adding a slave 110V AC outlet to a TIG welder

I have a Lincoln Precision TIG machine. It's a basic little TIG welder and works fine. I want to hook up a water cooled torch, and I like the machines that have a switched 110V outlet you can plug the pump into so you know you won't accidentally weld with no water flowing.

Is there any easy way to add a switched outlet to my machine?

Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington

Reply to
Grant Erwin
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Generally its actually EXTREMELY HARD

Tell me if i'm wwrong but the procision Tig you have (185?) is likely the red painted cousin to the Miller Synchrowave 180 and 200

picking off voltages in transformer welders is usually done with a transformer winding. it would cost an absolutely ridiculous amount to rewind/rebuild the welding transformer to add a 110V tap. It is theoretically possible to slip in a new transformer with a 2:1 rating and hook it to the input voltage but how about instead of that could you find a coolant pump that will work at 220-240V? its a lot easier to get at the 220-240v the welder wants without mucking with transformers

Reply to
Brent

I do know that Lincoln makes an add-on for powerwave models with water cooled MIG guns. A light goes on and the wire feeder/power is disabled if there is no coolant flow. They plug into the 110 volt plug that we have on our boom. I am not sure if it is adaptable to TIG. I know it is pricey but considering the cost of a new lead management considered it a good investment and they were right several times over. Randy

Reply to
Randy Zimmerman

I mean switched on when the welder is switched on. Why would you want to stop your torch cooling off just because you've finished a pass?

I have never taken off the sheet metal. Maybe I'll go see what it would take to patch power from the switch. My welder, like most other 220 single phase welders, has no ground, only neutral but I certainly don't have any problem running a little pump from L1 to N, I've run much larger things that way.

Grant

Reply to
Grant Erwin

By "switched" do you mean on when the welder is on, on when the trigger is pulled? Assuming the first, it should be next to trivial to wire the outlet to the power switch. Also assuming that your power cord has neutral as well as ground. If not, you could use the ground as neutral (be prepared to have the safety weenies all over you), or you could use the 220 off the switch to close a contactor/relay that would supply power to the pump.

If "switched" means when the trigger is pulled, one would have to have the welders schematic.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

Reply to
RoyJ

I don't know - it was just that I could see 2 ways that you might mean "switched".

Are you sure? If there's only one, it's more likely ground. You always "need" ground, but only need neutral if the welder uses 120v. My Lincoln tombstone has ground, but not neutral. That is, it did until I hijacked the 3rd wire for neutral to run a 120v fan.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 outlets and plugs only have 3 wires and provide

110/220 for appliances such as dryers. They just have the two hots and a neutral, no ground. My house has one and it was built in 1995. They have been allowed by the code I think up until the most recent addition of the NEC. I think I remember reading that the conversion to 4 wire plugs (NEMA 14-30 and 14-50) was part of the changes for the latest NEC publication (was it 2005?). I suspect they are still allowed in most places because it takes some time for the local areas to adopt the latest NEC changes.

Ah, no, the code change forcing the use of the 4 wire NEMA 14- series

110/220 outlets happened in the 1999 addition of the NEC according to wikipedia:

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Reply to
Curt Welch

Well, whether it's neutral or ground the point is the same, I wouldn't have any issues with running it in a little pump circuit.

GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

One small point: if it's being used as a ground, it will be connected to the case of the welder. To use it as a conductor, it should be disconnected from the case.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

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