[Nightfire]

So whenever I weld with high heat for longer periods of time my whole electricity in the garage shuts off Even if I only have the welder running without using it and have the grinder and the drill plugged in running it happens sometimes. Then I gotta go inside and turn it back on by the fuse box. What can I do to make the electrical system better without killing myself (or my wallet)?







Mike

 

[pro70z28]

So whenever I weld with high heat for longer periods of time my whole electricity in the garage shuts off Even if I only have the welder running without using it and have the grinder and the drill plugged in running it happens sometimes. Then I gotta go inside and turn it back on by the fuse box. What can I do to make the electrical system better without killing myself (or my wallet)?


Mike

What gage wire do you have running out to the shop? You could put higher amp breakers in, BUT ONLY IF THE WIRING IS A HEAVY ENOUGH GAGE to handle the extra power. I have major things like Welder, Router, Computer, etc. all on separate circuits. It's not expensive at all if you can do the labor yourself or know someone knowledgeable enough to help you. I ran wire heavy enough to carry 60 amps to the garage and then put a secondary breaker box in the garage and ran circuits from there.

 

[pmeisel]

Take a look at your whole electrical service. I had a problem in my old house, it was a 1880 house remodeled and rewired in 1960, and it had 100 amp service to the whole house. You couldn't run the dryer, air conditioner and two television sets at the same time.

I had the power redone from the street in to 200 amps, and split 60 amps off to the garage and laundry room, so I could run an air compressor or a welder and not worry about kicking out....

If you have enough juice in your main house box, run a circuit out to a sub-box in your shop and you can stop worrying... If your house box is pretty well loaded up, running more electrical power sounds expensive until you think about the possibility of house fire, then it sounds a lot cheaper.

If you don't have enough main box capacity and can't afford to up it, figure out which circuits you won't use at the same time (e.g. I could unplug the deep freeze for the hour I used the air compressor...)

 

[helrazr3]

be carefull, those breakers (or fuses) aren't poping for nothing you need more power out there can you tell me what you have for electrical setup? what size breaker is there and is there more than one circuit out there?

generally the wire you have feeding everything is only big enuogh to handle the ampreage you have now

if you are running 15 amps you need 14 guage
20 amps 12 guage
30 amps 10 guage

and so on, there is no short cut to take if you need more juice you need to run a few more circiuts and add a few breakers.

 

[Nightfire]

I have NO IDEA about electrical stuff so I couldnt tell you what gage wire and breaker or setup I have. So I'll have to wait untill my dad comes home. All I know is that I have no real electrical skills (well I've never tried) so your gonna have to go easy on me. Lets take it one step at a time.

Thanks for the help guys





Mike

 

[pro70z28]

I have NO IDEA about electrical stuff so I couldnt tell you what gage wire and breaker or setup I have.
Mike

When in doubt, get a professionals' opinion. :thumbup:

 

[julmer]

If you don't have fairly extensive electrical experience, get some knowledgeable help. You may be able to help with some of the grunt work but an experiendced electrician will make sure you get a job that doesn't burn down the garage or kill you.
I've still got to upgrade the underground feeders bit I've got a 125 amp panel in my garage and it's full. You will be safer and tools will work better in a well wired garage.

 

[Nightfire]

hm.....but if the garage burns down that means I get insurance money and can build a new one right???:drool: :mwink: hm....
just kidding, I really dont wanna hire an electrician so me and my dad are gonna try it ourselves.......with your help of course.
By tonight I'll be able to tell you what breakers and such we have....







Mike

 

[pro70z28]

hm.....but if the garage burns down that means I get insurance money and can build a new one right???:drool: :mwink: hm....
just kidding, I really dont wanna hire an electrician so me and my dad are gonna try it ourselves.......with your help of course.
By tonight I'll be able to tell you what breakers and such we have....

Mike

Not that you won't get good help here, but if you ask where you buy the supplies they will give you the right stuff and explain how to do it correctly. Just tell them the amperages of everything you plan to run on each circuit and they should be able to walk you through it. This is assuming you buy from an electrical supply house. If you go to a box store the salesman may or may not know the codes.

 

[johnnymopar]

Not that you won't get good help here, but if you ask where you buy the supplies they will give you the right stuff and explain how to do it correctly. Just tell them the amperages of everything you plan to run on each circuit and they should be able to walk you through it. This is assuming you buy from an electrical supply house. If you go to a box store the salesman may or may not know the codes.

i work at an electrical supply wholesaler and let me tell you that i won't tell anybody how to do something just for liability reasons. if you don't know what you're doing then you shouldn't be doing the work. a basic electrical circuit is not all that complicated but you have to know what materials are required and how to install them properly. if anything ever happened and you had an electrical fire, your insurance co. would tell you to you to pound salt if you ever tried to claim anything and it was discovered that the wiring wasn't installed by a certified person.

find someone to help you who knows what they are doing or hire a professional.

