Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Well, not the kind that goes at the head of my grave! I've been looking for a Lincoln 225amp AV welder for about 10 months. Finally found a good one............hardly used (rubber looked like it just came from the factory) but 35 or so years old. Heavier than a couple of buckets of lead, so it's copper wired. Enough about that. I've just finished making up a 25 foot extension cord from a 50 amp cord a friend gave me. Now, the final touch.......................I need to run about 45 feet of wire from a 220 box in my wood working shop out to my forge room. I've got plenty of 600V 12-2 underground cable................will that work and is it safe? If so, do I have to run it inside conduit or can I staple it to the headers and down the post in my forge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I would go with a larger gauge cable 10 ga at a minimum. I think I used 8 ga in my shop in conduit. Congrats on the Tombstone, I bet you are going to love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 That's great, the 225's are certainly heavy, at least over 100 pounds. The 250's push 400! I don't know about 12 gauge wire for a power circuit, I agree with IdF&C, I would want 8 if I could get it, 6 if the run gets long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I agree. 10 AWG is 6mm2 and can carry 32 amp. In a conduit heat is your enemy. Go 8, that is 10 mm2 for the welder. If you have extra load, I am afraid you need to go thicker. Best still, consult an electrician, not a blacksmith, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Or, if at all possible, someone who's both (Steve Sells springs to mind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 If you run electric from the woodworking shop to the welder, be sure that ALL the wiring from the house or pole will handle the TOTAL load of both areas. This is not just one piece of equipment being on at a time but TOTAL load being used. This includes the electric room heaters if applicable now or if added later. If you do it right once, and you will have no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 to make your future shop life easier, look into getting 6ga and a small sub panel for the shop. Even a 60 to 70 amp will give all you need for welding and lighting and a drill press, saws heaters/cooling fans and any other things you haven't thought about yet. Maybe other welding machines will join you later, you will rarely ever be using more than 3 of those things at a time even with friends over. I personally put in a 100 amp shop panel. every machine has its own recep, it may be over kill for me, but on the other hand I never threw a breaker yet. and I didn't have to pay labor : ) and having things plugged in doesn't draw any power until I turn them on, and I don't have to replug things, saving wear and tear on the plugs. PLUS most the plugs are installed at 4ft, not 1 foot off the floor, further making life easier for me. If you decide against the sub panel you can save $ by just running 8ga ( still not really enough for full power to that welder) but the added expense of the panel isn't too much more , after all, you are doing all that work already,. why not make it more usable for down the road? Rated wire amperage is not just based on size, but distance as well, plus how it is installed can effect the load limits 10 ga wire will not be enough for that welder when in conduit or buried in a trench, You will have 4 wires ( 2 hots, 1 neutral plus 1 ground) meaning de-rating the loads... but you all knew that already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Thanks, guys. Not WHAT I wanted to hear but what I NEEDED to hear, I guess. I'm not an electrician by any means. I've done some wiring, but no 220 and know nothing about "2 hots, 1 neutral plus 1 ground"! The receptacle and plug I bought for the extension cord didn't have any place for a second "hot"! Guess I'd better bite the bullet and save up my money and pay my electrician to do the work. I'm sure not qualified to put in a panel. Just "thought" I was getting close to being able to start learning how to weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Spending a couple hundred bucks on an electrician is a lot cheaper than burning your shop down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Wish it were only a "couple hundred", JHCC. But I've gotta do what I've gotta do. Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. I'll give my guy a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I bought my first house from a widow with two small children. Her husband had been a central office maintenance person and electrocuted himself working at home. Sometimes the extra cost is well worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 There is a reason why its a 4-5 year apprenticeship to be an electrician, dont feel bad if you didnt know about de-rating wires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 I won't even ask what "de-rating" wires means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Reducing the amount of current wires are allowed to carry, either because of an increased ambient temperature and/or because there are more than three wires bundled together within a single cable or conduit. (I think.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 When I said "I won't ask", JHCC, what I really meant was I don't even want to know! Chasin' dem lectrics is above my pay grade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Mine too. I just like to know stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 For me, some of the stuff I'd like to learn would be too dangerous for my brain to handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 The sub board in the workshop is the best idea. In your case you have two workshop so you could have one sub board for both. Get 3 separate quotes and chose the one you like the best, may be not necessarily the cheapest. i don't know how it is in the US where you are allowed to do your own electrical work, we have a ban for DIY electrical here. However we usually can reduce the bill by doing the wiring first and then get the sparky to do the connections and oversee what was done. Not every electrician likes to do that, but if there is conduits involved you can certainly do the digging and the laying of the conduit, or clipping them to the wall, if you know the outlay and the sizes required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Hire a licensed electrician, tell him(them) what your loads will be (welder, drill press, grinder, etc.). Run a separate circuit for your welder. Have them install a subpanel as Steve suggested (they will tell you to do that as well). More receptacles, the merrier, again as Steve recommended. With a licensed electrician doing the work, it will cost a few bucks more, but you will sleep better at night and in the case of a shop fire, you and your insurance agent will be happier as well. I know of several folks out in the country who have done their own wiring, but you're rolling the dice. When I changed from 120VAC in my shop to 240VAC, I had a licensed electrician do the work. I also sleep well at night knowing it was done RIGHT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Or at least the install was licensed and insured. Replacing a bad light switch is about my happy limit though an outlet isn't too far out of me envelope though I have one outlet in the shop that isn't charged. I'm having a sparky out this spring or summer to install a panel, wire and hook the shop to the meter base. I was perfectly comfortable trenching and burying the cable. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 I was lucky, my late FIL was a licensed master electrician. When we built the house and later the garage, I did all the electric with him inspecting and approving it. Several times he discovered a grievous error, which was corrected and then approved. All our electric is to national standards thanks to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 Well, my electrician came out today. He said the job needed Romex 6-3 with a ground. Quoted the entire job at around $400. I cratered! He told me to buy the Romex and install it from the main box to where I wanted it to end, plus a double-gang box and he could probably do it for just under $200. 6-3 runs $125 for 50 feet, so I'd not be saving a whole lot.............but it would still be a savings. I'm just going to have to wait. The dentist told me this morning I need a $400 repair on my denture. Dang, I hate gettin' old! But gettin' poor is even worse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Did you show him knife #2? That may cover the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 No, he has to feed his family just like me. Hard to eat a new knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Show it to the guy where you buy the Romex, gang box, etc. worst can happen is he says no. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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