Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225

   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #1  
T

TuckR

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2022
Messages
25
Location
Spokane, WA
Tractor
Kubota L3302
Hi folks. I recently purchased a used AC/DC 225 welder, that the previous owner had removed the power cable from. I have a 6/4SOOW 20' cord left from another project that already has a NEMA 14-50 plug. I'd like to utilize this cord, but what the heck do I do with the neutral on the welder side? Do you just not connect it? Tie it into the ground?

Thanks all
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #4  
The fan is 110 V. It uses one hot and the neutral is the third prong of the plug.
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #5  
oliver1555 said:
The fan is 110 V. It uses one hot and the neutral is the third prong of the plug.
Click to expand...
If this is the case then the welder no longer meets code because code no longer allows the ground to be used as a conductor. Depending on how the building is wired that the welder is plugged into this can cause all sorts of problems. It is also a safetey issue. Instead of using the ground as a neutral use the neutral in your cord to power the fan. Just wire one hot wire and the neutral to the fan. DO NOT use the ground as a neutral.
Eric
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #6  
My Lincoln 256 has a three prong plug. It has a 110 volt receptacle on the back to power grinders, etc. The third prong is the neutral. My old Lincoln 225 has a three prong plug, as does my Lincoln Square Wave 200, which is dual voltage. The fans are 110 volt. You need a neutral for 110 volt.
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #7  
oliver1555 said:
My Lincoln 256 has a three prong plug. It has a 110 volt receptacle on the back to power grinders, etc. The third prong is the neutral. My old Lincoln 225 has a three prong plug, as does my Lincoln Square Wave 200, which is dual voltage. The fans are 110 volt. You need a neutral for 110 volt.
Click to expand...
Your Lincoln Square Wave 200 uses the ground as a ground only. I also have a Square Wave 200, which I like very much. I was not aware the fan inside was not 220 volt. If it 110 volt it is not using the ground as a neutral. Any welder that uses uses the ground as a return is not to code. Using the ground as a neutral, as a return, used to be pretty common in certain devices. Welders, stoves, ovens, and driers being the most common. This practice is no longer practiced (didja get that?). It was realized some time ago that this was dangerous and so it was stopped. The Lincoln Square Wave 200 is an inverter machine. This means that any voltage desired can be attained from the inverter circuitry. If the fan is indeed 110 volt then it is being powered by the inverter circuitry when the welder is being powered from 220 volts. As an aside, I tried welding some 1/4" aluminum with my SQ200 machine powered with 125 volts when I first brought it home and was shocked that it could make good welds on 1/4" aluminum using only 125 volt input. Inverter technology has certainly matured and this welder shows just how efficient it can be.
Eric
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #8  
Back in the day 220 volt appliances - stoves, dryers, etc. generally had a light and / or an electrical outlet. These appliances were connected to a three wire plug. Ground and neutral were tied together at the panel. For these appliances the two hot wires provided 220 volt power and one of these legs was used to power the light or fan with the other lead being ground. This is no longer an accepted practice but there are a lot of houses still wired that way.
 
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #9  
OP. I had to look that NEMA 14-50 plug up and it is a four wire, commonly used for electric ranges and dryers. Welders come with a three prong, and need this style.
76AEAE37-B47C-4DE2-8583-75F3ECC8382A.jpeg
I could be wrong about how the Squarewave powers the fan, being an inverter, but my old tombstone has a 110 volt fan. My Lincoln 256 has two 110 volt receptacles in the rear and that machine is not an inverter. You have to have a neutral for that to work, so the third prong is acting as the neutral. When I moved out on my own, I took my tombstone that I had bought in1972, at age 16. When I wired it at my new house, I did not know enough to get the correct duplex breaker and just bought two breakers and installed them. The fan would run, but the machine wouldn’t strike an arc. My electrician friend explained that I had to move a breaker to the other leg, as I was only feeding it 110 volts from the same leg. Problem solved. When we built our new shop in 2016, we hired an electrical contractor. The plug on the left is 60A for my 256 and the one on the right is 50A for the tombstone and Squarewave.
B9C85DBA-C603-4F0A-BBE4-9098242782D1.jpeg
 
Last edited:
   / Wiring an old Lincoln AC/DC 225 #10  
You must log in or register to reply here.
 

Footer Links 1

Top