Hi,
I purchased a new miller spectrum 375 plasma cutter
ran into a few problems already or may be I am just too green .
operation seems simple so not sure what is wrong
2 problems.....here it goes.
1; when making a cut it cuts crocked- in a slight side angle
2 ; runs just fine on a 110V circuit , but not on 220V
I wired in a new 220V circuit for the welder and same circuit is
used for the plasma cutter. but has a a seperate recepticle .
the welder works great.
when running the cutter from a 220 V (switch in the back flipped to
230V) it cuts 1-2 inches and shuts off and green "POWER light " is
flashing. if I turn off the machine and back on it may cut a few
inches more but shuts off again.
flip the switch in the back to 110V and plug it in 110V and it runs
along just fine.
the manual does not give much detail on the problem other than check
to make sure the switch inthe back is in the right position.
can some one shine some ligh on this.
thanks
What is the metal type and thickness ?
Is the workpiece grounded properly ?
(If it is not grounded you will just get a pilot arc for a few seconds and
then it will shut off.)
The machine could possibly be defective. Check with your dealer.
Call 920-734-9821 for Miller Tech support or
Send it back and get a Hypertherm ..... :)
thanks
good one .... :-)
almost fall for that
i went to hypertherm web site , and looked , they sell the same thing
but they call it powermax 380.
called tech support they said try it in a different circuit of 230V.
by the way the metal is mild steel and stainles steel 1/8 in thickness
rarely 1/4 on mild steel.
Do you use the same cord & plug for 110V & 220V? Sounds like either your
outlet or your cord are wired incorrectly. What type of outlet are you
using for 220V?
Do you have 110V from each main contact to ground? Do you have 220V between
the two main contacts?
Best Regards,
Keith Marshall
snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"
I am using the same cord which came with the machine it has a 110V
20 amp style plug ad it is plugged into a short extention converting
from a 110 recepticle to a 220 plug.
there is 245 V across the 2 main (no Load ) and the
neutral is connected to neutral in the sub panel
if I meassure from each hot leg to neutral , I get 124V
metal electrical wall box is grounded to ground via ground at the
sub panel.
I removed the sheet metal skin from the cutter . to see if there is a
jumper for 208- 230 V , did not see it.
factory cord has 3 wires going to the mechanical 115-230 switch in
the back
black, white and green bolted to the cutter chassis.
I assume that in 115 V mode it only use 1 hot (black ) and switching
white to neutral or ground completing 115 V circuit.
when the mechanical switche is thrown to 220 V position , it is
utilizing 1 hot (black ) 1 hot (white ) and 1 neutral , making it a
220 V circuit just like the welder has.
where am I wrong ?
I've check to see if the 110V socket not commonly grounded between
groung and neutral.
thanks
white to neutral or ground completing 115 V circuit.
when the mechanical switche is thrown to 220 V position , it is
utilizing 1 hot (black ) 1 hot (white ) and 1 neutral , making it a
220 V circuit just like the welder has.
according to the electric company ,248 is good
i had a guy out to day form the electric co. he said i have perfect
voltage reading, they want the so called 110 V to be 124 V
ok, I am confused now,
ground = earth ground a big copper/brass rod driven 10 + feet deep in
the ground
neutral = goes back to the transformer /power company
they are tied together in the main panel.
to me , if they are tied to gether with a solid bar to me it seem as
the same circuit yet called different name. it is 2 circuit for safety
reasons.
correct me if I am wrong and for the other reader who may also
benefit from this topic.
in a 110 circuit,
1 hot = feed
1 neutral = return
makes the light or electric motor work
1 ground as a safety
in 220 V
1 hot +1 hot completes the circuit and makes the motor or heater run ,
1 ground for safety.
so a sub panel shoul get ????? a ground ? and only ground ?
no neutral?
so are you saying if my 220 V circiut would only get 2 hot and a
ground , may problem would go away ?
I need this plasmacutter to run off of 220V circuit , and don't want
to drive back to the dealer.
thanks
PS: the sub panel i wired in is the 2nd sub in the house ,
the original sub panels ground wire (?) goes to the neutral terminal
in the main panel right where the big solid bar shoots over to ground.
if your 220 welder is working fine on it, that should be working
on it (regardless of how it is wired at the factory on the inside, which i
would doubt you are supposed to have to mess with).
for "weather-tite" you might want to run an other-than-green ground, but it
would seem your black/white 220 w/green ground should be doing the job...
The ground rod is the return, you get two hot wires from the power company with
single phase 120/240, Look in the main panel or meter base and you will see only
two hots comming in. The "neutral " wire is connected to the ground rod through
a suitably sized grounding electrode conductor.
The ground and the neutral are bonded at the main panel and the main panel only.
The neutral is the primary path to ground, via the grounding electrode. The
ground or green wire is the equipment ground.
Correct, mostly. The ground wire has specific purposes, see below.
A sub-fed panel should get two hots from two seperate phases, a neutral and a
ground for 120/240 volts. I am not sure what you are calling a sub panel.
In the sub-fed panels you should have a suitably sized neutral from the main
panel and a suitably sized ground from the main panel. In the sub-fed panel the
ground or green wire and the neutral are kept SEPERATE. They white goes to the
neutral buss and the ground goes to the ground buss and they are NOT bonded
together. Look those up in the National Electrical Code book. Grounding is
article 250. Most of what you are asking about is in article 250.
The neutral (actually called the grounded conductor) is the primary path to
ground, this is why it is bonded in the main panel. The smaller or green
wire(called the grounding conductor) is the secondary path to ground or
equipment ground in case the equipment becomes energized.
