Electric Welder Circuit Sizes
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How to Plan the Electrical Circuit Wiring for Your Welder © By: Dave Rongey |
Planning a Circuit for an Electric Welder
[ad#block]Question: I want to run a small inverter welder 120 volt in my home,
Here are the specifications for my welder:
- Input: 120 volts
- 20 amps (120 volts)
- 21 amps (240 volts)
- Single phase
- 60 Hz
- Would 12/2 Romex wire about 25′ suffice, or do I need to use 10/2 Romex?
- I have the old screw in fuse box, maybe I can find a line with a thirty amp fuse in it.
- Would a 20 amp fuse work?
I understand about other loads which may be connected to it.
Also, about how many amps can those old cloth covered oily wires in old houses running out of the fuse box usually carry ?
Save me having to measure the gauge, the wiring in this house is a nightmare, someday I will rewire it.
Thanks.
This electrical question came from: Mike, a Homeowner from Phila. PA.
Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical question Mike.
Planning an Electrical Circuit for Your Welder
- You really should rewire and get rid off that old house wire.
- The specs about the welder show 120 or 240 volt, so that will depend if you will be running a 120 or 240 volt circuit.
- You should double check your specs because they do not look entirely correct, because the amps for 240 volt should be about half that of the 12o volt, so you need to verify this.
- The #12 gauge Romex is good for 20 amps, and #10 gauge Romex is good for 30 amps.
- I would not advise using an existing circuit with the older house wire for your welder circuit.
- Also, the capacity of the existing old house wire depends on the wire gauge, but I would not trust it very much because it is so old and who know what kind of work has been done to the wiring over the years.
- If you do not plan on rewiring soon, I would urge you to install smoke detectors as well.
Home Electrical Wire
Electrical Wire for the Home
Complete listing of electrical wire types and parts used for home projects
with electrical code information serves as selection guidelines.
For more information about Circuit Wiring
Circuit Wiring
Electrical Circuit Wiring
This article looks at common 120 volt and 240 volt house wiring circuits
and the circuit breakers that are installed
identifying the types and amperage sizes used in most homes.
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