wiring requirements for a plasma cutter
- Thread starter Cobra6
- Start date
FluxCore
Well-known member
Go ahead and install a Nema 6-50R, and run 8/3.
Your plasma should come with a Nema 6-50P plug...But wait, some imports don't come with plug...either way, 250V 50A Nema 6-50 is the required setup for welders.
Oh, and 50 amp breaker
Edited to add, YES, you should run it as a dedicated/separate circuit. The breaker will require two spaces in your power panel....A regular 2 pole 240 VAC breaker rated at 50A made by whoever made your box or SQ D equal...breaker should cost no more than 10 bucks, but 6-50 receptical and plug can total 40-60.
Your plasma should come with a Nema 6-50P plug...But wait, some imports don't come with plug...either way, 250V 50A Nema 6-50 is the required setup for welders.
Oh, and 50 amp breaker
Edited to add, YES, you should run it as a dedicated/separate circuit. The breaker will require two spaces in your power panel....A regular 2 pole 240 VAC breaker rated at 50A made by whoever made your box or SQ D equal...breaker should cost no more than 10 bucks, but 6-50 receptical and plug can total 40-60.
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FluxCore
Well-known member
http://www.milspec-direct.com/50A-Lighted-Welding-Extension-Cords-C17.aspx
If you need an extension cord, this is an excellent one...I recently bought two....you can't build it for this price
If you need an extension cord, this is an excellent one...I recently bought two....you can't build it for this price
sberry
Banned
Depends on the model. Most used at home in a small garage run fine from a 10, the main benefit of running a heavier wire is future use with 250 class wire feeders and even then only needed with special processes running screaming wide open at the top of their duty cycle.
FluxCore
Well-known member
Any guy buying a plasma cutter is going to end up wishing he had configured circuit to max.....Yes, some plasma cutters only draw 25-30 amps, but same outlet can be used for stick/mig/tig, and most likely will be eventually....Cost of 50A breaker compared to 30 is same...He will spend a little more for 8 AWG, and by code he needs 6-50 receptical and plug anyway....So go with 8AWG and 50A breaker and forget it.
sberry
Banned
I actually have circuits tailored to every machine at its "home", my welding machines sit next to my main service panels and have 5 subs in the rest of the building. 3 of them have a 6-50 on them for occasional use in that part of the building when needed and ran a 10 to my hoist with an outlet that shares the same wire for wire feed there. I have a 2050 Miller plasma, its home is at the panel, a 10/50 on it. The 175-200 feeders get a dedicated 10/30, a 250 mig and a AC/DC buzzer each have a full 50A, the buzzer has ran way past its duty cycle several times in its life, run was so short it got 6 wire as I have a roll in stock. If I had to buy it would have been 8, just easier to wire but have put several in small garages with a 10 for them. They actually allow as small as 12 with 50A breaker, single circuit in pipe but no one thinks that is a great idea even if it is a legal circuit.
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Mickey O
Well-known member
Depends on what plasma cutter you get, mine (Snap-On YA5550) requires a 60 amp 240 circuit.
sberry
Banned
Its just not an issue for me to run a new circuit, some things I plan ahead to some extent but if I buy a new piece of equipment its just part of the normal process to add wiring for it. In a common garage I might leave some provision to add something later, screw on wall covering near the panel etc so it wasn't a gut wrenching ordeal to add a circuit. As much as a guy tries to plan it seems to work slightly different once you get there. There were general things I knew for sure. but its different today than the sketch I drew back in the day, you want to move things etc. I knew the area the welding equipment was going to reside in, didnt know the number of units etc, knew where the pressure washer was going to sit, the subs left a lot of options open, didnt have to run across the building and over doors for every new circuit. Put a walk in cooler outside, right thru the wall to a panel.
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