wiring

[chumly]

got my new millermatic 175 on monday, still haven't taken it out of the box yet busy reading the owners manual and surfing this board picking up tips. had to change my 220v. plug from a crows foot to a pin receptical. reading the manual it tells me to use a 20 amp. breaker. called miller to verify this, good thing as i have a 50 amp. now! chumly.

[Ed Heimbach]

Good thing you checked, if the machine is run with a 50 amp breaker, you have a chance of doing damage to the unit, best to change to a 20 amp, and be safe.

[chumly]

how big of a breaker is needed for a stick welder? i thought if i got in to thicker material i would go that route. chumly

[Ed Heimbach]

50 amp will most likely be sufficient for most 'hobbiest' type stick welders, Seems that the best bet for you would be to install a 20 amp circuit for your wire welder, and keep the 50 for the stick.
Get the propper recepticle for the plug that came on the wire welder, and hook this to the 20 amp circuit,that way,the plugs can't get crossed,so the smaller machine will always be protected by the smaller breaker.