Help me clear up some Welding questions...

[mrdrinksalil]

Someone offered me a 220v stick arc welder for free. Im thinking about putting a receptical in my garage to run it. However someone warned me that I would make a mess of my concrete driveway. Is there any truth to this? Also, is there a "standard" receptical I need incase I ever upgraded to a mig welder. I need a plug and receptical for this arc welder.

 

[84 K5 4x4]

I think this thread belongs in the tool section. But I havent had any issues with my welder tearing up the driveway. And for the receptical issue you need to go to home depot and find one and make sure its on 50amp circut because if it isn't you will be poping breakers ALOT!

 

[diesel4me]

might...

Someone offered me a 220v stick arc welder for free. Im thinking about putting a receptical in my garage to run it. However someone warned me that I would make a mess of my concrete driveway. Is there any truth to this? Also, is there a "standard" receptical I need incase I ever upgraded to a mig welder. I need a plug and receptical for this arc welder.

If you welded directly on the concrete surface,it might get hot enough to make some cement "pop" off and leave craters--a cutting torch will do the same thing on concrete..moisture in the concrete turns to steam and explodes little chunks of it off like blisters...

As for the power for an arc welder,the RIGHT way is to have a dedicated 50 amp circiut with at least 10 gauge wire,if less than 50 feet from the fuse box,heavier if further away..but you can get by with a home brew extension cord made of the same size wires, and put a plug on it that fits your clothes dryer outlet on one end,and an outlet that matches the welder plug on the other..they are only 30 amp rated(the dryer outlet),but not very often will you need more power than that....

Another alternative is if you have an electric stove outlet,those are 50 amp rated..if your lucky your home might have one,even if you have a gas stove! (we did, used to have propane,but went back to an electric stove!..and its outlet is buried behind the stove! )

I can run my 220V welder up to 100 amps on a 20 amp 220V circiut,(all I have available at the moment),and I have no trouble welding 1/4" thick steel..anything higher than 100 amps will trip[ the breaker though..I've welded everything I've had to without trouble,but I do hope to upgrade my wiring so I can use my welder all the way up to 225 amps,for cutting heavy steel...

 

[mrdrinksalil]

So as long as I'm not welding directly on the concrete. (using a welding table) I should be fine? I wont get marks all over the concrete from the hot slag and what not? My breaker box is right in the garage so I'll prolly just put a plug next to that, i was just wondering if most 220v welders use a common plug type.

 

[skyyk5]

So as long as I'm not welding directly on the concrete. (using a welding table) I should be fine? I wont get marks all over the concrete from the hot slag and what not? My breaker box is right in the garage so I'll prolly just put a plug next to that, i was just wondering if most 220v welders use a common plug type.

Most welders (used at home) just have a "dryer" 50 amp 220 volt plug on them. If you upgrade, alot of welders don't even come with the cord, so you can just put on what you need. Or if the new welder has everything , you can switch it to the plug you have, unless it uses more power (more than 50 Amps).

 

[goldwing2000]

My welders (both arc and MIG) don't leave slag marks or big potholes HOWEVER, they both tend to send little tiny pieces of slag into the pits, cracks and crevices of the concrete which will rust after the next rain. It's worse if you grind over the same area where you weld.
Worse yet if you don't sweep it up for a couple days... err... weeks (months?).
The concrete is technically still in good condition, it's just discolored.

I'd take a picture but it's covered with snow right now.

Doesn't bother me much.

But yeah... if your garage circuit isn't already rated for at least 50 amps (min 30 amps for the welder plus 20 more for other garage accessories), you'll need to run a new drop off the main breaker box or tie into a stove/dryer circuit as mentioned.
Just keep in mind that the longer the run, the heavier the gauge. 10 gauge will only get you about 25 feet max, IIRC.

 

[nocoasthardcore]

If the inside of your garage is sheetrock, you might consider some kind of angle flashing where it meets the floors and in the corners.
Wouldn't want to burn the puppy down.

 

[mrdrinksalil]

Yeah, I think I'm going to put in an outlet right next to the breaker box since its in the garage allready. The dryer circut is only 30A and the electric stove is 50A. I'll just put in another 60A breaker for the welder. I have a sheetrocked garage so running the cable inside the wall closer to the garage door isn't really an option. I'll just make an extension cord to bring the welder outside. I'll try to be good and use a magnet to clean up the concrete when I'm done so the concrete doesn't start to look like sh*t.

 

[88sub4x4]

I just pull out the shop vac. and vacuum my driveway area around where i weld. Gets most all of the little pieces of spatter up. My neighbors think I've gone a little crazy cause they don't know why I'm out there, but that just adds to the fun

 

[blazin_blazer]

just as stated about the water turning to steam and chips EXPLODE i have lost a friend to this horrific accident

he was using a cutting torch and while not cutting and not noing any better he laid the torch on the floor to use both hands(i suppose) but it blew a 6'' crater in the floor(it was 2 weeks old) and he caught a a piece about the size of a zippo up thru the eye and half way into his head...it seems the newer the concrete the worse the effect of this and i weld and top of my concrete and afte3r time it will cause little craters, just remember never aim a torch straight down on concrete while you having a look its dangerous!

 

[Pookster]

Im personally afraid of cutting torches... Something about explosive gasses scare me. Though I do use propane and MAPP gas...

I know we lost a family friend when I was really young, some oxyacetelne explosion of some sort. And this is why I refuse to do anything even close to it, and will stick with arc or mig welding where the gas is inert.

Welding on concrete in general isnt a great idea. Its a giant heat sink, makes your welding so much harder.

on that note, I am having trouble with mig... it seems that my puddles arent penetrating as much as I would like it to. dont have this problem with stick.. Even if I turn the speed down, and power up.. working on it, all new to me...