welder powered from breaker?

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Ive got a question and need some help. ive got a lincoln 225ac and dont have a 230 volt hookup anywhere in the garage but ive got a recepticle coming off of my breaker box that i use to plug the generator into when the power goes out to power the houuse. is it possible to use that as a power source to run my welder?
Reply:What was that recepticle installed for?Is it going through a generator transfer switch?What size breakers is it connected to?Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:coming off the breaker box i got two 20 amp breakers tied together that runs to a recepticle where i plug a 230 volt extension cord into off of my generator for when the power goes out. when the power goes i flip the main and switch the generator breakers and then back feed power into the house. so i can i flip the 2 generator breakers on and plug my welder in and i should be fine rite?
Reply:If you have the space why not just add a plug would cost less than 50 bucks and take 15 min than you are safe. 20 amps isnt much for a welder. I assume you are using 2 single pole breakers to achive 230 volt so you only get 20 amps not 40.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Are you saying you have a breaker box in the garage?  If so, just add another breaker.If the breaker box is on the other side of the house, it is possible to run conduit around the outside of the house to your garage.  Not the prettiest of solutions, but not too bad either.Some welders you can get away with less than advertised current capability.  Whether you can or not is up in the air.  Check the owner's manual and see what is recommended.  If it says something like 30 Amps, well, you are probably close enough.  Maybe pop the breaker if you have the wire speed turned up to high for you given heat range.BTW, when I got around to re-wiring, I put in two 50 Amp circuits and replace the 25 Amp plug on my air compressor with a 50 Amp one.  So now I can run any two devices.  The air compressor is my first line of defense if I just happened to start a small fire....  Two completely separate circuits.As for outlets, Lowes has them in stock in their electrical isle.  If you don't have enough room in the breaker box, you can double up some of the breakers (two 15 amp side by side in one slot) - at least in most areas in the US.  Lowes and Home Depot also have charts that dictate minimum wire sizes.  Keep in mind that these wire sizes are typically for runs under 100ft (or sometimes even 50ft).Oh, and I think just about every hobbyist here used the dryer plug in the past.   Typically 30 Amps circuitsCon Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:Is your machine a tombstone,drawing approx.45 amps?I used to run my first Tbolt(a.c. only) off a dryer outlet (30 amps) Never tripped breaker.But I'm thinking an ac225 will trip 20 amp breakers even when welding at fairly low currents.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:A tombstone will blow at 30 amp breaker.  At least mine did, but that was on DCEP at 110 amps.  I got around 5 seconds of arc time each time.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:I did the same thing i plug my welder in but it flipped a 20 amp breaker than we tried a 30 and you could weld up to 90 amps  so we put in a 50 amp and now i can go allthe way up to 225 onmy welder your safe but if anything goes wrong im not taking any responsibility i just no it worked for meQuality is our policy.
Reply:Originally Posted by 93chevycoming off the breaker box i got two 20 amp breakers tied together that runs to a recepticle where i plug a 230 volt extension cord into off of my generator for when the power goes out. when the power goes i flip the main and switch the generator breakers and then back feed power into the house. so i can i flip the 2 generator breakers on and plug my welder in and i should be fine rite?
Reply:I've visited this thread a couple times so far and if you know me you know I just can't keep my mouth shut.  1st thing.  220 amps at 27 volts is 6,000 watts.  On a 220 breaker thats 27 amps draw.  I didn't make this up, thats simple math. lol.  For a 30 amp breaker at 220 volts you need a min of 10ga wire, and if the run is very long I'd use at least 8ga wire.  Lowes or Carter Lumber has such wire and its pretty much available everyday I think.   Now for the good stuff...... I think.Hooking up a portable generator to a fuse box with the method you describe isn't right man.  It's so un-right you could go to jail for a long time because of it.   Say the power is off and while working on the lines a lineman gets electrocuted because of power from a portable generator on the system.  The foreman goes looking for who has lights on and he finds you......  At the same time he finds you ain't hooked up legit......  He says, "you killed my lineman!!!!!!".  How can you defend that you didn't?  You can't.  You cannot confirm that you cannot hook up in such a way that you could of killed that lineman because it would only take you forgetting for an instant that you didn't switch off the main breaker before you powered on your generator.  Yes, you could of killed him and if you did then thats manslaughter and you go away for a long long time.  Also the power to your house gets shut off because it says in the book, "we can discontinue service if we find you have connected a generator in an unauthorized fashion". (?)  Get my drift????  Yes, you are stupid and you do need to come to your senses and do it right man.  It costs yes, but it's worth every penny if you don't kill anyone and you don't go to jail........What are you saving????  In my case (where I'm at and what I know.... $300.00 and an electrical inspection that cost me $75.00.   So, $375.00 and a little time and effort....  What am I saying?  A 200amp manual transfer switch and a decetated remote generator plug in.What else can I say...  Nothing. Good luck and may good luck be with you. lol Attached ImagesLast edited by slowhand; 11-28-2011 at 08:31 PM.
Reply:You dont even have to kill them have known a couple that have been knocked out one hung by rhe scare strap for about an hour till he came to. Have been told that if they find someone back feeding they will pull the fuse at the road and than wait till its "safe" for them to work on your stuff aka when they arfe darn good and ready.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Originally Posted by slowhandI've visited this thread a couple times so far and if you know me you know I just can't keep my mouth shut.  1st thing.  220 amps at 27 volts is 6,000 watts.  On a 220 breaker thats 27 amps draw.  I didn't make this up, thats simple math. lol.  For a 30 amp breaker at 220 volts you need a min of 10ga wire, and if the run is very long I'd use at least 8ga wire.  Lowes or Carter Lumber has such wire and its pretty much available everyday I think.   Now for the good stuff...... I think.Hooking up a portable generator to a fuse box with the method you describe isn't right man.  It's so un-right you could go to jail for a long time because of it.   Say the power is off and while working on the lines a lineman gets electrocuted because of power from a portable generator on the system.  The foreman goes looking for who has lights on and he finds you......  At the same time he finds you ain't hooked up legit......  He says, "you killed my lineman!!!!!!".  How can you defend that you didn't?  You can't.  You cannot confirm that you cannot hook up in such a way that you could of killed that lineman because it would only take you forgetting for an instant that you didn't switch off the main breaker before you powered on your generator.  Yes, you could of killed him and if you did then thats manslaughter and you go away for a long long time.  Also the power to your house gets shut off because it says in the book, "we can discontinue service if we find you have connected a generator in an unauthorized fashion". (?)  Get my drift????  Yes, you are stupid and you do need to come to your senses and do it right man.  It costs yes, but it's worth every penny if you don't kill anyone and you don't go to jail........What are you saving????  In my case (where I'm at and what I know.... $300.00 and an electrical inspection that cost me $75.00.   So, $375.00 and a little time and effort....  What am I saying?  A 200amp manual transfer switch and a decetated remote generator plug in.What else can I say...  Nothing. Good luck and may good luck be with you. lol
Reply:Several people have told me that their generators came with a cord with a plug on either end.One to plug into the generator and one that goes into a dryer recepticle.Not only can the user accidently energize the grid,but if the cord is plugged into the generator and not plugged into the dryer recepticle,they have live male plug prongs.To me, this is just asking for trouble.But it now seems to be a fairly common wayof connecting a generator.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:Usually the cord is to pulg into your transfor switch so your portable gen set isn't sitting outside waiting for someone to make it more portable. back feeding is not a good ideaMillermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer