Power to the people, er...well, to the garage, at least

[John Ranalletta]

Finally got 220v service to the unattached garage to run a couple of woodworking machines that have been sitting unused since Sep '12.

 

Thought about doing it myself but stopped after digging a trench, burrowing under a sidewalk and installing 1.5" conduit, piercing the foundation walls, etc.

 

Two electricians showed up yesterday and installed a sub panel with one 20A circuit and an outlet. I could never had done it safely. Two guys working 3 hours w/o breaks did work that would have taken me a day and posed the risk of screwing something up. Good for them.

 

Now, I'm thinking I need a MIG rig to play with.

[SuperG]

that sounds like a plan.

what size wire did you run out to that 20A breaker?

I am no electrician but running along skinny wire and running high load like a welder can cause some pretty good voltage drop.

 

 

Forget the MIG, go for a TIG. If you want to play with something it gives countless hours of play. It can do many more thing (alu, stainless, braze with silicon bronze where low heat is needed - thinner material), mild steel of course.

And my favorite! you can lay some serious heat quickly on metal (moving the arc/torch around without adding filler material), if you need to get something red/white hot for bending or shaping.

If you just starting out with welding, learning TIG is harder but 10 times more rewarding than MIG.

MIG/FLUX is great for for fast productions on mild steel, alu or stainless requires special gas and mig-gun.

Thermal arc -advanced square wave TIG is may favorite. Small form, light portable, inverter based Ac/DC TIG/Stick welder.

I think everybody should own at least one!

[John Ranalletta]

The wire is Southwire SER Aluminum Three Conductor With Bare Ground, 3/AWG 2, 1/AWG 4. I think it has a 100A capacity. I've only had one 20A circuit installed for the saws, the largest of which pulls 15A. I think there's enough cap. for a Mig or Tig. Heck, the videos I've seen of some of the 120v units are amazing. The could run on a genset.