From what you describe, the cord to the cutter only has three wires. In 120 mode
those would be a black , white and a green. Black is hot, white is neutral and
green is ground. In 220 mode that would change to black is hot, white is hot and
green is ground.
I am not sure what the "converter" is you are using. it should have a normal 120
volt looking receptacle on one end that you plug the cutter into and then a male
connector of some type on the other. This is where the white wire gets changed
from a grounded conductor into a "hot" wire. With the converter or adapter
unplugged use a continuity meter and check it out. Ground to ground should ring
out. Black or the shorter slot in the normal looking receptacle should ring out
to one on the other side and not to ground. White or the longer slot in the
normal looking receptacle should ring out to the other side and not to ground.
NONE of the wires should have continuity between them, black to white or white
to ground or black to ground should NOT ring out.
If I am correct the other side should have two blades like - - this and below
those are the ground U.
At the receptacle in the wall those two - - should be hot, both of them and
you should have ~220 volts if you put a volt meter between them. You should have
~120 volts from either - to the ground U. This is for an air conditioning type
receptacle.
You may have a setup like \ / and an angle or small L for the ground. The \ and
/ are hot and the L is ground, this would be for a dryer outlet.
A range outlet will have a / \ and a | and can have a smaller angle. The / and \
are hot. The | is neutral and the smaller angle is the ground.
Keith described exactly how the 120/240 volt switch in the cutter works.
Trouble shooting method:
Starting at the wall outlet, check for power on the proper blades, check that
they are 240 between the two hots and 120 between the hots and ground.
Plug in the adapter deal you have, check that you have 240 volts between the
short and long slot on the other end or the female side. Check that you have 120
between those and the ground U.
If you dare and at your own risk with the power on, check that you have 240
between the white and black wires and 120 between those and the ground wire
inside the cutter. Try measuring the voltage from the metal case to the ground
wire, it should be zero but you never know.
Stop where you don't get the proper voltages. Turn the breaker OFF. Fix or
replace where you got the wrong readings. If everything is ok all the way to the
inside of the cutter then the cutter has a problem. If the switch is one of
those without a handle and you slide it over then make sure it is slid all the
way over.
If you are unsure at all then call a qualified electrician. From what I have
read you do have some improper conceptions and an electrician may be in order,
no insult intended.
I am a Master electrician licensed in my state. For further questions or
clarifications please reply here. One last piece of advice, go slow and draw a
picture of what you are doing or trying to do so you can actually see it,
especially at that adapter deal.
I guess I should say that I shall not be held responsible for any damages or
injuries. These are lethal voltages.
Take care,
Thor
Neutral is not used for 220 volts. Make sure you wired the conversion
cord so that both prongs of the 110 socket are connected to both hots
on the 220 plug (one to each). Ground on the 110 outlet should be
connected to the ground pin on the 220 plug. There is no neutral
connection.
Gary
I want to add a point about ground vs neutral. Since neutral normally carries
current and ground should never,
a voltage measurement between the two often shows a difference in potential,
usually only 1 volt or so. You
can be killed touching neutral in a circuit drawing load while you are
"grounded". What is mentioned here is
for series outlets but never assume safety by a color, etc. Circuits on long
runs can cause similar problems
although not usually the case in residential applications.
Your machine may be smart enough to know that there is voltage sitting on what
it expects to be ground. Some
circuit boards are very sensitive to "floating" grounds.
thank you guys for all the replys,
great info , very educational.
try to reply to all of your gretly appriciated replys
thans Gary, i did hold it straight , and it did cut crocked,
now I hold it slightly tilted to the side and it cuts straigt,
(I am using a non-conductive torch guide )
when torch tip replacement comes , i hope this will go away.
yes sir ,
it can not be done incorrectly with out tripping the circuit breaker.
110 socket has 3 screws
220 plug has 3 screws.
i am using 3 wires all shielded 10 gauge, a foot in lenght
these symbols \ / | will represent the way the 220 plug looks like
from the 220 V plug \ (hot blade) black wire goes to 110 socket
copper colored screws
from 220 V plug / (hot blade) red wire goes to 110 socket silver
colored screw
from the 220 V plug (groung ) white wire goes to green terminal on
the 110 socket.
there is no other screws
if it would be done in any other way a breaker would trip ot wire
would melt
the 110 V socket is clearly marked with black permanent marker 220 V
only so no one plugs a 110 plug in accidentally and has a sping
loaded cover over it.
yes o n the 110 socket I got 248 v between the short and the long
blade , and 124 V form any hot to the groung terminal .
i know this converting extention is good
incomming 220 v to sub fed panel must be good because the dryer , a
220 v compressor , and a millermatic 175 runs off of it.
have I missed some thing , I think i covered all
thanks again,
please feel free to comment
thank you for the info,
question
from the main fuse panel to the sub fed panel,
I have 3 6 gauge shielded wire and a bare 10 gauge copper wire
going. this circuit is protedted with a 50 amp circuit braker at the
main panel
the plastic sub panel only has 3 main terminal
2 for hot (for each hot leg 124 V)
and 1 to a bus bar (ground)
this panel is used as 220 service panel
if there is no place for the neutral, should the left disconnected?
thanks
Yes, as long as you don't need 110V in that panel. Be sure it's capped so
it can't short to anything.
As I said before, I'm not an electrician but I don't believe that ground and
neutral should EVER be tied together except in your main panel where the
power initially comes into your house.
Best Regards,
Keith Marshall
snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.