220V

[Jake]

I have a 220 outlet in my garage. 40 amp dedicated for a welder that some day I will buy. (I actually use it now to backfeed my generator into.) It is the big huge 4 prong twist lock outlet.

I am assuming that you just need the neutral and the two hots wired, and leave the common. (since it goes to the same bus bar in the fuse panel.) Is it ok to do this? Is the only danger that it will look goofy having a giant plug attached to the skinny wire?

[KHK]

This sounds like a 3 phase plug/outlet. so yes it os OK to connect the Neutral and the two hot wires and leave the fourth disconnected. Just make sure that the neutral on the outlet is connected to the nuetral on the plug and that the hots on the outlet are connected to the same hots on the plug.
I found some 40 amp 480 volt 3 pahse connectors at the local hardware store for $2.00 each. The store had them for a long time and reduced the price to get rid of them. The prices on the boxes rainged fro $12.95 to $17.59 each. I plan to use them for my 160P this summer. My old welder drew 57 amp at 240 volt, the 160P draws about 25 amp at 240. The plug for the old welder was huge. The 480 volt connectors are smaller and easer to handle. I also plan to reduce the old 50 ft extension cord from 3 #4 SO wire to 3 #10 SO wire, also much easier to handle.

The ratings on plugs/outlets are the maximum ratings, you can always do less

keith

[rlitman]

It could be a three phase plug, but I doubt it.
It SHOULD be a 220V plug with an additional neutral connection plus ground.
That would make it a NEMA L14-40 receptacle. If it were three phase, four wire, it would be an L15, L16, or L17, but that's not actually the correct usage for one of these (although it will work just fine).

My question here though, is are you sure it is a 40A receptacle?
I've heard of an L14-30 and an L14-50, but not an L14-40 . . .

Anyway, if you're hooking up a welder to an L14-30 (or 50), you would just not connect the neutral terminal in the plug, if the welder didn't have a neutral wire. No problems.

[Jake]

30 amp plug... 30 am0p circut. It is just single phase.

[KHK]

Yes Jake you are correct. In the home you will find single phase. Some people(like Me) go off on tangents that have no real solution to your question.

Jake said.... I am assuming that you just need the neutral and the two hots wired, and leave the common. (since it goes to the same bus bar in the fuse panel.) Is it ok to do this? Is the only danger that it will look goofy having a giant plug attached to the skinny wire?

Yes, This will work fine and will be safe.

keith

[wellis77]

I'm bringing this back up just to clarify. I have an 8 ga. 4 wire outlet, 50 amp outlet, 40 amp breaker already wired in the garage. Obviously the red/black are wired to the hots, the white neutral, and the ground/ground. To wire up either my plasma or mig welder to these plugs I just need to buy the same plugs as outlet (duh!) but wire the plugs using the white/black wires on the machine as hot and the ground (obvious) but not connect anything to the neutral on the plug (because the neutral is not needed anyhow)? Just want to confirm. Thanks guys.

Will

[Gadget]

If you are saying your plug has two hot lugs, a ground lug, and a neutral lug then yes, you need to connect two hots and the ground. The neutral would not be needed.

[wellis77]

Thanks Gadget. Can't wait to put this thing to use.

[y0y0]

Good day,

I have the same question that I just want to make sure of and not smoke up the whole house like my wife did this morning cooking and setting off the smoke alarms. I have a newer home with a 14-30r as the dryer outlet. I have a gas dryer, so I can plug my 240 welders into there. It is a dual 30amp circuit. Now I already read the answer and I am pretty sure this is correct. The 14-30r is a 4 prong.

I bought 6 feet of 10/3 cord and a 14-30p and a 6-50r.

Green is ground and the previous comment, I left out the 4th wire in the 14-30r which is neutral.

Just making sure, so that I don't have a newly painted interior of black walls and ceiling and the smell of a bad casino with no ventilation.



-C

[Gadget]

Green is typically a safety ground. The neutral wire is also the ground for the appliance. I would connect the neutral wire to the ground lug and test between that and both the power lugs. You should get 120V between ground and either of the lugs and 240 between the two power lugs.