{voltage/curent} service upgrade to home

Date 12-13-2004 05:11

200 amps in a garage seems high, in horsepower thats over 60 running at the same time. If you would like to say what's out there I would take a guess.

Basically you pay the contractor for the installation and the power company for the electricity. Bigger services usually demand bigger fixed charges from the power company so too big can be expensive.
Bill

By supermechanic (**)

Date 12-13-2004 09:08

I run a shop with seven bays, three air compressers, and two welding machines, all on a 200 amp service(three phase,480 volt).
Get a qualified electrician to survey your needs.

By kawgomoo (*)

Date 12-13-2004 17:03

lets look at like this... the size or guage wire is basically a hose, voltage would be your pressure and amperage is the volume of water that would come out the nozzle. as volume increases pressure decreases. so to do the work of a 200 amp 480 volt circuit, you would need just over 400 amps of 220 volt home current. since a 250dx pulls right at 100 amps max load, that leaves very little headroom... so i would think. seeing as how you still have lights, water cooler for the tig, and all the devices in the house pulling current.

basically... does anyone here have a 250dx hooked up in there garage off 220 volt single phase current? im just concerned about running into current problems. welders have been known to melt the wires inside house walls and all sorts of other catastrophic horrible things, since most homes arent wired with long term, high current draw situations in mind. also i dont want to damage the machine by not supplying it with enough juice, which basically leads to what we call "clipping" in the audio world.

By Arcandflash (**)

Date 12-13-2004 21:10

I certainly can't fault you for trying to do it right and ensure you have an adequate supply. I don't know your house load but you could switch my electric furnace for your welder since it draws 100A everytime it runs which I doubt you would do with your welder.
You certainly need some heavy wire to your shop to handle the load and this would be a bear to run unless it is short and sweet not to mention the cost.
Even though I am a DIYer I think you need to get some professional advice which I think might include the electrical company who are perhaps better position to provide info on what they will do in a residential area and related costs.
Good luck

By RonG

Date 12-13-2004 23:57

I suggest you contact your local power provider. They can tell you more about cost in your area than we that have no idea where in the world you are located.

Are you a hobbiest or will you be doing production welding?

Something to consider though, Your power consumption (KWs)($$$) will much more with 220 volt service than with 440. But as you said not always an available option.

Will you really use the peak out put of the machine that much? If so then you local power company will be real proud of you. They might even send you a Christmas card.

By Arcandflash (**)

Date 12-14-2004 00:29

His power consumption should be the same whether 220V or 440V. The current at 220 is double what it is at 440V but the meter measures power. So the VxI is the same answer either way.

For a load current of I amps at 440V:
Ix440=440xI watts

At 220V the current is doubled:
2xIx220V=440xI watts

By RonG

Date 12-14-2004 12:59

Well gee thanks for lesson in simple arithmetic but have you read all the data on the machine.

There is a thing called efficienty of the machine to consider. I wander why all these shops are wired for 440 when 220 will do the job? Shucks why even make the machines 440 capable?

Our Electrical Engineers would disagree with you.

By GRoberts (***)

Date 12-14-2004 15:33

The Maxstar 200, for instance, only draws 19.9 amps on single phase 200V while putting out 175 amps (with GTAW).

By Arcandflash (**)

Date 12-14-2004 16:31

Your welcome. I looked at the data for a 250DX at full load and the 460V current is half of what the 230V current is.
The reason for 440/460V is to reduce the cost of wiring since half the current means you can use a smaller wire size and smaller conduit. There is also less heating loss in the wire (I-squared R losses) and voltage drop in the wire at 440V but for a residential shop that is being discussed by the OP this is negligible if the wire is adquately sized. Power-factor correction may be easier with lower currents but since only large factories are charged for KVA rather than KW it means nothing to the OP.

Have one of your EEs give me a shout if he disagrees with what I say.