Today my Thermal Arc shows up in the mail all nice and new and I can't wait to get my hands on it and see how she lays a bead. Then I run into the problem of my wall outlet for the 220 is the wrong style and have to change either the wall or the welder. So I head down to the hardware store and get a new male plug for the welder to be compatible with what I already have. So far so good.

I get everything all set up and plug in the welder and flip the switch.... Nothing happens... Then a constant ringing alarm goes off giving me an error code for poor voltage/voltage fluctuations. GAH!

So I grab the multimeter and start probing the 220 socket to see what is going on and I find that across both hots I have 184volts and from one hot to ground I have 90volts. I figured something in my shop was sucking all the juice and I tried killing the power to everything on the breaker only to get the same readings. At this point I am lost and very sad that I can't play with my new toy.

If anyone knows a solution, or who to complain to (electrician? power company?) fell free to help me out I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

 

I am in no way an expert but in my field of work we have the same problem sometimes with low voltage. We can get away with using a buck booster sometimes and I dont know what the real name is but all the electricians we deal with call themn the same thing?They boost the voltage and that might help you a little bit?I am sure someone in here will chime in with some info the guys in here usually do

 

interesting, i don't seem to have that problem. I had my neighbor, the electrician wire it up. What thickness wire are you running? I dunno if that would make a difference.

I would get a certified electrician.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So I grab the multimeter and start probing the 220 socket to see what is going on and I find that across both hots I have 184volts and from one hot to ground I have 90volts. I figured something in my shop was sucking all the juice and I tried killing the power to everything on the breaker only to get the same readings. At this point I am lost and very sad that I can't play with my new toy.

If anyone knows a solution, or who to complain to (electrician? power company?) fell free to help me out I would really appreciate it.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Your voltage wouldnt drop if another device was on. Your load would go up and it would kill the fuse/snap a circuit breaker. Voltage isnt like water/air that if you used something the pressure in the other outlet would drop.

I'd suggest calling up an electricican, you're obviously not qualified for this job and electricity is a very easy thing to get killed by.

 

Low voltage either means that the gague wire that was run is too small, or its too long. Just out of concern for safety/performance, what is your 220 breaker amperage, and what are the requirements of the machine?

 

Ryan, Try hooking up your weldor anyways, they have their own trouble codes like e12 and e14 symbolize a low voltage code which we experienced today, I think the first starts were tripping the breaker.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboSI56 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ryan, Try hooking up your weldor anyways, they have their own trouble codes like e12 and e14 symbolize a low voltage code which we experienced today, I think the first starts were tripping the breaker.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ryanthegreat1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Today my Thermal Arc shows up in the mail all nice and new and I can't wait to get my hands on it and see how she lays a bead. Then I run into the problem of my wall outlet for the 220 is the wrong style and have to change either the wall or the welder. So I head down to the hardware store and get a new male plug for the welder to be compatible with what I already have. So far so good.

I get everything all set up and plug in the welder and flip the switch.... Nothing happens... Then a constant ringing alarm goes off giving me an error code for poor voltage/voltage fluctuations. GAH!

So I grab the multimeter and start probing the 220 socket to see what is going on and I find that across both hots I have 184volts and from one hot to ground I have 90volts. I figured something in my shop was sucking all the juice and I tried killing the power to everything on the breaker only to get the same readings. At this point I am lost and very sad that I can't play with my new toy.

If anyone knows a solution, or who to complain to (electrician? power company?) fell free to help me out I would really appreciate it.

Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

go to the main breaker in the house to see what the voltage coming in to the house is; so if its 184v you got a crappy connection coming in to your house, if its 208-240 at the main then its the wiring going to outlet that is sub par and needs to be replaced. the other options like the other said is for a Buck / Booster to bump you up depending on the kva needed for the welder run you a few hundred dollars. I paid about $350 for a 45KVA 208 3p to 480 3p Transformer good luck with the new toy

 

The plug on the welder is 220v 50 amp. If you wire it to a 30 amp "dryer" outlet it may not work.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The plug on the welder is 220v 50 amp. If you wire it to a 30 amp "dryer" outlet it may not work.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It requires a 30 amp breaker for tig 40 amp for stick I run mine on a 30 amp all day long without a flinch. It sounds like you have something wired up wrong or incorrectly so I would reccomend for you to call an electrician

 

Alright, Mr. Electrical Engineer here. Let's set some of this straight.

If there's another load elsewhere, it most certainly can lower the voltage throughout that circuit, if not the entire shop. (When my neighbor's air-conditioning goes on I see our lights blink.)

Also, the wire size isn't an issue at all since his welder is drawing virtually nothing - he isn't welding - from the wall when he's measuring things.

