PDA

View Full Version : 211v enough for mig??



benboy
24th Aug 2006, 06:02 PM
Thanks for the replies fellas
I couldn't post on the old thread by pushing "submit reply". What am I doing wrong?

The problem with the power supply is when the grid was being established in the area 45 years ago, the power company would only take their wires to the property boundary and we had to pay for the rest of the distance. So we have a private spur line of 550m of 2 wires (6 or 7 strands) of 1/4 in diameter. Combine that with the fact that the nearest transformer is 500m beyond that (1050m altogether) and you can see why there is a voltage drop. A nieghbour who was in the same boat bit the bullet 2 years ago and paid for the power company to extend it's lines right up to his back door with a transformer as well. The cost? $15000!! I know I should do the same but I'm too tight! It does mean though that I can't use anything that uses a bit of juice (electrical heating, welder, air-con etc.) Fridges and freezers? Surprisingly they seem to last OK. I have a GE 13cu ft freezer that's worked non-stop for 33 years on the original compressor.

So no small MIG eh?

How about this as an option (A question for the sparkys out there.)

On the American Lincoln website they have small MIGs (25-135amps) that run on 110v. Could I import one and run it with a 240-110 step down transformer? How much are the transformers worth? Is such a thing possible or do I need the full 240v to begin with?

Thanks
Benboy

Schtoo
25th Aug 2006, 12:40 AM
Genset or new cables.

They are your two choices, and if you need confirmation of where the advice is coming from, I can give you an invoice with my Sparky number on it.

I have a small welder here that runs on either 100v or 200v. I tried it on 100V when I first got it. Didn't work, and I could have thrown the welder and hit the tranny from where I plugged it in. Ran a small 200V circuit to run the welder, problem solved.

The simple fact is that the supply you have now simply WILL NOT run a welder that uses a transformer to generate the welding current. You might get away with a good inverter welder, but I sure as heck wouldn't be risking one if I was paying for it.

It is not a case of not enough voltage, that's the obvious part of the problem.

The wires you have are not big enough from tranny to your shed, so they can't carry the current and will get warm/hot. As they get hot, their resitance increases, and since they are small already, that resistance gets higher and higher. The wires are already too long so have massive resitance adding to an already 'too big' problem. Your voltage begins to drop, so the welder tries to pull more juice to make up the voltage shortfall, making it all worse. In the end, before something fails completely, I would not be at all surprised if the voltage at the plug drops below 100v.

So, you either cough up for bigger wires (or convince the power company to install a tranny on your property!!!), use a generator or make your current genny welder runa mig wire setup.

And I don't think you can afford cables big enough at current prices, even ally cables.

benboy
25th Aug 2006, 02:06 PM
OK thanks for the advice Schtoo

Benboy