possible to convert 110 to 220v?

Question

thinking of buying an arc welder that uses 220. do they sell 110 to 220 converters? some homes dont have 220, thats why I was asking. thanks..

I will be using this for doing repairs on customer's houses. I have a 110 arc welder but it is too weak, so I will purchase another more powerful I have 220 on my house, but will be using it other places. thank you very much..

Answer 1

Your home may have 220. Do you have an electric furnace, a electric water heater, or a central Air unit?

If so, you may have 220V to the house. I think you may be asking a 110 plug to do too much. Welders draw a lot of current. Get an electrician to take a look and see what it would cost you to run a 220V 20 or 30A plug.

Answer 2

I am willing to bet your house has 220 volts. If it was built after 1945 I guarantee it.
I will answer the question based on that your house has 220 volts What I think you are asking is can you convert 110 volt power (like an outlet) to 220 volt. I doubt it. The only way it would work is if the power to that outlet was a dedicated line. (no other outlets or lights on that wire) That is not likely, BUT even if it is ....what size (how many amps does your welder use) is your welder. The average size of wire in your house is 14-2 that is good for a 15 amp breaker or 12-2 that is good for a 20 amp breaker. I would think that even at 220 volt your welder would use more then 20 amps.

Answer 3

In that case Working away from your home, you need a Generator Ark Welder and they are sold from small to large or from 200 dollars all the way up into thousands.Sometimes a small emergency generator will do just fine and you can buy a set of welding probes with them as an accessory item.

Answer 4

I would recommend you spend a little more money and buy one that has a gas engine to drive it...but one note all homes have 220 volts to them as i have been doing electrical work for 40 years and have never seen a home that didnt have a 220 volt service to it...

Answer 5

I have to agree with Fordman, unless the house is so old that it has no electric appliances etc. that use 220. Even a clothes dryer is 220, as are most ranges/ovens.

Is this for home use, or on the road for site jobs?

"Conversion" in my mind equates to reduction. Unless of course you could find a converter that works on the same principal as a car 12 volt sys. allowing power to 110 appliances,,,BUT THEN often any appliances crafted for car use, accept the 12 volt within, in a conversion. IE: Honda SUV.

I'm a GC, not strictly an electrician but in all my exeriences, even with 660, I've never encountered INCREASING power, if it isn't that way at the MAIN. Obviously anything higher the 110 is broken off of higher...IE: Usual residential service.

Steven Wolf

Answer 6

what about a motor driven type?

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/enginedriven/

http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/lecostepsearch.asp?FAM=Welders&fid=101&SORD=119+143&FT_143=143&FT_119=394&FT_119=434&FT_119=443

here are some prices from grainger on diferent models;
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?originalValue=motor+driven+welders&L2=Driven+Welders&operator=prodIndexRefinementSearch&L1=Engine

sounds like this would really be the best bet for you, that way you aren't relying on how good hte customers wiring is and if you equiptment will over load it.

Answer 7

you can look at you main panel, it should have a label on it stating if it is 120 or 240 volts. or if your main breaker is a single pole or double pole, double pole is two breakers with a common handle (one handle on two breakers side by side), this will mean your service is 240 volts or 2 separate 120 volt lines feeding your main panel.

Answer 8

in answer to your question, can you convert 120 to 240. no, not for that kind of amperage. if you have a breaker box, more than likely you have 240.