I might should be contacting a home improvement website, but with all the talk about Welders on the Forum lately I hope this is appropriate here... How easy/difficult is it to install a 220V outlet from my junction box in the garage? Or should I just call an electrician for saftey's sake? I'm not inept around the house, and I 'm always changing fixtures and stuff, but I don't want to endanger my family or home. Thanks for any advice or web links.

 

do u have 220 volts to the garage?

 

I have to say, I don't know. No 220 in the garage, but of course, I have 220 for the dryer and stove. How can I tell? Thanks.

 

is there a fuse panel in the garage? if so you will have to use two fuses to give you 220 volts, 2 live wires and a neutral.
if there is only one fuse to the garage(in the house panel or the garage )you have only 110 volts and you will need to have some electrical work done.

 

when I built my detached garage I put it on a seperate 60A breaker from the house and ran that to the garage. 2 years later (this past week coincidentally) I ran a 40A breaker in my detached garage box for my Lincoln 220 welder and plasma cutter. Always good to plan ahead!

 

also make sure the wires are guaged right for the amps..... i believe that most homes are 15 amp 110 rated....so if you want to run a 220 with a 20 amp, i believe you have to up the guage for the wire....not sure what size (12?)...but if u do a 60amp 220 then u might have to check a wire gauge book......... i got zapped by a 220 before doing electrical for summer work....... it blew a hole in my cutters and welded them shut and i saw spots for a few days.... and it scared the sh*t out of me....

make sure you are not standing in water....hehe

and have rubber soles

b

 

Home Depot sells some really nice illustrated home improvement books. They have a big general book that's $30-$40 and a number of smaller books focusing on a single topic like electirical work, plumbing and flooring that run $15-$20. You might want to check one of them out and see if you feel comfortable with the work.

 

Hmmm. I may be treading on hallowed electrician's ground. Pardon the pun. I have a fuse box in the garage and I see where two 110 switches have been dedicated to the dryer. I remember when I was younger we couldn't run the dryer when the 220 compressor or welder was running. I hate to mess anything up. or get fried. I'll look into a electrical book and then decide whether I should call the electrician. Thanks very much for your replies.

 

u could always run the wires/outlet and have the electrician/friend tap the box...... that's what i would do......

b

 

If you do not know how to tell if you have 220 in your breaker box in the garage don't mess with it. You can not see electric current and it will bite you very easily if you put your hands in the wrong place.
I hope you understand I am not trying to be rude or mean but you would be better off leaveing it alone.

Watch the person work and ask some general questions while you have someone install your 220 outlet. Then you will have a general idea how the breaker box is layed out.

 

I am a 40 year master electrician....still hold a license and do consulting and assistance even tho retired. If you wish I'd be happy to answer and instruct but I need more info. I'm sure you can install it...but a number of questions need to be addressed. If you want to send me a private message with a phone number or email I would be happy to help.

 

Hey Guys, 20 amp for #12, 30 amp #10, 40 amp #8, 50 amp #6, of course you need to check the data plate for min/max draw, but the wire sizes are for breaker size, so that should either get you going or get you lost,ha, if i can help let me know and i'll help any way i can,Terry

 

then contact Johnny Whitney above

 

There may be more work involved than you expect. First off the welding circuit needs to be powered from a seperate breaker installed in your house panel. It's possible your house panel has no spare spaces for another breaker. The simple fix is to use tandem breakers to power four existing 120v circuits, this will allow two empty spaces for your new 220v circuit. It's also possible you need a 4 conductor wire for your welding circuit, 2 hots -1 neutral- 1 equipment ground. The welding manual will tell you this. All stoves, cooktops, dryer circuits now require a 4 conductor wire, it's possible your welder does too. A qualified electrician will know these things. Look at it this way.......let's say you wanted a vasectomy. Just to save a few dollars you wouldn't ask your neighbor who is a tree trimmer by trade to perform it would you? Good luck!

 

CALL AN ELECTRICIAN!!!!!!

120 is one thing.... but you can seriously hurt yourself here... and even worse, risk burning your house down.

