rigging the welder feed?

[Grumpy]

I found this posted elseware and thought it might be worth mentioning..

DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE ON THIS PLANET!
i was mig welding stuff and as usual once in awhile the circuit breaker will overheat and trip. so me being me i got a bright idea. I jumped the 110 socket to another socket that has a different circuit breaker. wow my mig welder got a big boost in power. no its not 220 now its just more current capacity to the welder. thankfully my mig has overheat shutdown to protect itself. I ran it off two breakers by connecting one 110 outlet to another that runs off a different breaker. not something permanent, just to get a little extra boost when welding something a bit thicker. this is a 110 machine.
like i said, DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE ON THIS PLANET!

posted below..theres a thread , link you may choose to read through,
what your doing is basically if I understand correctly is,
that your using two separate 110 volt outlets breakers in your breaker box, on the same phase,
too feed a single 110 volt welder,if you jumped the wires in the breaker box your effectively potentially feeding twice the amps down the wire to the welder before the two breakers will trip,
theres a reason wire gauges have an amp rating...

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/how-to-wire-a-shop.5/

I know this may seem rather obvious only to some guys, but why not install a separate new 8 ga romex 3 conductor electrical outlet fed by a new 60 amp breaker to the welder outlet,
yeah its a P.I.T.A. and could take hours and cost you a couple hundred dollars... still...
In my mind, thats better than a potential fire starting in your attic or walls ,
simply as a result of trying to rig the electrical feed to carry more current than it was really designed to handle.

most quality welders come with a spec sheet stating the required volts and amps of the feed outlet,
supply less the welder generally won,t work well, supply more and in some cases damage will eventually result

https://store.cyberweld.com/mi140migwe90.html

https://store.cyberweld.com/mil251witmet.html

 

[busterrm]

There is a 4 gauge, have to get it at welding supply, it’s rated at 70-75 amps, they may have to order it, that’s what I ran the subpanel to my garage with, if I remember it’s about $100/50 foot.

 

[Mark Bradley]

I was reading your post and believe there is a point of correction or clarification needed.
You state... “supply more and in some cases damage will eventually result”.
Perhaps what you intended is if you “draw” more current damage can result.
Having a circuit capable of supplying more current than you consume is harmless.
It is similar to having a 3” fuel line to a lawn mower.. you have the potential but it will never be pushed to that point.

 

[Grumpy]

your correct its badly stated
the welder will only draw what it requires , you can,t push more,
but the wire gauge being used to feed the welder should be able to easily handle the max potential amp loads

 

[Grumpy]

btw do you ever watch shows like (FORGED IN FIRE) and various other car repair shows,
where its SO OBVIOUS that the incompetent idiots,
using mig welders on that and similar shows are obviously totally unskilled and clueless in the use of welders ?
my wife gets upset with me when I yell at the T.V. and say things like
(WHAT THE #$%^ are you doing you can,t weld like that!!
HAVE YOU EVER EVEN SEEN A MIG WELDER BEFORE??)
\
she says you do know they can,t hear you,
and yes they are clueless ,
but screaming at the T.V, won't help