How To Wire Welder Plug Outlet

[AgPete139]

Hey guys,

So I got a question for all the electrical & welding gurus.

I moved into a house, and I don't know why my welder isn't working. I also have to wire a new connection to the new dryer outlet.

Dryer outlet: 125v/250v, 30A
Wires: Green, White, Black
Welder: "220V" MIG cheap-o Harbor Freight (hey, it works fine, don't knock it)


When I touch the welder case, it has a current and is slightly shocking me (with the welder ON, and also OFF.) Also, the wire/spool is not feeding to the trigger.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WIRE THIS?

I currently have the white (neutral) to the "L", black (hot) to left side, and green (isn't this normally a ground) to the right side.

How is this supposed to be 250V (125V + 125V) if I have one grounding out?

Not an electrician (and scared to catch a wall on fire),

Pete



P.S. And, as always, thanks in advance!

 

[gungfudan]

here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWxS9qoPGaE

 

[Tominator]

The L shaped plug is ground=G

There is no neutral in 220v

Black to Brass is a good way to remember wiring and that does not differ 220v or 110v.

You can guess at the third...

BTW, I'm not an electrician

You can verify this by taking off the faceplate of the receptacle and looking where the wires go based on color.

Breakers off of course.

 

[AgPete139]

here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWxS9qoPGaE

Thank you! That was way more helpful than the other Youtube videos I searched. I guess I just kept searching for the same items and the suggested side panel videos over & over. This one was the same situation as me.

The L shaped plug is ground=G

There is no neutral in 220v

That, I did not know. That is probably my problem! I'll switch the white & the green wires.

Black to Brass is a good way to remember wiring and that does not differ 220v or 110v.

Noted.

You can guess at the third...

BTW, I'm not an electrician

You can verify this by taking off the faceplate of the receptacle and looking where the wires go based on color.

Breakers off of course.

Of course. I'll be in for a shocking experience. I guess I have a fear of the plug outlet also being wired incorrectly.

If I did wire something incorrectly, this would just throw the 30A breaker, right?

Thanks again, guys! Tominator, for the information!

Pete

 

[Dugan]

just did this took me 20 mins in lowes electrical isle to find a website about going from 4 wire to 3 wire 240V to find how to wire my plug.

Black and red go to the two prongs and green goes to the nipple looking one.

If you had the 4 wire aswell REMEMBER TO WIRE NUT THE NEUTRAL...

 

[Dugan]

here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWxS9qoPGaE

Thats a 125V 30A RV plug.... hows that 220V..?

 

[AgPete139]

just did this took me 20 mins in lowes electrical isle to find a website about going from 4 wire to 3 wire 240V to find how to wire my plug.

Black and red go to the two prongs and green goes to the nipple looking one.

If you had the 4 wire aswell REMEMBER TO WIRE NUT THE NEUTRAL...

Excellent.

What did you do for the 4 to 3 wire conversion? (I ask because I have 50 ft extension for 4-prong, 250V 30A cord and a spare socket now.)

.

 

[shane96ranger]

The L shaped plug is NEUTRAL

Fixed that for you. When using a 3 prong, you ground to the box.

However, neutral and ground are connected in the main panel. It will work, it's just not the right way (code in Utah).

Thats a 125V 30A RV plug.... hows that 220V..?

Uh, no. An RV plug looks like this. It has no "L".

 

[trail B2]

Bonding the ground and neutral is code here in norcal too.It'll probably get me bad comment but I also ran a 110 outlet with 220 so I could run my 10 gauge extension cord with an adapter at the other end.Marked 220 welder only of coarse that extra 50 ft can be handy.Adapting is expensive and a big 220 cords are worse.

 

[AgPete139]

Dude, Shane, thanks. Getting this little bit of clarification from this thread helped me understand a lot of the other plug types. I was reading about single/two/poly phase, the different plug types vs. amperage, and wiring codes. I had trouble following why some were only three prong as opposed to 4 prong, and why some of these aren't just a standard.

Trail B2, I see what you did, and whenever I do things like that, I try to not make them common practices and I keep a fire extinguisher around. You never know.

Again, I was afraid of causing an electrical fire or short somewhere, or inadvertently "burn" out my welder over time or shock me by not properly grounding it or something. Welders are expensive!

Y'all helped me get the welder up quickly, with the green=ground (the L is not neutral=white). Thanks! Also, for the record, the wires behind the outlet were different colors


Here is a future reference for others:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_multiphase_power_plugs_and_sockets

Blade Functon Letter Color Notes
Ground G Green
Neutral W White
Phase 1 hot X Black X only is single phase 120V
Phase 2 hot Y Red X Y is two phase 240V or 480V
Phase 3 hot Z Blue X Y Z is wye three phase 120/208V

 

[AgPete139]

This is known as a NEMA 10-30, and the very source of my confusion.

It makes sense that a neutral can effectively be combined with the ground, which is safe. BUT, I thought the neutral=white, and I thought the "L" connector was the neutral-grounding wire, not the ground=green wire.



From Wikipedia:

"NEMA 10 devices are a curious throwback to an earlier time. They are classified as 125/250 V non-grounding (hot-hot-neutral), yet they are usually used in a manner that effectively grounds the appliance, though not in a manner consistent with most modern practice.

As commonly used, 10–30 and 10–50 plugs have the frame of the appliance grounded through the neutral blade. This was a legal grounding method under the National Electrical Code for electric ranges and electric clothes dryers from the 1947 to the 1996 edition. Since North American dryers and ranges have certain parts (timers, lights, fans, etc.) that run on 120 V, this means that the wire used for grounding is also carrying current. Although this is contrary to modern grounding practice, such installations remain common in the United States and are relatively safe, because the larger conductors used are less likely to be broken than the smaller conductors used in ordinary appliance cords, and the current carried is small."







Ground will usually be a "round" pin, while the neutral will usually be the "L" pin in any phase connection, albeit regular or twist-lock safety connectors. (L21-30 shown below)

.

 

[Sunk]

In a 3 wire setup, you don't have ground. Out of the 3, the different terminal is Neutral, the other 2 are hot.