Obligatory Intro Post

[Tanh]

Hello folks,

"New to arc" guy from Cambridge ON here. I just purchased a PowerArc 140ST yesterday. Did about 2 weeks of soul searching to see what I really needed in a welder but ultimately went with what I could afford. Haven't even set it up and welded with it yet so can't say about the performance but the inspected and tested stickers give me assurance that it works. Bought a 120v plug and turned her on. The range on 120v seems to go from 9 to 84 amps. Will be getting on that soon after I get some rods and a proper helmet.

Only have a few years of gas welding experience and confident if given 2 bottles and a torch. Anything arc is new and I'll probably be lurking quite a bit here as well as Jody's site and weldingweb. Give me some time to get the tig thing going once I get finances in check.

I have a few projects in the near future including redoing the exhaust on the beater, a teardown and rebuild of the utility trailer, cafe racer mod on the bike and fixing the front gate so we get less dog shat on our yard.


Future upgrades may be in the works a few years down when I can afford it. Really wana try AC tig with all that AC balance stuff. I eventually want to build my dream bike from scratch with 2145 T451 alloy. That'll be sweet! Although the pricepoint of these boxes are quite a discount compared to blue, red or yellow, they still are an investment for me.

Cheers.

[Rambozo]

Welcome.

I think you will find your gas welding experience is very helpful for picking up TIG.
That is the correct range on 120V, you need 240V for full range. However, you can do quite a lot on 120V with the right rods.

[Tanh]

Thanks. I have 1 20 amp socket at the other side of the house. I'm gona hafta get creative with the electrical soon. Can these welders run acceptably on say 120v 15amp? You have one of these yourself too right?

[undercut]

Hey Tanh! Welcome to the Everlast forum. Congratulations on your 140st purchase. I love the compact design. My welder is dual voltage and I've done a fair bit of stick welding with 110v. All rods were 3/32 and I've burned 6011, 6013, 7014, 7018. I suspect you'll be able to do a lot of steel TIG welding under 110v as long as the metal isn't too thick. Cheers!

[Rambozo]

Thanks. I have 1 20 amp socket at the other side of the house. I'm gona hafta get creative with the electrical soon. Can these welders run acceptably on say 120v 15amp? You have one of these yourself too right?

Yes, I do have a 140ST. I would say you can easily do 1/8" steel on 120V, probably 3/16" with a hard driving rod like 6011. I am running on a 20 amp circuit, but there are other loads and I have not tripped the breaker, yet. My cutoff saw has tripped this breaker more than once so I know I probably only have 15 amps or less available. Next time I get a chance, I'll measure the actual current draw, when welding, and see what it is.

[Rambozo]

OK, I got curious and had to go out to the shop and measure it. With it maxed out at 85 amps output, running on 120V it draws around 16-17 amps input. If you dial it down to 75 amps output, it draws around 15 amps input. Even maxed out, I doubt you would ever trip a 15 amp breaker if the welder was the only load on it.

The magic of inverters. If this was a transformer machine, running 60 or so OCV (to make the math easy) it would draw a minimum of 37.5 amps to get an output of 75 amps. Gotta love that. This thing will pay for itself in saved power in no time. Not to mention that it can do really serious work on 120V, not just sheet metal.

[Tanh]

Wow. That's awesome. I think I will try it on 15amps and see myself. I'll only be running it at about 50 to 70 max amps anyways with 6011. Do 2 or 3 passes if it's needed for some of the heavier stuff.

Thanks for the numbers Rambozo.

Ps: I like how welcoming this forum is actually. Thanks for the welcome. And if I had the finance I'd grab myself a 185 instead. Dual voltage is a definite must for me.

[performance]

No, don't run it on 15 amps. Tripping the breaker is not recommended...even if you are running it "steady", the surge current is what shoots it up.

[undercut]

.... Ps: I like how welcoming this forum is actually. Thanks for the welcome. And if I had the finance I'd grab myself a 185 instead. Dual voltage is a definite must for me.

This IS a really nice board. One of the best in terms of both friendliness and useful information. The 140ST and the 160STH were on my short list. When the 185 came available, I had to scoop it up. Nice to have you in our midst. Cheers!

[everlastsupport]

Does your panel have 220vac (electric dryer, AC, etc)? Maybe you can add a breaker and whip to the panel if it is near a place you can weld. But 15amps is too low.

[Winky]

Welcome to the forum Tanh ... if it's at all possible you should go with 220 ... it will give you a lot more bang for the buck. I do keep one machine that runs on 110 but that's only for when I'm out on a job somewhere that doesn't have 220 available. I do almost everything exclusively with 220. My first stick welder was a little 110 buzz box and to be truthful when I moved up to 220 I was floored at how much better I was able to weld.

Stay cool ... Winky

[Tanh]

Well. My range runs on 240v and it's the right next to where I'm going to weld. I'm just not a big fan of moving it everytime I want to weld but if the general concensus is that I need it rather than 120v then there's no other option. I wired in the 20amp line for a 1 ton AC unit on the otherside of the house and cost me 100 CAD to do it. Problem is I have no more space in the box for another line. So adding another line would mean breaking out to another box and the cost will skyrocket from there.

