An electrical question for you welders or electricians...

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smokingohiobutcher

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jun 21, 2009
1,185
34
The North Coast of Ohio
I want to install a 240 volt outlet in my garage to run a welder(hobart 210 model)and was wondering what size romex cable i need?

My brother told me 10/3 with a ground and a 30 amp double pull breaker is what i needed....???? is he right?? he is not an electrician

but does know alot about house wiring. I just want to know for sure before I spend that much money for the wire.

Thanks for the help!

SOB
 
Not an electrician but have done a bit of wiring in the past. That sounds like it's big enough but it also depends on how far you are planning on running it. If it's a long run, you'll need to up the wire size.
 
The size of the wire is determined by the amperage on the 240 v circuit. Number 10 romex is rated for 30 amps and should be on a ckt brkr no larger than 30 amps The first thing to do is check the max amps draw for the welder and check the papers for the welder for minimum wire size.
 
SOB, evening....   Hey, look at the plug on the cord....  It will tell you the amps and voltage... and the NEMA number of the plug.... get the same plug so it will fit....  The reason I say that is the welder will have fans etc and will draw more amperage than the welding output....  Just to be on the safe side.... my small welder has a 50 amp  plug and that's what I went with....   Also, elec cord, check SO or SJO for your application... Dave
 
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I went a little further into this and downloaded the pdf/spec sheet. Dave is right about the 50 amp circuit even with the max draw being 24 amps total. The plug it comes with for 230 volt is a 6-50P, which is a 3 wire. To avoid voltage drop to the unit go with 6/2/wg romex  or 6/3 so or sjo cord, depending on whether you want to move it around or not.
 
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