Reckless

iTrader: (9)

I found out the reason my welder has been surging, inadequate power. The only 110 source I have in the garage feed the lights and everything else. I have a 220 outlet for a compressor, that I haven't had the money for yet. Is there any way to convert the 220 to 110 with a plug of some kind? Or perhaps rewire the 220 at the box for 110 and have a dedicated 30-amp 110?

I don't know jack about this stuff. I would add a dedicated 110 for the welder if I had a clue and the box wasn't so damn far from the garage.

gMAG

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the 220v consists of 2 110v lines, and a ground. These are extended to your 220v outlet (compressor outlet).
You should presently have a 220v breaker switch in the distribution box.
There are two choices here. You can: 1)convert the existing 220v outlet by using only one of the two 110v lines running to it. Wire that 110v line to a new 110v outlet (in place of the existing 220 outlet), and also reuse the existing ground at the 220v outlet. Wire the ground to the 110v ground screw.
BE SURE to completely insulate the now unused 110v line that still exists at the FORMER 220v outlet.
2)The 220v outlet is only an extension of the 220v wired to the breaker/distribution box. You can buy another 110v breaker, and install it to be wired similarly to option #1.
If you decide on this option, I'd make sure you get some guidance from a buddy who is familiar with this stuff.There are local electrical codes which are created for your safety which should not be overlooked.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SHUT OFF ALL POWER AT THE MAIN BREAKERS BEFORE ANY WORK. I then also VERIFY with a meter that there is no power at the equipment being worked on.
Please be safe!

Ackattack1

iTrader: (7)

It's not that hard to add an additional outlet (a dedicated 30 amp 110 line). Not seeing your house though it's kinda hard to give advice on how to get a line from the breaker to outlet. For a 30 amp line, you'll have to look into what guage wire you'll need (12 guage at least, if not a 10 guage).

Then in your breker box, it's weather or not you have room to add aditional breakers. I know in my house that was built in the 60's there isn't room to add anything and what is there isn't addequate for all the crap we have in the house. That is why I have to unplug my drier to plug in my compressor (though I could run another 220 outlet on the same circuit as the drier, but we're moving in a few months, so this will work for now)

Good luck. If all else fails you could call an electrician and he'd get it done for you, but I'm sure it would come at a pretty good price.

Reckless

iTrader: (9)

Thanks guys. Running heavy gauge wire would be a PITA for sure. Don't have the money for a pro either. I have a friend that may know what to do though.

slow

iTrader: (7)

you would be better off converting your 220 to a dedicated 110 as the 220 has a 2 hots, and a ground. you need a neutral wire, which i do not see mentioned on the above posts.

All you need to do is disconnect the 2 110 hots to the 220 breaker, mark one as the "new neutral" and keep the other as a hot, get a single pole breaker, and connect that inplace of the 2 pole now. Wire the other to the neutral bus in your panel.

Then Rewire the outlet to a 110.

Ryan.

gMAG

iTrader: (1)

A 220v breaker might be arranged as two separate 110v breakers side by side, or a single 220v breaker. In the former, each existing breaker is already equipped to handle 110v. Therefore, there may not be any need to change them.
Ryan is correct, I did not mention the neutral wire (WHITE).
I apologize for the oversight, but in electrical terms, the GROUND(bare copper), and the NEUTRAL (WHITE) are electrically equivalent.
To revise my earlier comment, and if you DO have two 110v breakers... 1) SHUT OFF POWER AT MAIN HOUSE BREAKERS. 2) Change the 220v outlet to a 110v/(20 amp minimum) outlet. At outlet, choose the RED(110v), or the BLACK (110v), as your 110v supply. Let's say you choose RED. Wire that RED wire to the GOLD screw in your new 110v outlet. Next, wire the WHITE to the SILVER screw on the outlet. Finally, wire the BLACK to the GREEN ground screw on the outlet.
At the breaker box, leave the breaker wired to RED wire the way it is. Leave the WHITE wire the way it is. Finally, remove the BLACK wire from it's breaker. Reterminate the BLACK to the GROUND buss (same as WHITE wire).
I personally prefer this option because you can always put it back (to 220v) in a pinch, and there's no requirement to run a fresh 110v line. Glenn

Reckless

iTrader: (9)

Looks like I have a couple of local guys that can take a look at it. I could prolly swing it though from your instructions. This house is new and the box has a double breaker for the 220, so I guess I can just convert it to 110 without too much trouble.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

See if the welder has a 220 wiring option? That
way you would draw half the current, and current
is your problem. If you look at the paperwork or
pull the back cover where the line comes in you
might see a line option.

Getting 25 feet of flex conduit, some 12Ga wire, a high current outlet and a new breaker and assorted fittings is going to run you about
$50-$75 all told (some breakers are cheap, some
not).

In a new house there have to be several free
slots in the panel. So run yourself a righteous
garage supply of your own.

Or steal it off some existing high current, low-
use breaker like the kitchen stove and run your
good wires from there.

parish8

iTrader: (6)

are you sure it is a "surging" power problem? typicaly the welder will pull whatever it needs to work properly, if it needs 30amps thats what it will pull. if it draws more than the circuit is rated for it will then trip the breaker.

before you do anything it would be nice to plug that thing into a dedicated outlet and see if it actualy works any better. in a new house the washing machine would normaly have a dedicated 20amp 120volt outlet. any chance you can plug it in there and see how it works?

Reckless

iTrader: (9)

Well I took it to get it serviced and we tried it out at the welding shop and it worked like a champ.

gMAG

iTrader: (1)

Did the shop plug in to a 220v supply? I'm wondering if jimmyblue's suggestion to check the welder for a 220v wiring option would solve the trouble.
Did you arrive at a solution? Glenn