welder

[Bill_C]

14 gauge in this example might technically meet the ampacity requirement of the Code, but also the voltage drop must be considered. For example, a receptacle that's only 10 ft from the breaker would have very little voltage drop, but a receptacle 150 ft away likely would have excessive voltage drop, in which case the wire size should be increased (say from 12 ga to 10 ga). There are calculators online that will calculate the acceptable voltage drops for different combinations of lengths, current, and wire size.

 

[whitedogone]

I don't have my NEC book right now, but I believe that Article 630 of the NEC allows circuit wiring dedicated for welders to be derated. That is that you can put a 20a breaker on #14 wire and be legal (and safe). The down side to this is that the circuit MUST be dedicated to the welder with NO other outlets on the circuit. The second downside is that you probably will not own the property forever and if the following owner plugs in a 2,400 watt load and burns down the structure, he may coming looking for you with his attorney.

Is it legal? Probably. Would I do it, no.

Article 630 is a mess.

 

[Transit]

This may be off subject, but there is a paragraph, Other Possibilities for Power Distribution
This paragraph show how the voltage drops in different segments in the wiring.


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