Welder question

[Machspeed]

I know this a little off topic for this forum but I appreciate the amount of useful knowledge here. I recently picked up a welder from a garage sale for cheap. It's not a name brand welder and I don't have the highest expectations but it is a new, never used, 230v mig and claims to put out 195a. However, it did not come with a plug. The power wire has three wires. One blue, one brown and a yellow wire with a green stripe. I Googled these colors and found out this machine is possibly set up for European use. I don't know if this corect or not but my question is how do I know for sure and is there a way for me use this with my current 220v setup I have in my garage?

Thank you

[427mach1]

I would contact the manufacturer and give them the model number, serial number, and any other identifying information and ask them.  I would also try to get them to send an owner's manual.

[Machspeed]

To be honest that's my plan but they are currently closed and I'm impatient.

[Bolted to Floor]

There should be a tag or plate on it somewhere that shows a voltage or voltage range, amp draw, phase, and hertz. If the plate shows 120/240 or 115/230, 1 phase,  then you should be good to go for the house but you will need a wiring diagram to verify connections. There should be one on an inside cover.

 A volt / Ohm meter should confirm the green stripe wire is a ground. 

[Heo]

Green/ yellow is ground in Eur. Atleast in Sweden. Blue is zero
We have 220 one phase, 380 three phase

[frnkeore]

I don't know Euro wiring but, in the USA, if it has just 3 wires, it will be single phase (1 phase).

The thing you need to know, is if it's 110v or 220v (basic terms). I don't know what "0" means in Euro wiring but, we have something called a "common" for 110. It's basically another ground.

Use a Ohmmeter and test the wires to the welders case. If 2 wires indicate a ground, it will be 110v. If only one (the green stripe maybe?) is grounded, it should be 220v.

[BigBlueIron]

If its a 195a welder its 220v single or "split" phase. Yellow with green stripe is ground, position of the other 2 doesn't matter. Either way you should be able to open the side panel and see the connections and there should be a schematic on it somewhere.

[Falcon67]

If its a 195a welder its 220v single or "split" phase. Yellow with green stripe is ground, position of the other 2 doesn't matter. Either way you should be able to open the side panel and see the connections and there should be a schematic on it somewhere.

This - 240VAC motors and typically welders that are not dual voltage only need L1 and L2 hot with a ground wire.  The plug on most welders is probably a 5-50P

[Heo]

I don't know Euro wiring but, in the USA, if it has just 3 wires, it will be single phase (1 phase).

The thing you need to know, is if it's 110v or 220v (basic terms). I don't know what "0" means in Euro wiring but, we have something called a "common" for 110. It's basically another ground.

Use a Ohmmeter and test the wires to the welders case. If 2 wires indicate a ground, it will be 110v. If only one (the green stripe maybe?) is grounded, it should be 220v.

0=another ground here

[frnkeore]

Heo,
Are you saying that a single wire has 220v? In the US, you have to connect to 2 wires, to get above 120v.

I ask this, because you say that the "0" wire is the same as our "common" wire. Our "common" is always a white wire.

[Heo]

Heo,
Are you saying that a single wire has 220v? In the US, you have to connect to 2 wires, to get above 120v.

I ask this, because you say that the "0" wire is the same as our "common" wire. Our "common" is always a white wire.

Yes we have 220...or it is often closer to 240 but it is called 220 on one phase and 380 between two phases
so on 220 you have 2 or three wires if its its grounded. And four or five wires on 380, ground, optitional 0, and
three phases. 0 and ground go to same place in the fuse box

[67428GT500]

I have noticed some of the Harbor Freight type tools use wire colors other than the standard white green black that is common with U.S. tools. Most welders are 220 except the really small ones.  Take the cover off the welder. You should be able to find out voltage from a tag internally.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Yellow/green is ground.  You can likely remove a cover and see that it is connected to the main body of the machine.

My guess this is set up for like a single phase 220v(like a dryer).

It's going to need a 40 to 50 amp plug, like a dryer.  You can get 220 plugs of all sizes, but you need one rated for the welder. Yes, it welds at 195 amps, but that is not the power it draws.

My upright compressor is wired for 220v, but takes a more std 3 pin plug(with one pin rotated) as it is only like 7 amps running(half what it takes to run on 120v).

[Falcon67]

Just to be picky, all common AC in the US is 120 single phase and 240 single phase.  "220" went away a very long time ago.  But still - 220, 221 - whatever it takes.   

[frnkeore]

Ever here of 208?