A question for the guys that know about welders and welding...

[Reidy02]

In this case Reidy, IMO, I think it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission from local government.  What kind of voltage/freq do you run in the land of OZ?  I'll check with the Chief later today about hooking it up over there, as we have 3 Miller Syncrowaves, and he knows an awful lot about them.  That's what he used on the ships in the Navy as well.

At the moment I run the welder I have on single phase 240 volt 15 amp, but at a push I could hook it up to 3 phase, but I would perfeer single phase. But as Fabr said that Bs about getting a fine is exactly that. Thanks for the help.

[Reidy02]

Most welders require a 50 amp service minimum whether . You WILL NOT want to run an adapter on your welder and just plug it into your wall outlet of 15 amps. You'll trip the breaker  all the time unless you just weld at very low amps like maybe 30 -40 amps.  Oz uses 240V 50Hz in all residential wiring. The US uses 220-240V 50Hz also but not for residential wiring ,we use 120-130V 50Hz. There is NO issue running your US welder in the land of Oz other than you will need a higher capacity 50 amp outlet and the associated 8 Ga. so wiring leading from main panel to the outlet .

Yeah Fabr I was looking around yesterday and found that there are all sorts of ways to run em you can go 415 volts 60 amps also single phase 240 volts as well as three phase, I guess it would depend on how you want it to perform hey? I just wanted to know what's involved to change it to run, firstly here in OZ, so it's Australian Standards compliant and what I have to do to change it from it's current format to the way I want it hooked up. I mean I know I'll have to change the power plug and chord, and I'm pretty certain I'll have to change something inside the machine, weather or not I'll have to fork over a large sum of cash so as to have it Australian Standards compliant remains to be seen but that's what I'm tipping, cause I really should have been a good boy and gone through a reputable dealer and paid them a large sum of money.

[fabr]

Just for grins and giggles. What is the normal amperage and voltage and phase(single or 3 phase)  used in Oz for residential electric cook stoves?

[fabr]

Yeah Fabr I was looking around yesterday and found that there are all sorts of ways to run em you can go 415 volts 60 amps also single phase 240 volts as well as three phase, I guess it would depend on how you want it to perform hey? I just wanted to know what's involved to change it to run, firstly here in OZ, so it's Australian Standards compliant and what I have to do to change it from it's current format to the way I want it hooked up. I mean I know I'll have to change the power plug and chord, and I'm pretty certain I'll have to change something inside the machine, weather or not I'll have to fork over a large sum of cash so as to have it Australian Standards compliant remains to be seen but that's what I'm tipping, cause I really should have been a good boy and gone through a reputable dealer and paid them a large sum of money.

No,it will perform the same no matter what input voltage you use.

[Reidy02]

No,it will perform the same no matter what input voltage you use.

Ah by that Fabr I ment if you've got like two inch thick plate you have to weld, you surely would need a greater input to be able to weld thicker guage material. A normal power socket is single phase 240 volt 10 amp. I had to have another power point put in my shed/shit filled hole that was single phase 240 volt 15amp for the welder I use now.

[fabr]

15 amp service limits the crap out of what you can do with the welder. Hell you're limited to about 1/3 of its' capabilities.

[Reidy02]

Yeah I sorta figured I'd have to go three phase, but in saying that the welder I use at the moment welds just fine in AC and DC

[Boostinjdm]

Yeah I sorta figured I'd have to go three phase,

Why?  What you need is a bigger branch run. 

[Reidy02]

Hey Boost ya sorta lost me there bud what do you mean? Would I have thicker material to weld on a run of say parts? I really just want to be able to do the thicker stuff if need be, but if it came to that i have an old stick welder I can use, just a bit of pre heating and hit it with the old stick, she'll be right. Actually when I was looking on the Miller site I remember seeing the machines minium thickness it could weld and it's maxium, would that be regardless of the input? Oh what I need is a bigger branch run. Ok you got me what are you talking about? I don't understand.