JB

 

[dcweld]

shop elec

it all started when i got the great idea to buy a new plasma cutter , got new toy home an try-ed it out omg it didn't work . well then i remembered the most impotent thing to do read the inst , it said that i needed a 100 amp start up power to get it working . well al i had was a 100 amp sys . this meant i needed to install a 200 amp sys that dun i find out i will have to add a bigger air compresser that will feed this beast 260 cfm , after all the stuff i need to do to use my new plasma cutter left me a kind of broke it cost me over $2000 making it work

 

[julmer]

I do want to pass along a caution. If you wire your own garage and it does burn down because of something you did wrong, the insurance company has a perfect right to not pay the claim.
Since so many fires are of "electrical origin", they look for any excuse to deny your claim.
Be careful.

 

[pro70z28]

i work at an electrical supply wholesaler and let me tell you that i won't tell anybody how to do something just for liability reasons. if you don't know what you're doing then you shouldn't be doing the work. a basic electrical circuit is not all that complicated but you have to know what materials are required and how to install them properly. if anything ever happened and you had an electrical fire, your insurance co. would tell you to you to pound salt if you ever tried to claim anything and it was discovered that the wiring wasn't installed by a certified person.

find someone to help you who knows what they are doing or hire a professional.

JB

When I bought my TIG welder I went to a electrical supply store and your right they didn't exactly tell me how to wire the circuit. They showed me a wire gage = amperages chart, and then asked me what I wanted. Where I live you can wire your own house/garage/etc. as long as you are the resident. Once it's wired you have to have it inspected by a licensed inspector. (Insurance goes by the inspection certificate).

 

[julmer]

In most places the homeowner/resident can do almost anything to their house if they follow the permit/inspection process. That's the secret to CYA with the insurance.
I don't want to discourage people but I want them to understand there's a bit more to it than just a quick trip to the Big Orange Store.

 

[pro70z28]

In most places the homeowner/resident can do almost anything to their house if they follow the permit/inspection process. That's the secret to CYA with the insurance.
I don't want to discourage people but I want them to understand there's a bit more to it than just a quick trip to the Big Orange Store.

Yup, I agree. Although I'm NOT an electrician by trade I've been wiring for many years, and my son who helps me with electrical projects, is just finishing his degree in electrical wiring. So I guess I have an edge over someone who's never attempted it before. If in doubt it's not worth trying on your own, unless you have an experienced person to consult or to look over your shoulder.

 

[adtkart]

Many years ago, I went to get a permit to replace the fuse box in my house. I had to take a test, to be able to get the permit to do the work myself. After taking the test, I could get a permit to do any electrical work on my own property. I do have to have it inspected when done, just the same as a licensed electrician. It depends on the inspector, how much of a hard time they give you. One inspector that I had to deal with had had his own business. Apparently he went belly-up, cause he hated people that didn't hire professionals, and didn't try to hide that.

If you are legally allowed to do your own electrical work in your area, the inspectors will often help with information on the wire requirements.

 

[helrazr3]

i have to agree with all the advice above, if you don't feel comfortable doing the work yourself get help. you could try asking around to other people who have had their garages wired and ask who did it for them or they may be able to give you some help themselves. good luck either way and we'll help any way we can.

 

[billg_69gmc]

garage wiring

I know when I bought my LE tig 185, the sales guy said "just use your dryer outlet"

Well if you read one manual, its the manual for powering heavy duty stuff like a welder.

I ended up buying the right heavy guage wire and proper circuit breaker for it. Not to mention as mentioned earlier... once wire is buried in a wall, unless you put it in, you don't know what's in there or whether it meets code for what you want to send juice to.

Don't be afraid to cut open a wall if you need to know what is run... Most times you can pop the front panel of the fuse box and see the type of wire used. If you are uncomfortable (never been there) ask a friend who does know, or get a quallified electrician if you have no friends

 

[Nightfire]

Well I decided to screw the wiring, my dad and me both dont have any idea of what we're doing so instead of killing ourselves we'll just drop the project.



Thanks,


Mike

 

[Kevin45]

I have NO IDEA about electrical stuff so I couldnt tell you what gage wire and breaker or setup I have. So I'll have to wait untill my dad comes home. All I know is that I have no real electrical skills (well I've never tried) so your gonna have to go easy on me. Lets take it one step at a time.

Mike....post a pic of your fuse panel or breaker panel and lets take a look see that way.

Kevin