Bought a Welder, need wiring help. Should be easy question

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 15:33:58 GMT

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Hello all, this is my second attempt at a welder. My first was a unmitigated disaster but I learned from it. To all newbies reading this be forewarned, if the deal is too good to be true IT MOST DEFINITELY IS.  I will never take the word of another person.Now to my post... I got an old miller 330 a/bp. I only have the machine so I need to know the parts to get it running. I don't intend to use it to weld 1inch thicknesses yet but maybe in the future. So I am looking now for Tanks and suggested good prices. Cables (ground and Torch) and estimated good prices. (welding up to 1/2 inch material)Next on the list to buy is electrical cable to run another box in my home to power this monster. I have read that you can run it on 50 amps and still weld pretty good and thick but if I'm going to spend any money on the electrical I would rather just spend the extra 20% - 30% to get the more capable install. I was looking at doing a 100 amp box and ran into an ad for some 1/0 awg 3 pole direct burial cable. It is 97 ft long and seller is asking 425$ can someone please chime in and confirm if this is a good price. I will actually be running about 60 ft worth. Is this even worth buying, I have not been able to find any conductor info on the cable searching google. Thanks for any advice folks.
Reply:Originally Posted by oldsilverI was looking at doing a 100 amp box and ran into an ad for some 1/0 awg 3 pole direct burial cable. It is 97 ft long and seller is asking 425$ can someone please chime in and confirm if this is a good price. I will actually be running about 60 ft worth. Is this even worth buying, I have not been able to find any conductor info on the cable searching google. Thanks for any advice folks.
Reply:Thanks Papa, i appreciate your timely response. Wow powered the whole mobile home, I suppose the 100 amp welder will be just fine with that. Any thoughts on the price? 425$ sounds like an ok deal to me. I once helped run a 135 foot aluminum conductor but I think they paid 675$ for the cable. Don't know if this is better though. Guy does not have any info on aluminum or copper material... no scratch that it is Copper, I just checked the ad. I even looked up scrap prices in the event that I could not use and could not sell. Scrap price is like 3 bux a pound but I may have read that wrong...Any other chimes on price and other advice is well received, Thanks again
Reply:Check eBay for welding leads, electrode holders and ground clamps.
Reply:Wiring prices will vary tremendously depending on whether the cable is aluminum or copper.  Know what you are buying.   Copper is better, aluminum needs proper connectors and installation techniques or it can become a fire hazard.  Nothing wrong with using aluminum, but it's got to be done right.You should be able to get some comparative prices on equivalent cable from Lowe's or Home Depot.
Reply:Go to or call your local electrical supply house and find out from them what the price new would be.  Seems to me if you are only going to use 60 out of the 97 feet that you might be better off just buying what you need new.  You will never get your money back out of it by just scrapping the remaining cable.  $3 a pound seems high right now and that would be for #1 copper. That means you would have to strip all of the wires down to bare copper, if not you will probably be looking at closer to $2 a pound.
Reply:#4 copper will get you the 100A you desire, but it will likely be expensive. If its subject to physical damage, please run it in conduit. Another option is to run #2 copper (125A) and feed a sub panel with it so you can have more circuits  in your welding area. Yes, aluminum of the proper guage is fine but like was mentioned above, it needs to be sized differently than copper and your terminations are more subject to corrosion if in a damp or unheated enviroment. Use De-ox when using it. You shouldnt use underground aluminum feeder ( or copper for that matter) above ground unless its all together in a factory sheath or in conduit. Some of this you may already know but I have seen some pretty scary backyard installs in my electrical carreer.Hope this helps.OzLast edited by DirtyOz; 04-27-2013 at 01:46 AM.Dynasty 200DXMiller 210 Spooly
Reply:Oldsilver-  1/0 awg copper is good for at least 125A. The price of copper has been all over the place lately, but whether it is up or down, $4.25 per foot is a pretty good deal.Also, if your intention is to install a subpanel, which I think is smart, the cable needs to have three insulated conductors plus a grounding conductor.Let us know how you make out,Last edited by castle; 04-27-2013 at 10:05 PM.