[71gtx]

I am currently living in a house for school which has a garage. I am working on my 31 studebaker but need to weld. My welder is a 220 and the only outlet in the house is the 220 for the dryer. The dryer plug is the older 3 angle plug with a W, X, and Y plug. The extension cord I have for my welder has a male L14-30P plug (4 plugs in a circle with W, X, Y, and G).

I was going to buy a new dryer cord and a female end L14-30P, but what I am having trouble with is doesn't the dryer cord only have 2 hots and a neutral? The female L14-30P will need a ground as well, correct? Or will it be grounded through the original female dryer plug in the wall?

[justold]

71gtx I think you may have the wrong cord check the name plate if it says 125/220 1 phase you have the correct cord ,if it is a single number such as 220 or 230 1 phase you have the wrong cord .please feel to email me with any questions about electricity.

[cboy]

Also be aware that not all 220 is the same. The 220 I have running to my spa is two 50 amp circuits. The 220 I have running to my dryer is two 20 amp circuits. While I could run my dryer on my spa circuit, my spa would last about 5 minutes on my dryer circuit and it would either pop a breaker or start melting the house.

You need to know what amperage your welder requires and then make sure the breaker(s) and the wiring are properly sized for that amperage.

But I would defer to justold...sounds like he knows his stuff regarding electricity.

[ccb]

If a ground wire (green) was ran to the drier outlet, you can install a grounded outlet, (4 connections). A grounded connection will help your drier by cutting some static and making the unit much safer to operate. Wire with metal sheathing and also metal conduit is used to return a ground. You could also run a single (green) wire back to the panel for a ground. You could create a new ground at the garage by installing a ground stake and wiring the ground to that. But as stated above, be certain you have the proper wire size and breaker to handle the input amps of your welder. And always have a ground for your welder.

[302 Z28]

The L14-30P plug is for 220volt 30 amp service, so I am assuming your welder is a MIG of about 175 amp. The dryer circuit is probably minimum 50 amp so you should be well within the ampacity of the wire feeding the dryer. Just do not try and run the dryer while you are welding.

FWIW I run my Millermatic 175 off my 30 amp compressor receptacle. I have two receptacles on the wall, one for my compressor and one for my welder both off one 30 amp 220 circuit.

Vince

[Kevin45]

Also be aware that not all 220 is the same. The 220 I have running to my spa is two 50 amp circuits. The 220 I have running to my dryer is two 20 amp circuits. While I could run my dryer on my spa circuit, my spa would last about 5 minutes on my dryer circuit and it would either pop a breaker or start melting the house.

Not to hijack, but on your spa, you do have a ground fault don't you. I know when I wired ours I had to step up from a 50 amp breaker to a 60 amp in a special spa pack. The spa pack has do be in an outside weathertite box at 10' from the hottub. And this is piggybacked from a 60 amp in the insiide breaker panel.

[cboy]

Originally Posted by Kevin45

...you do have a ground fault don't you...

Most definitely. And you got me thinking so I went down to double check on the amperage and it is double 50s...not 60s. One slight difference between your installation and mine is that our spa is inside the house and it sounds like yours is outside. Maybe that bump up to 60 amps at your box was due to the run out to your outside box...which then has 50 amps, correct? Maybe they figure in a bit of line loss when you have to drop to a secondary outside box. I know I wired mine following the directions of the mfr and local supplier.

[Kevin45]

The reason I had to go from 50 to 60 was stereo. The hottub was on sale or I would not have had a stereo in it. They advertise them as a $1600 option. Which is bull as all it is, is a JBL marine AM/FM/CD player. But the 12 volt adapter increases the breaker to 60 amp. I know when it was first wired, the electrician ran the neutral to a ground bar and it would pop the GFCI right off the get go. I had ran wire underground in conduit so I was hoping it wasn't something that I had done. As soon as I called him he knew exactly what the problem was. Moved one wire and good to go. It's amazing how a GFCI actually works. Just a milliamp of electricity and it pops. I imagine countless lives have been saved by them. But if anyone ever gets a hottub, save your money and forego the stereo. Surely not worth it for having to get 10 more amps. OOPS...sorry. Didn't mean to hijack.

Kevin