So... How Do I Wire This Thing?

[Lanse]

Hey guys!!

So, I recently got this welder, which came without a plug:



Unlike my other machines (three other welders, and two plasma cutters) which all have three prong outlets, this new welder has four wires, as you can see:



I went to my local Lowe's yesterday with the intention to buy a plug, and showed their electrical guy the pictures you see in this post... He almost had a heart attack, called it a mess, and thought I was crazy.

As you can also see, we have two (3) prong plugs from the same line, which is apparently bad.

Regardless, I wish to get this welder wired in. His advice was to:

1) Take the wires from the current 3 prong wall receptacle, and connect them to a new 4 prong receptacle

2) Wire the 4th prong of the receptacle to a copper wire, and run it through the box directly to a ground stake.

I've also heard from a website I could run two of the bare wires to one of the three prong plug's prongs, which seems like it might be a bad idea.

As you know, I am, nor do I claim to be, an electrician. I figured I'd just go for it, and started drilling for the ground rod, but I dont claim to be a mason either, and my only masonry bit wasnt nearly long enough to make it through the shop floor. It bottomed out 3" in which was about the time I was starting to have doubts about all this, so I figured Id ask here. I've tried (unsuccessfully) to reach longevity's customer support for two days.

Whats the best way to go about all this? Ideally without burning down the garage/the welder/the weldor. Thanks in advance...
 

[kris Jensen]

wire is for a 220 volt circuit, just like your stove
or dryer. needs the same type of receptacle.
Can be wired in a square box(4 in )
Green is ground, white is neutral and red and black
are your hot wires.
blessings Kris
 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

Lanse,

The black and red wires are the two 120 volt lines, typical of 240 volt operation. The white is the neutral which is necessary if the welder has any 120 volt devices (like a kitchen range might have a clock or an oven light which was 120 volt). The green is the equipment ground. You can't safely, or legally, install a plug on that wire which will plug into the outlet you have. You also can't legally change the outlet to one which will accomodate the plug that should go with that wire because then the wiring from the outlet to the breaker panel will be wrong.

The advice from Lowe's "electrical guy" is clever, but it's inadequate, and probably also illegal (code violation). Everlast tech support is unlikely to be able to help you if they ever return your call. With no disrespect intended toward you, I'd say you're in over your head on this one. You need to get an electrician to take care of this for you. Illegal wiring gives you parents' insurance company an easy out if there's ever a fire.

Stan
 

[buickanddeere]

There should be some nameplate data on the welder
and a wiring diagram inside/under a cover
somewhere.
Time to invest in some 6/3 wire.
 

[Puddles]

Dig around on Longevity's forum and see if you can find the answer.
http://www.longevity-inc.com/forum/arc-stick-welding-smaw/


Or PM Furu, (Steve) and ask him how he wired his StickWeld 250.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/264114-rod-oven-pops-gfi-breaker.html
 

[Puddles]

Shows you how good my memory is, twice now I've put one of my plugs on Steve's welder when he comes here for welding lessons, but I can't remember how I did now! See what old age does to you!
 

[Dick L]

We use four prong plugs and receptacles in the factory. At home I just run an external wire from the green to the grounded fuse box to keep from getting a poke. Aint nothing illegal in our part of Ohio at home. Might not be code but aint illegal. Gotta be a law against something to be illegal.
 

[MarkB_MI]

I've never seen a single phase welder with a four-wire cord. Are you sure yours is not wired for three phase?

Find the make and model of your new welder, download the manual and figure exactly how it needs to be wired up. You may find a schematic inside the welder if you open it up. If so, take a picture and post that.
 

[Puddles]

I found the manual on line, but it's not the same as you have in your hand.



 

[kevinj54]

That is why he needs to look inside. One of those wires may not be hooked up.
 

[david - or]

First of all, put your drill away. Adding a ground rod is a worthless and dangerous way to solve a wiring problem for any appliance. Driven ground rods typically give a resistance of 25 ohms or more.

Second, did you buy this machine new or used? You can"t necessarily trust wire colors on a used machine, as the previous owner may have provided the cable, and not the manufacturer.

Third, take a picture of the back of your machine. Does the switch/circuit breaker have three poles or only two?

According to longevity"s website, these IGBT based inverter machines can be supplied with three phase or single phase. The manuals on the website only shows single phase models with three wire connections, but the text elsewhere describes the possibility of use on three phase, which would use a four (or five) wire connection.

If you bought a used three phase machine it may work find on single phase, perhaps at a reduced capacity. This would be like VFDS (variable frequency drives) which have very similar IGBT based technology.

Chances are very good that the white wire will go unused in your situation. The machine almost certainly does not need the neutral. You"ll want your green wire to be connected to the ground prong on your connector (NEVER EVER try to run a green wire from an appliance to a driven ground rod).

I would expect that you need to cut the stripped end off the white wire, insulate it with tape, and wire the red, black, and green wires to a NEMA 5-50P plug bought from the likes of Home Depot. That way it will plug into the same receptacles as the rest of your equipment.

A less likely possibility is that the machine needs three phase and will not work on single phase.

The only way to resolve this is to get more information from you and/or the manufacturer.
 

[Stick welding]

I've seen single phase welders with the common 3 wire 230 plugs and also 4 wire plugs like a clothes dryer plug. I've also seen adapters where a 4 wire plug was converted to a 3 wire. A lot of inverters will run on multiple voltages and single or 3 phase. Maybe the 4th wire is only needed if hooking up to 3 phase power or running higher than 230 volts? I had a single phase 250 amp welder hooked up with a 3 wire plug but the school I went to had single phase welders with a 4 wire plug. The school probably used higher volts or only one leg of 3 phase power.
 

[david - or]

There is a video on Longevity's website that shows exactly, step-by-step, how to wire the three-phase-capable version of the StickWeld 250 to use single phase service from a NEMA 5-50P plug. (This is a slightly different machine than the single-phase-only StickWeld 250 that Puddles found the manual for.)

Oddly enough, they have you use the black and white wire for your two hots, green for the ground, and the red is folded back in the plug and goes unused.
Play the video on this page

 

[Dusty MI]

[quote="Lanse"](quoted from post at 14:56:31 11/24/12) Hey guys!!

Lanse, Is the power to that 4 square box with the 3 wire receptacle, fed with a cable, or does it have a steel conduit run from the breaker panel to it.
If it is a steel conduit, then that is your ground. And you just fasten the green wire from the receptacle to the box with a 10-32 green ground screw. The box has a hole taped for the 10-32 screw.

With that said, we don't know if you need 4 wires or 3.

Dusty
 

[bill mart]

david, I dont know much about electricity but your response is the only one backed up by a video from the manufacturer.Good job. Bill