I've been wondering about this a while. I know a 3 phase is cheaper to run like welding machine and other big electric motors on. According to like a miller dynasty 200 dx if i'm reading this right it says it can be hooked up either single or 3 phase. So my garage would be single phase 110 at outlet or 220 at another outlet. I assume if i hook it up 220 which is single phase I believe, so can I run this machine and be able to max out at 200 amps or will I be tripping a breaker?? I know the dynasty 350 says that when it is at single phase it goes to 225amp and 3 phase can go to 300 amps so is this kinda the same with the dynasty 200 that I can't go to 200 amps unless it is 3 phase. Trying to decide if it is worth to buy a machine like this if my household power can support it.
I have also heard of something called a phase converter that if you have a 3 phase machine that you can hook it up with this device and run it on single phase. What can yall tell me about a phase converter.
Can someone explain this to me?
Thanks
Chris
House current is single phase. Industrial current is typically 3 phase and stepped down to single phase where needed. You cannot run a 3 phase machine on your normal household current without a converter. This generally is not an economical solution.
By NWPAwelder 
Date 09-11-2011 11:18
Edited 09-11-2011 11:25
The phase converter is used to generate the third "leg" of current needed to make it 3 phase.
" So my garage would be single phase 110 at outlet or 220 at another outlet. "
Your garage current, regardless of 110 or 220 volts, is still only single phase in residential under normal circumstances. You would have to get a 3 phase service installed from your power company or use the converter.
You would need to check your input power to house 100 or 200 amp if it is 50 no go, then make sure wiring and braker are big enough, most single phase welders tell you in the manual what size braker and wire for the run. Phase converters are good for 3 phase motors, the static ones start motor on three phase and the cut back to single on two legs giving about 2/3 the normal power of the motor. A rotary phase converter is just a large 3 phase motor that starts on single phase and after it its up and running the motor itself creates the power on the third leg like a generator , I am not sure if you could get clean power off the 3 legs legs there to run a welder .
Tom
By 522029 
Date 09-11-2011 15:25
Edited 09-11-2011 15:33
First off, 3 phase is not cheaper to operate. A watt is watt regardless of supply. 3 phase is cheaper to distribute (wire).
If the Dynasty 200 is your desired machine, get it. If your house or shop service will not support the 200 you have more to worry about than getting a welder.
Griff
I talked to the Miller Rep about the Dynasty 200DX.. His claim was that you could run it at 200amps no matter what you were hooked to..
He claimed they have AutoLine. ( I think is what he called it) He said It was designed for maintenance power source versatility so you could go into a high industrial situation and plug into whatever power they had and go to work. Or you could go into a residential aria where 110 is the only available power source, plug in and still go to work..
They designed it so you could plug it into a single phase 110V outlet and run at 200amps at 20% duty cycle then plug it into 3 phase 220V or 440V and the machine would recognize the different input power.. I believe The duty cycle never went over 60% at 200amp no matter what power source you were using though..
I ran a 200dx at a trade show.. It was a pretty slick machine on mild steel, stainless and it was awesome on Aluminum..
I am torn between the Miller Dynasty 200dx and the Lincoln Invertec V205-T ac/dc machine.. They are both nice machines.. The Lincoln has AutoLine in single phase only but it has a higher duty cycle..
When I get a few extra pennies I am going to buy one of them.. I haven't decided which one yet..!!
RC
Thanks guys and thanks rcwelding thats kinda what I thought about the miller that you could hook it up to either phases. Cumminsguy71/Shawn says he had the Lincoln 225 that maxes out at 230 amps and it is a little cheaper then the miller. I would really need to weld with this machine before i bought it because the last time i welded with a lincoln tig i really didn't care for it much. The arc was great the HF didn't seem to be great.
I did just see a video of a guy here
http://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks#p/u/77/Gvk8rH05ADU using helium and argon mixed and was able to weld hotter and thicker with a dynasty 200 which he says has welded up to one inch thick cast aluminum with this method so who knows a 200 might work.
Where I live there is no way to get 3 phase it would only be single phase. I'll have to do some research to make sure i can even run this machine off my house.
thanks
Chris
I'd really like to see 200 amps of welding output come from a 120V input feed. I'm not saying impossible just seems like a stretch. Looks like I need to read up on the little Dynasty inverter.
I'm thinking 150 amps it will do but 200 would be better
From my understanding they don't rate a duty cycle in one continuous run..
So a 20% duty cycle would be a total of 2 minutes of welding time over a 10 min period.. So four bursts at 30seconds each in a ten min period seems possible with 110V...
You couldn't build very much very fast with it at that rating though..!!
I haven't run a Tig machine very much.. How often would you run it at 200amps..?? When I think of a Tig machine I think of fine delicate work and not running a big old puddle somewhere..
I saw a video of a guy welding pop cans and razor blades together with the Miller 200DX.. I always thought it would be nice for welding 14guage stainless or putting in a bead, fill and cap on thin wall pipe..
Just my two cents worth..
RC
Thanks for the manual Dave, my garage could handle the dynasty 200 and even the dynasty 350 but the dynasty 200 would i think suite me fine and if I needed to weld thicker then 1/4 inch I could use the helium to get me over that hump.
Thanks
Chris