Have an electrician check what's going on back at the fuse panel first; it's possible it's been wrong a really long time due to how connections were made back at the transformer on the pole (or in the box on the curb.)

 

Ok my setup is about 3 feet of 8 gauge wire right off the breaker and to a junction box with a 60 amp breaker dedicated to the welder. Then the 10 or so foot cable that came installed on the welder. This voltage was measured at the breaker panel and every other 220 circuit.

I did manage to get the welder over to a friends house to give it a shot and seemed to work great on a 30 amp breaker where the voltage was about 226. (I know breaker size has nothing to do with it working)

So I guess I will be giving a call to the power company and find out why there are not supplying me with the proper voltage.

Thanks for all the information so far.

 

give some feedback on the welder once you get the electricity situation taken care of.
i'm thinking of buying one of these. about $600 cheaper then the HTP invertig 201.

 

From the little bit of use that I have gotten out of the machine it seems like a really nice product, the Thermal Arc 185TSW. It is loaded with all kinds of features and they are easy to setup and understand. I was only able to strike an arc for a short period of time as I didn't want to cause damage to a 30amp circuit so I really can't say much about how well it can lay a bead. Oh and I am no professional welder but I am taking classes and should be getting some decent use out of the welder soon. My reason for picking the Thermal Arc was so I could grow into the capabilities of the machine and make full use of them as I learn.

 

You'll be happy with the TA185. It's a great machine. Your wallet will thank you. The inverter machines use less power to run. The only thing that I disliked on the TA185 was the ground cable. You might want to get a better grounding cable. I had some problems with my old cable and it just wasn't giving a good ground and I had all sorts of problems with welding. You can PM me with any questions or settings you want to go thru. I'm not a great welder but my stuff is functional. It just doesn't look like a robot did it. Good luck.

John

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ryanthegreat1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">From the little bit of use that I have gotten out of the machine it seems like a really nice product, the Thermal Arc 185TSW. It is loaded with all kinds of features and they are easy to setup and understand. I was only able to strike an arc for a short period of time as I didn't want to cause damage to a 30amp circuit so I really can't say much about how well it can lay a bead. Oh and I am no professional welder but I am taking classes and should be getting some decent use out of the welder soon. My reason for picking the Thermal Arc was so I could grow into the capabilities of the machine and make full use of them as I learn.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It would be fine on a 30 amp circuit thats what i run mine on and ive never even managed to blow the breaker. Although I have never had it up to 185 amps ,but you will love the machine its awsome

 

YAY! I finally got the power company out to my place and what ever they did worked. I know have nearly 240 volts on a 60 amp breaker. I doubt I will ever use all of that!

Got to spend a couple of hours laying welds down on scrap mild steel and aluminum. This is a very nice machine to work with, very consistent and oh so easy to setup. I have to say I am very happy with my purchase. Now I just have to get my hands on some Stainless....

Thanks for all he help and ideas everyone!

 

220 60 amps single phase.. is what you wanted.

Sorry i didnt see this thread earlier, but atleast you got it going, first mistake you did was CHANGE THE PLUG ON THE WELDER.. dude NEVER do that.. You must match the plug on the welder to a plug on the wall.

Atleast you will know that for next time, goodluck with the machine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HamiltonRex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">220 60 amps single phase.. is what you wanted.

Sorry i didnt see this thread earlier, but atleast you got it going, first mistake you did was CHANGE THE PLUG ON THE WELDER.. dude NEVER do that.. You must match the plug on the welder to a plug on the wall.

Atleast you will know that for next time, goodluck with the machine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yah of if you dont want to mod the wall or the welder, make a conversion harness, with a matching female end for the welder, a short section of wire, and then the mating male end to the wall.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eddiebx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yah of if you dont want to mod the wall or the welder, make a conversion harness, with a matching female end for the welder, a short section of wire, and then the mating male end to the wall.</TD></TR></TABLE>

again.. NO DONT DO THIS! Chances are if the plug wont fit into the receptacle its not the proper kind of receptacle! You must change the socket in the wall and make sure the wiring gauge/amperage is sufficent.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HamiltonRex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

again.. NO DONT DO THIS! Chances are if the plug wont fit into the receptacle its not the proper kind of receptacle! You must change the socket in the wall and make sure the wiring gauge/amperage is sufficent.</TD></TR></TABLE>

sorry i was thinking the same thing, that swapping the plug on the welder end might be a bad idea because of connector rating issues, and it didnt hit me that the wall would be a different rating too

 

But it's not right to say that a different plug is wrong simply because it's different. If a connector has to be changed, as long as it can handle the current you'll be fine.

 

Yes I used a plug that can handle the current, it is rated at 50 amps. Thanks for the concern though.