[AT] Wire size for welder?? Help welder people!

[John Wilkens]

My old buzz box (230V, 225 amp max output) runs on a 40 amp 230 V 
breaker.  Does that mean there is 40 amp protection or 20 amp protection on 
each leg of the 230 volt circuit?     John



At 12:24 PM 12/08/2004, you wrote:
>At 12/7/04 8:52:00 PM, you wrote:
> >Hi John
> >You should use 6 gauge wire, 10 gauge on your buzz box sounds way too
> >light. What's the input amps on your buzz box, what size breaker are
> >you using?
> >
> >Ron
>
>
>
>         Actually if you look at any Lincoln "buzz box" made in the last 
> 20 years and look carefully at that big
>heavy input wire and molded plug that the factory puts on them you will 
>see that the wire is only 12 gauge.   :-)
>         I ran one successfully for several years (many years ago) on 10-3 
> fused with a pair of 30 amp slow blow
>fuses. Of course I was not doing production welding with that rig and 
>would not have tried. Greg was right
>about what is needed and what is well to use. If you do production welding 
>go heavier but I doubt 1 in 50 on
>this list have even a remote need for that kind of capacity. It reminds me 
>of a fellow I knew that used his huge
>4 wheel drive Versitile to grind pig feed with...
>         The propensity of this group to shoot for massive overkill with 
> its resultant waste of money keeps me
>chuckling... Be sure it is heavy enough but a factor of 10X or 20X 
>overkill doesn't make you any safer than
>adequate + a little better. Some guys like to add up the power 
>requirements of every tool on the shop and size
>the service for that. I don't know about you guys but I can use a circle 
>saw with one hand, a sabre saw in the
>other and just maybe a drill between my knees Other than that and maybe a 
>broom handle up my ass to
>sweep the floor with that is about all of the tools I can use at the same 
>time...   ;-)    The rest just sit there
>using no power until I shut off something I'm using.
>
>
>
>"farmer"
>
>
>Francis Robinson
>Central Indiana USA
>robinson at svs.net
>
>
>
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                    In the wide-open spaces of NE Oregon