Help with welder wiring!
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1st Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 50
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Help with welder wiring!
I bought a mig welder online through Harbor Freight Tools. Problem is that it arrived not pre-wired and recommended a separate plug be purchased and installed by an electrician. The manual that came with the welder did not specially state how to wire the machine. Does anyone familiar with welders know how to correctly hook up the wires. I bought an extended 8 gauge cord and plug that fits into my washer/dryer connector.
Welder purchased:
Cord from welder: Green, White and Black.
4 prong plug and cord: White, Black, Red and Green.
Someone help me out. I want to get started on welding my floor boards.
Welder purchased:
Cord from welder: Green, White and Black.
4 prong plug and cord: White, Black, Red and Green.
Someone help me out. I want to get started on welding my floor boards.
Last edited by bookzguy; Nov 10, 2009 at 07:10 PM.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 307
From: NC
does this help any? http://fixitnow.com/appliantology/dryercords.htm looks like you'd ignore the bottom prong (or throw away the original cord and use a proper 4-wire cord) and wire up the other 3 like a normal 220v outlet. though i don't know which of the three is neutral. can you open up the machine and look for polarity markings?
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1st Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 50
From:
Are you using the dryer plug, or do you have an extra plug that is only for the welder? If your stuck using the dryer plug (which is a newer house, hence the 4plug) You've got the extra neutral which the welder doesnt need. If you have an extra receptacle and are not using the dryer outlet, I would buy the older 3plug receptacle and rewire that so that the extra wire is in the box and not wrapped in tape on the welder cord.
Otherwise, I would recommend leaving out the green on the 4cord (the ground) and then hooking up the green (3) to the white (4), the blacks, and then the white (3) to the red (4).
Mind you, I work in a cabinet shop and my only experience with wiring is rigging new machines to old wiring and vice versa. I am no expert.
Otherwise, I would recommend leaving out the green on the 4cord (the ground) and then hooking up the green (3) to the white (4), the blacks, and then the white (3) to the red (4).
Mind you, I work in a cabinet shop and my only experience with wiring is rigging new machines to old wiring and vice versa. I am no expert.
6th Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,469
From: AR
Well, I am NOT an electrician, but,,,,,,,,,
The TOP picture is a 120 Volt setup,
Black = HOT (Circuit Breaker Side of box or plug in)
White = Neutral (Neutral Side of Box or plug in)
Green = Safety or 'Bond' wire. (Middle prong on plug bond in bod)
The Bottom 2 pictures are a 240 Volt plug in,
Black = the top wire of a 240V breaker in a box
Red = the bottom wire of a 240V breaker in a box
White = Neutral
Green = safety or bond
I cant read the data tag on the front of your welder because the cord is in the way.
If it is a 120V welder and not a DUAL VOLTAGE (My little Miller can be wired for 120V OR 240V), then you have the wrong plug, and IF you are simply IGNORING either the red or black wire in the plug, it WILL work, but I don't think you will be up to code and the breaker MIGHT not trip properly since you are only using half of the circuit.
You MIGHT have a mild safety issue.
<< Edit>> Dude, I see from my research that you have a 220-240V welder, If I read things right, the top picture is of the cord that comes out of the welder, well, that **** ain't right. Yea it is true that you only need 3 wires, but the blck, white, and green kind of freaks me out. While wires don't know what color they are, where they go is all important. Green should go to green, black will go to black, and without checking, a poster on the Internet can only ASSUME that the white is substituted for RED.
I think if it were me, I would REMOVE that cord entirely, and replace it with the one you bought. If you do this, the white wire in your cord will be extra, (Cut and cap it) provided the welder is otherwise standard, which I would not question except for that cord in the first picture....
You might want to consult an electrician, just because something electrical "will work" does not mean it is safe.
Yea, whites and greens CAN BE interchangeable in some circumstances, but there is a REASON they are run separate. "Will work" just ain't good enough when we are talking about issues of life and death.
The TOP picture is a 120 Volt setup,
Black = HOT (Circuit Breaker Side of box or plug in)
White = Neutral (Neutral Side of Box or plug in)
Green = Safety or 'Bond' wire. (Middle prong on plug bond in bod)
The Bottom 2 pictures are a 240 Volt plug in,
Black = the top wire of a 240V breaker in a box
Red = the bottom wire of a 240V breaker in a box
White = Neutral
Green = safety or bond
I cant read the data tag on the front of your welder because the cord is in the way.
If it is a 120V welder and not a DUAL VOLTAGE (My little Miller can be wired for 120V OR 240V), then you have the wrong plug, and IF you are simply IGNORING either the red or black wire in the plug, it WILL work, but I don't think you will be up to code and the breaker MIGHT not trip properly since you are only using half of the circuit.
You MIGHT have a mild safety issue.
<< Edit>> Dude, I see from my research that you have a 220-240V welder, If I read things right, the top picture is of the cord that comes out of the welder, well, that **** ain't right. Yea it is true that you only need 3 wires, but the blck, white, and green kind of freaks me out. While wires don't know what color they are, where they go is all important. Green should go to green, black will go to black, and without checking, a poster on the Internet can only ASSUME that the white is substituted for RED.
I think if it were me, I would REMOVE that cord entirely, and replace it with the one you bought. If you do this, the white wire in your cord will be extra, (Cut and cap it) provided the welder is otherwise standard, which I would not question except for that cord in the first picture....
You might want to consult an electrician, just because something electrical "will work" does not mean it is safe.
Yea, whites and greens CAN BE interchangeable in some circumstances, but there is a REASON they are run separate. "Will work" just ain't good enough when we are talking about issues of life and death.
Last edited by JMD; Nov 11, 2009 at 10:06 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 675
From:
^ ^ ^
green = ground
black = hot
red/white = common
in a switched set up (ie- turning a light on/off from 1 switch) the red would be your hot between the 2 switches.
220VAC goign into a machine (welder) would have 3 wires. the ground and 2 hots. the other is the common or return wire.
take a volt meter and pin out the cable. on the 4 wire cord the green would go to the round pin. on the welder it would go to the ground terminal.
the round pin in a wall outlet is ground.
its been a while since ive done any wiring and i dont have the books handy so i may be wrong.
green = ground
black = hot
red/white = common
in a switched set up (ie- turning a light on/off from 1 switch) the red would be your hot between the 2 switches.
220VAC goign into a machine (welder) would have 3 wires. the ground and 2 hots. the other is the common or return wire.
take a volt meter and pin out the cable. on the 4 wire cord the green would go to the round pin. on the welder it would go to the ground terminal.
the round pin in a wall outlet is ground.
its been a while since ive done any wiring and i dont have the books handy so i may be wrong.
Last edited by 65rangoon; Nov 12, 2009 at 12:15 AM.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 616
From: Antelope, Ca
Ragoon is correct. BUT, i would take it back to Harbor Freight and get you're money back, go to your local welding distributor and pick up a lite industrial machine (MiIller or lincoln) you'll be much happier
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