Home wiring and plugging in a welder

If that's the style I think it is, they don't want you using the two breaker positions directly opposite the Main Breaker, and they'll have a "Do Not Remove This Knockout" sticker on those two breaker KOs. They are already pumping 100 Amps through those stabs which is about all they can handle, they don't want a load breaker there to keep from melting the stabs. Partly exposed, they'll get some cooling from air circulation inside the can.

I would pull the dryer breaker (save it for when you move) and use a Bryant BRD BQ-250-230 quad breaker. (Eaton Cutler-Hammer makes them now, find a local C-H supplier.) Put a small dab of Noalox on the bus before you plug it in as insurance, in case the tin plating is damaged it will seal out the corrosion and prevent arcing - you hope...

That gives you a 50A 220V pair on the inside for the welder, and a

30A 220V with the big hoop handle-tie for the water heater. Install your welder receptacle "temporarily" on the wall (so you can remove it quickly with a few screws and spackle the holes) and you're done.

And that's going to make that panel just about full load-wise - don't try running everything at once, or you'll be tripping the Main Breaker and dealing with an annoyed SWMBO who doesn't like the unscheduled blackouts.

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Check the breakers. Some are 20, some are 30 (mine) and some are 50 like I had. The value depends on how many baby diapers you have to dry at once !

Mart> >

Yep, I'll need to do a little googling for some of the terminology in that paragraph.

I appreciate the concern expressed by yourself and others here. My plan is to get my landlords' blessing before I make any changes to the service panel, but I want to know what the options are so I'll have a better idea what I'm talking about when I approach them. Since they plan to use this as their retirement home, I'm hoping to convince them of the virtue of having 220V power in the garage, and maybe even get them to pay for (or at least split) the cost.

Using the range outlet would be considerably less convenient than using the dryer outlet and would add 20 feet to the extension length (though it would give me another 20A). Using the dryer outlet, I can get by with a standard 6' dryer cord wired to an appropriate welder-type outlet.

Bert

If that's the case, whoever installed system wasn't aware of it, since one of the slots opposite the main is used for half of the range breaker. The one open slot is also opposite the main, but there's no "Do Not Remove" sticker.

Thanks. That sounds like a good option once I get motivated to do something more involved than using the existing dryer outlet.

At least that's one issue I don't have to worry about..

Bert.

Thanks for the links.

Bert

Lincoln AC 225 stick welder is what I have. It's a pretty common model; 220v @ 50 amps.

Intrepid