When considering stuff like this, you also have to look at the main panel to
see if it is overloaded and the line coming into the house. The whole chain
delivers the current. If there is a restriction anywhere in the flow, that's
where the fire will occur. :>) Have an experienced electrician give everything
a once-over.
Jon
Eugene D Abbondelo wrote:
>
> Shop-talkers: a few months ago I picked up an arc welder at a neighbors
> moving sale. It's an older Lincoln model AC-225-S, which you probably
> all have seen as the big red box with the top corners cut at a 45 degree
> angle. Its output is AC only , 225 amps max. My question comes with
> the input:
>
> The input is 220 volts, 50 amps. The circuit to my home garage is 40
> amps using # 8 gauge wire that is in cable form, not conduit. When I
> went to the electrical supply store to buy a 50 amp receptacle and
> utility box the salesman said 50 amps input required a # 6 wire, but
> that if I didn't intend to use the max output of 225 amps (and I
> don't--I'd probably use between 75 to 120 amps output) I would probably
> be ok with leaving the #8 wire and not running anything else in the
> garage at the same time that draws a lot of current.
>
> Any thoughts on #8 vs #6 in this situation? I'd really like to avoid
> having to run another line out to the garage.
>
> PS The #8 run from my main house panel to the garage subpanel is about
> 40-45 feet.
>
> In the near future, I'd like to get a small 220 volt mig machine for
> sheet metal on up to about 1/8 but my understanding is that these
> machines only require about 40 amps input.
>
> Thanks for any help
>
> Gene
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