is stll limited to the outlet it is plugged into. Most 115v circuits in a home are usually fixed with 15amp circuits. That right there is going to limit you to below 100amp's. If you have a circuit that you can dedicate to the welder, then you can swap out the breaker to a 20amp one and increase the output of the welder. Now this might be a alright fix if the welder never leaves its dedicated circuit, but if you need to take the welder to someplace else, a buddies house, out to the barn, ect, you are right back with the limited 15amp circuit. You might check the breaker that your old century is plugged into and see what size breaker it is plugged into. If its just a 15amp breaker, then you can make the decision if you want to swap the breaker out to a larger size and see if that helps with your problem.

 

[yomax4]

Look for a machine that has Power Factor Correction. Run it on a long cord and still get your amps out of it on 115v.. Look up Thermal Arc 201TS. You will be able run 1/8 rods easily on 115v. Also. Look up Power Factor Correction on google. Good Luck.

 

[arrow]

Thanks James, Bill and "Mud". I have #10 wire out to the garage and the welder is currently on a 20 amp circuit. Yomax I looked up the welder you suggested and its right up there price wise with prices from $850 -$1200. I'll look up PFC and see what else pops up that may be cheaper. Thanks again.

 

[CNC Dan]

I have the Everlast PA200. I have burned 1/8" 6011 running off of a 120 volt outlet. Just today I did a small repair on a friends trailer door using 3/32" 6011. I had an Everlast PA140, but I couldn't get it to run 6011. I'm much happier with the PA200.

 

[arrow]

I have the Everlast PA200. I have burned 1/8" 6011 running off of a 120 volt outlet. Just today I did a small repair on a friends trailer door using 3/32" 6011. I had an Everlast PA140, but I couldn't get it to run 6011. I'm much happier with the PA200.

Dan is there a statistic for the welder as to how many amps it puts out @ 120v? I also didn't know the PA 200 was a dual voltage welder

 

[arrow]

Well I found one welder with PFC. Its the Longevity 160i. States it puts out 125 amps @ 120v. Its $599 and with 15% off comes to around 500 bucks with "free shipping" that everyone pays for. Something like this should be fine for what I do for not so much money.

 

[CNC Dan]

Dan is there a statistic for the welder as to how many amps it puts out @ 120v? I also didn't know the PA 200 was a dual voltage welder

Not sure. But you can go high enough to trip the breaker pretty quick, and then weld in short bursts.
It also makes a differance if your AC is 110 or 120 volts. The higher the better(lower current draw).

I know the Everlast website kinda sucks, but you should be able to download the manual.

 

[yomax4]

Most Inverter 115v units should do ok on 115v with 3/32 rods. You will have a hard time with a transformer unit.. They just don't well work on 115v stick. Other option is a used $200 generator that puts out 3000 watts to run your 115v stick unit off of.