Getting creative, I wonder if I can just add another outlet to my range circuit and weld off that. I know, 2 appliances on 1 240v line is not recommended. Any electricians here?

[everlastsupport]

Well. My range runs on 240v and it's the right next to where I'm going to weld. I'm just not a big fan of moving it everytime I want to weld but if the general concensus is that I need it rather than 120v then there's no other option. I wired in the 20amp line for a 1 ton AC unit on the otherside of the house and cost me 100 CAD to do it. Problem is I have no more space in the box for another line. So adding another line would mean breaking out to another box and the cost will skyrocket from there.

Getting creative, I wonder if I can just add another outlet to my range circuit and weld off that. I know, 2 appliances on 1 240v line is not recommended. Any electricians here?

If you're sure there will be no cooking while welding that would work fine. 110vac, unless a min of 20 amps, is a pain. And you will get the full power. And the breaker is there if the wife goes to cook while you are working.

[Rambozo]

Well. My range runs on 240v and it's the right next to where I'm going to weld. I'm just not a big fan of moving it everytime I want to weld but if the general concensus is that I need it rather than 120v then there's no other option. I wired in the 20amp line for a 1 ton AC unit on the otherside of the house and cost me 100 CAD to do it. Problem is I have no more space in the box for another line. So adding another line would mean breaking out to another box and the cost will skyrocket from there.

Getting creative, I wonder if I can just add another outlet to my range circuit and weld off that. I know, 2 appliances on 1 240v line is not recommended. Any electricians here?

You would probably bo ok tapping into the range line. That circuit has the capacity to run the oven and all the burners at once, so even if you have a burner or two going, I doubt you will trip the breaker while welding. Unless your house is real old, CA kitchens are on independent leg 20A circuits. So you can also have a 220 outlet installed pretty easy from that circuit. You could even make up a special cable to get 220 from the kitchen, but I can't recommend that for regular use. Having said that, this is the first 120/240V welder that I have ever seen that actually works very well on 120V. As long as you are working with thinner materials it is more than capable. If you want to weld 1/4" thick material you will need 240V. For just starting out you can work with what you have and decide on how you want set things up, if you find that this works for you. You can check with a local electrician to see what your options are. If you weld infrequently, you can handle a different setup, than if it's something you will use all the time. Another option I almost forgot is that if you have a clean power generator, you can run from that. You can check the manual or the Everlast website for the wattage requirements.

[performance]

Rambozo,
Sorry, but I will have to step in here and Contradict you. This is unsafe, and is ILL advised. Also it can open you and us up to a lawsuit. Using a "tapped" into line like this is against almost all wiring codes I know of. Additionally ranges are 4 wire. A guys house burns down or something happens, and his insurance company won't pay because it was a customer boned up issue. Please let us make any wiring recommendations IF we feel we can. Always consult a licensed LOCAL electrician before attempting any electrical alteration to your home or shop wiring.

[Rambozo]

Rambozo,
Sorry, but I will have to step in here and Contradict you. This is unsafe, and is ILL advised. Also it can open you and us up to a lawsuit. Using a "tapped" into line like this is against almost all wiring codes I know of. Additionally ranges are 4 wire. A guys house burns down or something happens, and his insurance company won't pay because it was a customer boned up issue. Please let us make any wiring recommendations IF we feel we can. Always consult a licensed LOCAL electrician before attempting any electrical alteration to your home or shop wiring.

Perhaps I wasn't being clear. What I meant was having another outlet installed into that circuit for the range. A local electrician can check the circuit capacity and advise if that is an option for him.

[Tanh]

Thanks for all the idea's gentlemen. I also more than fully understand the hazards of playing with fire, having done so often in the past. So I fully acknowledge the disclaimer, Performance. Whatever dumb thing I do I'll take full responsibility for it and won't hold anybody else liable.

That being said, the plan is to test it out on 15amp and see how useful it is. If I blow a breaker it's not the end of the world and know I need to step it up to 240 or at least a 20 amp line. Move the range to weld until I can wire in a new line (240v or 120v). All is well with the world.

[everlastsupport]

Mark is just covering Everlast. Also, some people really do not understand volts and amps. Sounds like you have it all figured out. Just be safe.

[Tanh]

Yeah, I know and with all the interchange going on people often forget matters such as safety. Sometimes, like in this case, it needs to be said, people need to be told and lines drawn. I thank Mark for stepping up and being the voice of reason. There have been stories, on ADVrider, of people doing ridiculous / illegal things in the heat of discussion. Then afterward coming back with their tail between their legs. Here, the consequences are dire, more than a few broken bones, making a need to repeat what should be said. No ill taken either way.

Took the box over to one of my neighbours, a former welder, to test out the box and show me how to run it. We replaced the plug because he had a dedicated 240v line just for this sort of stuff. He was amazed at how much power this box can put out. And so was I actually. Seeing it being used by a pro is a humbling experience. lol Wish I had a camera if only just to share the expression on his face when I showed up with a briefcase. He thought it was a toy until he openned the case. As soon as we started on some 1/4" plate with 7018 it was all grins.