walexa

Just bought a millermatic 210 welding machine and a thermal dynamics cutmaster 51 plasma cutter and have some questions:

Does anybody know what amp breakers I need to use for each piece of equipment?

What wire size is the best for using around the house, building deer stands, etc?

Is it best to buy the tank for argon or just rent it?

Thanks in advance. Any other tips are greatly appreciated.

Waylan

telephonman

My brother just bought a miller mig welder a few months ago. I'll get with him and find out what I can for ya!

P.J

Tank ownership or rental will depend on how much you use. We looked into buying rather than renting our Stargon, Oxy and Acetlene and found that if you are using less than 2 sets of bottles a year it would take like 5 years for it to make sense to take the leap and own the cylinders.

I have a MillerMatic 130 and I think my breaker is 35 AMP. For the Lincoln 210 I use a 50 Amp outlet and breaker.

Good universal wire for a mig is like .030 or .035

Get your self some extra tips and some anit splatter spray to make the nozzle easier to keep clean.

Also, your getting Carbon/Argon, not pure Argon. Unless you are planning on welding Alum.

P.J

Also be careful with your Compressor/ Plasma electricals.

We ened up with a rigged outlet and didn't realize they were both on the same circuit back at the dist. box.

We had a 115V leg tied to the compressor that somehow fed electric through the air hose, and into the fittings on the back of the Plasma cutter. (swear to you, don't ask me how) WOW!!

There is a phase converter in the mix here too, that is more than likely our problem.

Both the cutter and Welder should have the wiring specs in the book.

Dan Brooks

I have a MillerMatic 251, and the welding shop suggested a 50 amp circuit. IIRC, the 210 had similar specs. I can't remember the gauge wire I used to run the circuit, but it was BIG - check with a local electrical supply shop and they can steer you right.

I use .030 wire and have found it works well with both the thinner materials you would use for the deer stand, and is also good for the heavier materials I use for Jeep bumpers and that type of thing.

I purchased my tank when I bought the welder, and it made more sense at the time than leasing...but I haven't used it as much as I anticipated. I paid around $200 for the filled tank (75% argon/25% CO2) - not sure what they go for in your area.

P.J

Our Miller is a 110V, definatley check with an elctrician I think we used 2 wire for the Lincoln stick welder??

Like Dan said, it's going to be a monsterous size.

CTD NUT

According to Miller's specs for the Millermatic 210, it draws 27amps @ 230 volts at it's 210 amp max rated output. Since this machine has a 60% duty cycle rating @ 160 amps, I would expect that virtually all of your welding would be done well below the 210 amps of rated output if this machine is the appropriate welder for your needs. Wthout having actual input amps required for 160 amps of output, the rough calculation that does not take into account transformer efficiency, gives a 17 amp draw at 230 volts. IMO, a 50 amp breaker is definitely on the high side if typical draw is 17 amps and absolute peak is 27 amps. A 30 amp breaker/fuse box would suit the Millermatic 210 just fine and would certainly be safer. A 30 amp breaker would be even more appropriate if the input voltage is even higher than 230 volts since this would cause the amp draw to be even lower. I'm not sure about the area you live in but the typical line voltage around my area is in the 250 volt range.

FWIW, the Millermatic 251 is rated considerably higher at 300 peak output amps and has a rated draw @ 60% duty cycle of 42 amps @ 230 volts. The 210 and the 251 have very different input requirements since the 251 should certainly be on a 50 amp breaker, at least since peak draw will exceed 50 amps when running at or near the max rated output amps.

The wire for a 30 amp circuit will not have to be too large......10 gauge will work fine unless you have very long runs of wire required at which point 8 gauge may be more appropriate. Sorry, but at the moment I'm not certain what the max length for 10 gauge wire would be at 30 amps but I would expect that it would be well over 100'.

kandgo

For what it is worth, Don't buy more wire [flux core] than you will use in a few months, as I have found out that the flux core wire will go stale {for lack of a better word} and it doesn't weld as good as when it is newer. I started buying smaller spools and keeping the opened boxes of different gauge's in a old ice box that stays dry where I keep my other stick rods and it seems to help. That is a nice set up you bought. Goodluck,,Rick

walexa

Thanks for the replies.

I also looked up the specs after posting this reply and had come to the same conclusion of 30 amp. I am thinking about wiring the machine straight into a breaker in the box and keeping everything close to the breaker box. I hate cutting the plug off though. I won't do anything until this weekend so I will have time to think over what I want to do.

I just called the local welding supply house and they rent the bottles for $43/year versus over $200 to buy.........I think I'll rent. I also think I am going to get a roll of the .030 wire, 10 spare tips, and a tub of that tip cleaner. Anything else I need?

Waylan

bentwings

I have a Lincoln TIG Mate 175 and use a 40 amp. I've used it full throttle for a long time and not popped the 40 amp breaker. I would rather work up to tripping the 40 amp then look at what is being done than not trip the 50 amp and burn the plug or worse. CTD nut is onthe right track.

Also have a plasma cutter. So far we haven't used it a lot but it does cut anything metal. Some better than others. It does use a lot of air however.

I have a 4-6 cable 30 feet long that is gross over kill but at minimum cost. 4 prong plug and plug in.