any welders out there

I have a lincoln power mig, and when I was using .025 wire it was welding perfectly, but once I switched to .030 wire it started popping my breaker every few minutes. Im curious if using .030 draws more power and thats why its tripping my breaker?

 

What size breaker do you have it plugged into and what else is on the same circuit? I'm assuming 110v?

 

have you adjusted the power settings on the welder to make it burn properly?

 

only time mine pops the breaker is when the wire isn't burning fast enough and sticks

 

I have a 20 amp breaker, and yes it is 110V

 

Yeah, I have played with the settings and it is running incredibly and laying down some nice welds. Just randomly it wants to trip the breaker every so often.

 

Are you using an extension cord?

 

I assumed as much but had to ask

 

Maybe switch out the 20a for a 30a but first turn the juice up and wire speed a little. It shouldn’t pop or stick it ought to sound like bacon frying

 

Don't do this unless you know the wire in the wall is rated for it.

 

What else is on the same circuit?

 

True but I’d hope he has at least 12/2 in the walls and it’s not 30a 220. But this is why I check with an electrician first

 

I have another brand. It was tripping a 20 amp (110v) breaker occasionally. I replaced the 12 gauge wire with 10 gauge and replaced the breaker with a 30 amp unit. Works great. My guess is your welder is a bit more than the circuit can safely handle. I doubt the welding wire size is the cause.

 

Is it warm where you are ??

I have run into problems like this when AC compressors kick on .

Depending where you live how the Electrical grid is The Line Voltage drops enough to cause the current draw to increase tripping the breaker .

Why would you want to go with bigger wire ??

.030 wire will need more output from your welder .

After so many times tripping the breaker will trip easier every time.

 

Hope I’m not stepping on any toes here, but I read “welding” in the title and couldn’t help myself...

.030” wire is larger than .025” diameter wire (obviously). There will definitely be a greater current requirement to weld with it. The welding that you are talking about is the GMAW (MIG) short circuit metal transfer mode. That means that the electrode wire actually makes contact with the base metal during welding, creating a “dead short”. That dead short is then cleared by the welding power source by supplying the required amperage to do so. This happens up to 200 times/second, resulting in the “bacon frying” sound that we are used to hearing when the parameters are properly set. The larger diameter wire will require a somewhat proportionate increase in welding current to clear the “dead short” during the welding process. That extra current requirement is likely what is causing the breaker to trip. Another reason this may be happening intermittently could be due to the variance in electrical resistance in the welding circuit that comes with inconsistency in nozzle to work distance.

Just my thoughts...