What to do with this arc welder?

So my father in law gave me this old (20 years plus) arc welder and it runs on 110 v, 26.6 amps. I don't have a 30 amp 110 circut but I do have a 240/30 amp for my dryer which I could access. Can I just use a transformer to turn this into 110?

Theoretically, yes, but I don't even wanna think about how much a 30A transformer costs.

But you can grab one "leg" of the 220 circuit to get high amp 110. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you have no business mucking about with household wiring.

haha yuri is right dont electorcute urself.....just buy a tig welder

the welder will only draw 26.6 amps when you're using it at maximum output. at 'normal' welding currents it will probably work just fine on a 20a circuit.

Yuri_Rage said:

Theoretically, yes, but I don't even wanna think about how much a 30A transformer costs.

But you can grab one "leg" of the 220 circuit to get high amp 110. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you have no business mucking about with household wiring.

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Thats true, I'm just debating whether to hire an electrician to make it work, or just buy a new welder that I can just plug in from harbor freight.

On some of the welding forums, (yeah, I lurk there sometimes) they typically recommend a brand name - even if you're going 110v - Hobart, Miller, Lincoln - the Hobart 140 is a highly recommended model for hobbyists - about $475, but they say with the HF stuff, you will have buyer's remorse within a week.

+1 on don't buy an arc welder from HF.

Why do they not work?

HF tools are cheap and unreliable at best. I love buying them...but I usually consider them disposable, and I rarely buy anything over a few dollars without doing a significant amount of research. I did spring for the mini milling machine, knowing full well that I would invest 3x the initial cost in order to make it useful. I also own the 4x6 band saw that is quite popular with hobby machinists. Not surprisingly, the band saw requires a lot of tweaking to make it live up to its potential.

The welders typically have extremely low duty cycle ratings. Best case, they overheat and trip an internal protection circuit. It's more likely that they will crap out with very little use, and they tolerate no abuse.

I've had great results with their corded drills...the hf inverter welder gets GREAT reviews. If you're a pro, buy pro tools.......

Go Blue like with a Miller, www.Cyberwelds.com the best prices around vs LWS charging manufactures list prices. Lower end be it Mig or Tig homeowner units are the bare minimum in function, features as well quality vs industrial units. Check Ohio Ed's recent welder purchase, he done good.

Is it a stick welder or a self shielding wire/mig wire welder. I have both. My father's old 220v Lincoln 225 "tombstone" that's great for stick arc welding heavy duty stuff and I bought a small 110v Campbell Hausfeld shielded wire/MIG welder for light duty stuff. I use both from time to time and am using both for building my tower sculpture.

That "tombstone" is one old tuff welder treat it right that is a dream machine to use.
Beats the heck out of the plug heat selection AC Dayton I learned on back in the 60's.

BrewBeemer said:

That "tombstone" is one old tuff welder treat it right that is a dream machine to use.
Beats the heck out of the plug heat selection AC Dayton I learned on back in the 60's.

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Yup, I agree 100%. Dad was a union carpenter and structural welder. I thought it was kind of a weird combo, but he aways said "it's the Carpenter's and Joiner's Union and welding is joining isn't it". Most welding is done by the Ironworkers Union though, but they and carpenters seem to have split up the welding truf a bit. He always did his welding on anything had to do with bridge deck assembly on interstate highway construction projects. The "tombstone" was his practice machine he'd use at home to brush up on his skills or practice a new technique as he only did any significant welding every couple of years.

Anyway, it was always there and he I used it to fix or build just about anything steel that it wouldn't burn thru. Mostly I did stuff when he wasn't around and then he'd come in and say I really sucked at it, but I can make a sound albeit ugly weld and grind it back to something that's OK. He could make a strong beautiful stick weld the first time and chip off the slag with a few whacks of the chipping hammer and be ready to paint. So, now that he's gone, it's mine and I'm happy to be an ugly welder, but only on steel. No stainless or aluminum welding for me, that's just too hard.