[fabr]

Reidy,it is apparent you haven't a clue about electricity. Due to that I'm not going to say anything more than -get an electrician to run a circuit of proper amp capacity before you kill yourself.I've told you all you need to know-IF you understood electricity. Since you don't-HIRE A PRO . 

[Grimm Reaper Racing]

+1

[Reidy02]

Reidy,it is apparent you haven't a clue about electricity. Due to that I'm not going to say anything more than -get an electrician to run a circuit of proper amp capacity before you kill yourself.I've told you all you need to know-IF you understood electricity. Since you don't-HIRE A PRO .

You don't think maybe something got lost in the translation ya smartarse! I thought that's what this site was about to help one another!

[Reidy02]

+1

You're a half smart little suck too Adam. I never said I knew alot about eletrical stuff no wonder most of the Aussies don't come back to this site! It's not as though you added anything of any value anyway. So don't bother speak'n to me.

[Reidy02]

Reidy,it is apparent you haven't a clue about electricity. Due to that I'm not going to say anything more than -get an electrician to run a circuit of proper amp capacity before you kill yourself.I've told you all you need to know-IF you understood electricity. Since you don't-HIRE A PRO .

I'm aware I can change the plug etc but it's still not Australian Standards Compliant and it has to do with the high freq start do you know anything about that Fabr since you seem to know all?

[fabr]

You don't think maybe something got lost in the translation ya smartarse!

Wasn't trying to be a smart ass at all. There is nothing lost in the translation. The terminlogy is the same here as there. Nothing to translate. You seem determined to run the welder off the household 15 amp 220v service as you have with with your small welder . That is a no-no anywhere in the world. It is also a no-no to have run anything other than a very,very  small hobby welder off the household service that you have been apparently doing. Yes you get away with it at low welder amperage settings but you are asking for trouble. Yes you will get away with it on the miller also  at much lower yet amp settings.  I found this at another site. It TELLS you what you need to know/do. It's the same thing I have been saying.




Hi all,

This is my first post, I hope someone out there can help.

I recently purchased a miller syncrowave 250dx tig welder, and rented a back room of a mechanic shop in east texas. I plan on building some motorcycles for myself and some friends and I always wanted a nice tig like I've used at work, at home.

The shop is not wired for the welder. It has a 220v main service. The welder according to the manufacturer requires a 125amp time delay breaker in order to use the full range of it's abilities. I do plan on welding some thick aluminum so wiring with this in mind seems reasonable to me. 6 gauge wire is what is recommended for hooking the welder in. The welder is located aprox. 15 feet from the box.

The questions I have are, should I install a sub box with my welder on a separate circuit? What type of wire should I run to the welder. What brand of subbox and breaker should I buy? Any electricians on this board have some advice for me, I would appreciate it.

I am able to buy the materials but with my current finances hiring a professional is not an option.

However being pretty concerned with not dying, I want to have all my ducks in a row before I get started. If you folks have any ideas on how to get more information from other sources like nec codes let know that too as well. thanks!

If you want the owners manual that tells you all about input voltage and amperage required by the machine you can follow the instructions below and have a pdf copy to look at.

go to web site: millerwelds.com
Select "product" in pull down menu
Scroll alphabetically to locate Syncrowave 250 DX
Select owners manual for this machine
Find "electrical connection"
There will be a chart describing breaker size, and wire sizes.


I wrote miller and they responded with,


On 230 volt single phase primary power use a 125 amp time delay breaker.
If you will not require full output of the machine you can use a 100 amp time delay breaker.
Wire size for 230 volt primary should be 6 gauge.
Thank you for contacting Miller


Jack Fulcer
Business Development Manager
Miller Electric Mfg Company- Tig Business
N822 Communication Drive
Appleton, WI 54914
Business: 920-954-3616
FAX : 920-954-3633
E-mail : Jfulce@millerwelds.com