 

theres a nameplate on everything at least theres supposed to be, it tells you #1 the voltage requirements of the device,the kw, and or the amp draw.,,,, watts = amps x volts so if you know something is 220 volt and 440 watt divide the two so it draws 2 amps...if a 100 watt light bulb is in a 110 volt outlet 100 w divided by 110 volts=.91 amps it will draw which is called ohms law ,,, if you know any 2 you can figure out the 3rd..so if the welder you are looking at is 220 volt and 8kw whick is 8000 watts(kw is watts to the 3rd power) or 8000 ,,,so 8000 divided by 220 =36.36 amps........... when you want to run the cable to feed this amp draw you figure it by 80 %----80 % of 40 amps is 32amps,, your at 36 amps (for 8 kw)so your over the 80 % ,by 4 amps,,so you go to the next size up... #6 cable ,,,cuz,, # 8 is only good for 40 amps ,,even thou 36 amps is under the 40 amps ,,#8 is not good for the 8 kw because of the derating(the 80 %) #6 is good for 60 amps but that also gets derated by 80% so #is safely good for 48 amps derated value even thou #6 goes on a 60 amp breaker, you are not supposed to pull a load more than 80 %....as far as hooking up a welder it gets 2 hots on different phases---a 2 pole breaker picks up both phases so its 110 +110 = 220 volt...you wont need a neutral,,,youll need a ground w it unless theres a 110v fan in the welder for cooling then youll need 4 wire 2 hots 1 neutral 1 grd,,,,now do you wanna know about 3 phase?-ive been doing this for almost 30 years now,,,call a electrican and have him put a sub panel in your garage... do you have 200 amps coming in your house? put a 100 sub panel off a 2 pole 100 amp breaker and put a mail lug only paNEL IN THE GARAGE AND YOUR DONE,,then put a junction box below the panel to feed the welder,,get the lights off the house circut put them in the garage panel...you can get 3 #3's in a 1 inch metal conduit because there not service entrance conductors,,if they were then it would have to be a 1 1/4''---that means a service good luck 110 volts is a tingle,,,220 really stings,,,ive been hit w/ 480,,it will blow your hands off,,i knew a guy who was hit w/ 480 and it blew his knees out of his body the left side of his face was gone,,and he feet got burned,,now that you know that do you know why us union electricans are pissed off ,,,that a drywall hanger makes more money per hr than a foreman electrican!!! thats no bull shiz,we used to be the higest paid trade under iron workers in 1978..we went down the shiz tube,,, no friggen respect,, and im not kidding,,, its disgusting ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, carl

 

Call an electrician. This is the best way to get burned or killed I can think of right now. If you've never had any electrical training then please don't try it.

 

Depending on where you live, the biggest danger in hooking up a 220v outlet by yourself, aside from the possbility of death, is your home insurance company. If you wire up a 220v outlet yourself and there happens to be a fire that can be attributed to irregularities in the wiring, your insurance company may refuse to pay for damages. It's probablyworth the expense to hire an elecrician, get whatever permits are necessary, and get the outlet installed legally.

Remember that the home centers provide all kinds of information on how to install things yourself because they want to sell hardware. They could care less if what you are doing is in compliance with local codes.



Rick B.

 

tell me about it! menards sold my son gas pipe to exhaust a wood stove,,,its meAnt for gas not wood stove,,,it melted and i caught it before he burned down his house,,,those jokers dont know shiz from beans thats why there there,,,when someone needs electric hooked up at home depo guess who home depo calls -------- ME,,,AND IM GETTING SICK OF THESE CHEAP ASZEZ ... THEY ALL WANT IT DONE FOR NOTHING .. GO LOOK HOW MUCH WIRE COST SINCE CATRIANA HIT... 50 BUCKS A 500 FOOT ROLL FOR 12 GUAGE ,, WHEN I PUT MY WIRE CART OUT FOR A PULL IN A KITCHEN ,,I GOT 600 BUCKS SITTIN ON THE FLOOR .. 35 BUCKS FOR 100 FEET OF I/2 THINWALL,USED TO BE 9 BUCKS BEFORE THE WAR ,,, PRICES TRIPLED FOR MY MATERIAL ..BUT THE COST W/ LABOR///NO ONE GOT ANY MONEY TO PAY!(I CANT WAIT TILL IM RETIRED AND GROWIN TOMATOES!!! CAN STICK THIS TRADE YOU KNOW WHERE LET THEM WIRE THE CRAP THEMSELVES AND BURN DOWN THER HOUSE,,HOMEOWNERS ARE THE TIGHTEST POCKETS IN THE WORLD

 

You did not state whether or not your garage is attached to the house or detached. This will make a big difference in hooking up a 220 line. If you have a detached garage and the current (no pun intended) wires run underground....you may have a big problem..
One other item: is the junction box in the garage, if attached to the house, your main box.