Or build your own 110 volt arc welder using 950 watt microwave transformers link in series. I built my own from 8 of these transformers, cut out the secondary coil and rewired with 8 gauge wire, hooked up a dial type potentimeter and wa la, a low cost, high output quality arc welder!

Got to instructables.com and type in "Arc Welder" or use the link below!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Microwave-Transformer-Homemade-Welder/

I've spent countless days going thru that site, very addictive.

I've had the same Harbor Freight 110 gas/no gas welder since December of 2004. I've used the heck out of it. It hasn't let me down so far. It's always done what I needed it to do.

I cut six inches out of this bumper last summer and welded it back together with my welder.



Now, with that said, I know I am not the norm. I bought the welder and a two year no questions asked replacement warranty that I didn't need. It's not very powerful, only rated for 70 amps max. I'd never weld suspension or frame with it. Things have gone wrong with my welder. I had to replace the plastic lead liner a couple years ago. I bought a name brand metal liner and made it fit. Overall, I've been really happy with it.

I just built a 110 volt microwave transformer based arc welder and it works great, about 3/4 of the way completed with a 220 volt arc welder using the same microwave transformers but using 10 guage wire in the secondary and a voltage step controller board for fine output control of the heat.

Next, is a homebuilt 110 volt TIG using a large inverter to produce the wave current needed to do TIG, it has a safety issue, in that if the Tungsten tip is touched when it is own and you are not properly grounded it Will Kill You! I am going to get around this by using a foot pedal and a dedicated booth with a rubber insulation mat and a bolt on clip for ground clamp that fits to the metal welding table/booth!

BeerPappy said:

I just built a 110 volt microwave transformer based arc welder and it works great, about 3/4 of the way completed with a 220 volt arc welder using the same microwave transformers but using 10 guage wire in the secondary and a voltage step controller board for fine output control of the heat.

Next, is a homebuilt 110 volt TIG using a large inverter to produce the wave current needed to do TIG, it has a safety issue, in that if the Tungsten tip is touched when it is own and you are not properly grounded it Will Kill You! I am going to get around this by using a foot pedal and a dedicated booth with a rubber insulation mat and a bolt on clip for ground clamp that fits to the metal welding table/booth!

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Isn't there a TV show called "1,000 Ways to Die"?
Working with a microwave magnetron is a kick in the butt.

starsailor; there was a forum I ran across that had "tombstones" fully restored to new condition.
Only things to worry about were the selector switches, brushes and bearing replacements every 50 years.

BrewBeemer said:

starsailor; there was a forum I ran across that had "tombstones" fully restored to new condition.
Only things to worry about were the selector switches, brushes and bearing replacements every 50 years.

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Hey thanks, but there is a single thing wrong with mine that a blast with an air hose can't clean off, except for the dummy holding the stick. I could use a set of wheels on it though because is pretty heavy to pick up single handed.

I would be careful not to add dirt and grit into the commutator, brushes plus forcing dirt into those so called old sealed bearings. Over time they might not seal as good due to normal seal wear no need to pressure force dirt into them when it can be avoided.
Selector switches I can see giving them a short air blast.

I would be careful not to add dirt and grit into the commutator, brushes plus forcing dirt into those so called old sealed bearings. Over time they might not seal as good due to normal seal wear no need to pressure force dirt into them when it can be avoided.
Selector switches I can see giving them a short air blast so the contacts are clean.

BrewBeemer said:

I would be careful not to add dirt and grit into the commutator, brushes plus forcing dirt into those so called old sealed bearings. Over time they might not seal as good due to normal seal wear no need to pressure force dirt into them when it can be avoided.
Selector switches I can see giving them a short air blast.

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Point taken. I meant to use air to clean off the outside from sitting a dusty garage for years, not the inside. The insides all seem just fine to me and pretty clean too. No need to mess with that at all.

I think I'll focus on adding a set of wheels to the back, like the accessory kit for the "tombstone" had. For all I know they may still make the accessory kit, but I already have a couple of sets of small BBQ grill and lawn mower wheels that will be just fine. The back will thank me later...