Anything welding

Thank you for the help, I’ll look into that.

 

More to come......

 

Always Double Check with your Meter.

That is the only way to be 100% sure.

I see strange things all to often favorite is using a Hot leg for ground

 

Not me I am not the Artist type.

Speaking of Anvils the Sperm Donor borrowed one from Bethlehem Steel mid seventies between the Big Cast Iron Base and the Anvil my 3/4 Ton Chevy had a load. It was loaded with a nice Fork Lift It never moved from where it landed unloading .

A few years Later I working across the country Never says a word sells it The person who bought it gets killed in a freak accident it vanishes

 

Hi there.
master electrician here, the plug and receptacle that you have is 50 amp rated, while the wire in your wall is #10 which is only rated for 30 amps. Also if you don’t have a way to fuse down the one hot leg and you tap into the neutral not used by your welder, you will effectively have a 110v receptacle capable of drawing whatever sized breaker the welder is tied to. I’d just cap the neutral and stuff it in the box, get a 30 amp receptacle and cord cap, or find a different way to feed the welder.

 

He should be just fine with his 50 amp plug and a 30 amp breaker which that circuit most likely has.

Max input is only 24 Amps on 240 VAC at full output.

Just easier to use the Factory input cord with the 50 amp plug unless your going for a longer input cord

 

I have never been able to figure out why welder manufacturers need to put those 50 amp plugs on their machines. It just confused things. Most welders run just fine on 30 amps.

 

Did you not say one of the Miller Reps lives close pose your question to them.

1 input cord for a wide range of models that is what I was told by one of my favorite Miller tech support people

As it is a molded plug saves money and law suits .

Not every person buying a entry level machine could install a input cord why add even more costs to a machine having a input cord and plug installed

Most of the more advanced come with no input cords

 

Yeah, one of my friends is an Air Gas vice president of the region. I've asked him. He doesn't know or doesn't care.

All I know is when I get a new welder, that 50 amp plugs and the cord it's attached to are in the scrap pile asap.

10 gauge stranded along with a 30 amp twist lock for the win.

 

yeah it will probably work with that outlet on a 30 amp breaker. There is a difference between work fine and NEC compliant though.

 

Slow progress.

 

Which part violates the NEC? If the overcurrent device is rated at less than the ampacity of the conductor, then I don't see a problem.

 

you have conductors that are rated for 30a, a breaker (maybe) rated for 30a, and a plug and receptacle rated for 50a. the whole circuit needs to be rated for the piece of equipment being used by it, not just some of it.

I just opened my code book to a section i guess I've never looked at, Article 630, Electric Welders. 630.12(A) leads a little insight as to why the cord is over sized on many machines.

 

Yeah. My AHP 200x manual says not to cut the plug off or else the warranty is voided.

 

The danger only exists if the overcurrent device is rated less than the conductor. If for some reason the welder did pull more than 30A and the conductor/insulation was at risk, the breaker would trip. There would be a code violation if the overcurrent device was, for example, 50A and the conductor was rated for 30A. In that case, the conductor would melt/burn and the breaker wouldn't trip.

I am not finding a code reference that states that you CANT. I am seeing this...



Am I missing something? Anyone have any specific code references that forbid this install?

 

210.32, and 210.23 (A)(1) is a place to start. The Whole circuit has to be rated for the same load. The ampacity of the conductor isn’t what’s at question here, and that table is an addendum to table 310.16, which isn’t really relevant here. The bottom line is if you have a 50 amp receptacle, you need wire and a breaker sized for 50 amps to meet code in this instance.

 

I've never been able to find one either. Have looked for years.

 

Hence, I Chuck the plug and cord. There are no conductors larger than 10 in any of my welding/cutting equipment.

 

Easy, don't cut it off. Replace cord and plug from inside the welder. Keep the original, uncut cord and plug on the shelf if you need to send it in.

 

Close...

210.23 only applies to circuits with multiple outlet branch circuits.

210.22 applies to individual branch circuits.

*assuming* that this is the only outlet/receptacle on this circuit and that one can prove that the load (welder) draws less than 30A, this installation is acceptable.