Did something dumb today.

[aigheadish]

Hmm... I'll have to look into it. I know I tried just a standard, orange yard extension cord and I ended up popping the breaker.  What gauge would work for just a small 120v Lincoln Handy-Mig? I assume 10 or 8? Seems easy enough, though the wire is likely 100 bucks now. It would be nice to move the welder instead of the work every time.

[Nebraska]

I think mine is #10.

[cutterboy]

Two weeks ago I bought a 100ft extension cord #10 for $86 on ebay. Most prices I saw were $128.

[btulloh]

#10 for an extension. Don't make the extension any longer than really necessary. If you've got some #10 romex, that would be fine, just nut as friendly as good stranded cable. 

Is your circuit a true 20 amp - 20a breaker with #12 wire?  

[Magicman]

Both of mine are 10' and 8 gauge that I made up myself.  My Hobart 180 is on it's own wheels and the Lincoln tombstone is mounted on a two wheel dolly.

[aigheadish]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info!

btulloh- my wife does all the electricity but I'm pretty sure it's a 15 amp breaker. I do have an outlet nearby with 220v wire (is that 12 gauge? I bought it but don't remember, I remember its beefy and yellow) going to it on a legit 20 amp breaker that if I had an extension cord would work well. That was my wife's first suggestion. 

[btulloh]

I think that welder is 110 only. If it can be setup for 220, that would be an advantage. If you're running it on a 15a breaker, that would explain why the breaker is tripping. It really needs a 20a circuit @110 to be happy. 

The existing circuit with the 15a is probably limited to 15a by wiring. If it's #12 wire, it is capable of 20a with a breaker change. Don't change the breaker unless the wiring is sufficient for 20amp though. If that welder can be 110 or 220, you'd be ahead of the game by reconfiguring to 220 and running off your 220 circuit, especially if you want to use an extension cord. 

[aigheadish]

Thanks btulloh! 

We initially set that circuit up to be a 220 but then realized after the wiring was in that we didn't really want it, so the wiring is still 220 grade. The welder is definitely a 110 and it only trips the breaker on the outlet I'm currently using (not the one with the 220 wiring) with a normal yard extension cord. The outlet with the 220 wiring is about 15' deeper into the garage. I'm going to look for a beefier extension cord. 

[rusticretreater]

I have a Fourney Easy Weld Mig setup.  Its not a big welder at all.  The manual said it needed a 20amp circuit and it has the special patterned plug. I ran a dedicated #12 circuit and made sure it extended well outside the garage so I could work on things easily.  It loops up and hangs on a wood hanger when not in use.

[NE Woodburner]

so the wiring is still 220 grade.

When you say 220 grade wiring, make sure you understand what that means. Wire gauge (thickness of the wire) needed depends on the current draw (Amps), not voltage. So you want a wire gauge rated for the amps of the circuit. The wire, circuit breaker and any receptacles all need to be rated for the amp load.

Voltage being 110 or 220 doesn't drive the wire gauge, but it does affect the number of hot wires. For example, a 110 v, 20 amp circuit requires 12 ga wire and there will typically be 3 wires - a hot, neutral and ground wire. A 220 v, 20 amp circuit also requires 12 ga wire, but there will be two hot wires and a ground and sometimes a neutral wire (not always needed depending on the wiring needs of the appliance you are serving).

You can always use a heavier gauge wire, but don't go lighter. If in doubt call an electrician or ask an electrician friend if you have one.

[aigheadish]

Thanks NE- I actually have several family members that are electricians, so that's a good call, unfortunately they all live just far enough away that it's not a simple trip up to check things out. They are happy to give advice though. 

It's been a few months since I looked at the wiring but I believe it's the latter you mentioned with the 4 wire setup...

[woodman52]

Just to be clear - The amperage of a circuit is determined by the breaker (not the outlet or the extension cord). The outlet should be wired with the appropriate gauge wire. You also have to be careful about the length of an extension cord, the longer the cord the larger the gauge should be. Go bigger if you have any doubt or are popping a breaker. If you are popping a ground fault outlet (or breaker) there can be other things at play besides an overload.

[beenthere]

If you are popping a ground fault outlet (or breaker) there can be other things at play besides an overload.

As I understand it, GFCI has nothing to do with an "overload". Only imbalance between hot and neutral/ground that trips the GFCI circuit breaker.

[hilltopper46]

Don't forget - breakers can go bad as well. I almost replaced my central A/C a few years ago because it was popping the 220 20(?) amp breaker - until I talked to a guy who came out to bid the job and we decided it might be worth trying a new breaker. Replaced it with a breaker of the same amperage and it has worked perfectly ever since.

[MattW]

If your popping your breaker your welds might not be as good as they should due to voltage drop.
We just got a 110/220 Chicom stick welder.
Turns out the garage is a shared 15amp 110 outlet.
Not only was I popping the breaker, but couldn't keep the arc stable at all, running cold.
Built an extension cord to run it off my 220 outlet and boy it sings, had to crank the amperage setting way down.
I can't even imagine the voltage drop on 110 before the breaker would pop, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty.

[DWyatt]

Note to self. The proper order is to move your finger that's holding the house wrap then swing the slap stapler, not the other way around. The staple missed my index finger, but the stapler did not :

[GAB]

Note to self. The proper order is to move your finger that's holding the house wrap then swing the slap stapler, not the other way around. The staple missed my index finger, but the stapler did not :

OUCH!!!
GAB

[terrifictimbersllc]

Figured out today that my debarker motor was spinning backwards. The blade teeth correctly were pointing towards rear of mill,  but motor was spinning towards front of mill. Somehow in experimenting with different rotations i reverted it to the factory configuration but forgot to swap the motor leads. Now it cuts a groove again.

While sawing today i was thinking about making a post on how long does a debarker blade last, and who resharpens them. Then i looked carefully at the spinning blade, and saw it was going the wrong way. No need for that post now.

Not sure this qualifies for this thread, because i actually did something smart today, but instead was doing something dumb for maybe a year or more.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Not sure if this is still needed but my debarker blade lasted about 1125 engine hours and sawed over 200,000 bf. It had one tooth remaining when the WM service team came by on their loop and pointed it out to me. I ordered a new one and replaced it a few days later. The service team told me they were not repairable or able to sharpen.

[JJ]

Did they only replace the 1 tooth Howard? 🤭
Wait, ur in WV, where the toothbrush was invented 😂, of course only one tooth is needed. 

   JJ

[WV Sawmiller]

  I already covered that question when I posted right after their visit. ;)

[rusticretreater]

@terrifictimbersllc 
So you are catching up on your 365 days x 2 did something dumb today posts.   8)

[terrifictimbersllc]

Would have been nice of you to say that i am caught up.  :D

[Ljohnsaw]

So I set to work to heat up and dimple the new ripper teeth on to the ripper bars.  I took this before picture:


 A little too close!  So I slipped it on (look closely at what you can see of the ripper bar), heated it with the oxy/acet torch and used a ball-peen hammer to dimple it.  I had to get the metal really hot.  I thought red hot would do - nope.  Orange - nope.  Took straw heat to get a dimple.  After I did 5 of the 8, I realized I put them on upside down :

On the plus side, I got to test them trying to hammer them off.  Had to reheat and beat them off.  Sliding them back on, I had to beat them on which meant they wouldn't fall off like the first time trying to dimple them ;)  Anyhow, all done.

[Crossroads]

Bet ya don't do that again anytime soon