110V lincoln welder constantly trips the breaker! annoying 20 amp system

[blondejoncherokee]

I have a lincoln sp 135. that i run on a 25 foot 12 gauge cord coming out of the wall.

its on a 20 amp breaker in the system,, garage came wired that way.

i know when i first got the thing, it did not trip the breaker ever 5 seconds on full heat I can barely run a 1" bead without it breaking, this is only on full heat, on lower heat it does not trip as fast, but will still trip.

i use .035 flux core.

Things i have done:
replace the breaker ( i will do this again, and double check the wiring on the breaker again)

I've also read that reducing wire size may help, possibly go down to .030?



Things I've found from research:
run only the welder on the setup, turn off radio and lights.
possibly get a 8 or 10 gauge extension cord, and see if i can get by with a shorter cord , that seems like it would help.

should i try changing the wall outlet it is plugged into?

any ideas?
could it be something in the welder?

anyone else welding on 110v and having similar issues?

 

[old_man]

A larger extension cord will only make the problem worse. It sounds like you may have a shorted winding in the welder.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

larger as in length or gauge or both?
so staying with 12 gauge, but getting a shorter extension cord would help ?

what is a shorted winding?

 

[old_man]

larger as in length or gauge or both?
so staying with 12 gauge, but getting a shorter extension cord would help ?

what is a shorted winding?

A bigger( as in conductor size) will actually allow the welder to pull more current, causing the breaker to blow sooner. The same goes for shorter.

A shorted winding means a failure in the transformer inside the welder.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

A bigger( as in conductor size) will actually allow the welder to pull more current, causing the breaker to blow sooner. The same goes for shorter.

A shorted winding means a failure in the transformer inside the welder.

hmm. it seems like a shorted winding would be much more involved or possibly not fixable. it also seems like a smaller gauge extension cord is not an option either. Man. ill try a new breaker again and look into testing it for a shorted winding.

 

[old_man]

hmm. it seems like a shorted winding would be much more involved or possibly not fixable. it also seems like a smaller gauge extension cord is not an option either. Man. ill try a new breaker again and look into testing it for a shorted winding.

The real test would be to actually measure the amount of current being drawn by the welder from the wall plug. If it is a shorted winding, it pretty much isn't fixable.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

ouch. ill check that.

 

[techno1154]

I disagree that using a larger conductor extension cord will increase the AMP draw. The AMP draw is fixed based on the design and internal specifications of the unit. If the wires are too small to allow the needed amount of current, the wires will over heat pass less current and repeats itself until something gives,...in this case the breaker trips.

While it is possible that you may have a faulty welder, I would also look at the size of wires in the wall. Like a high/er AMP alternator retrofitted to the XJ with the corresponding larger alternator to battery cable, so also all the wire from the breaker panel the the welder must be up to the task. There are charts available that will help you to determine based on length of wire and the AMP draw the correct size of wire to use. I will also get an extension with larger conductors as well take a good look at the outlet itself.

I hope it all work out for you soon.

 

[xcm]

Ive had this issue from gunk building up in the diffuser tip... You mention your running flux core, i know most cheap flux core machines dont have diffuser tips, but yours might as its a middle of the road unit. The diffuser tip is what your tip TIPS screw into...

Ive also had similar breaker issues when using cheap home depot extension cords.... it wasnt the thickness of the wires, but more so the cheapness of the cord. Tie one end to a stationary object, gently tug on the other end, and you just broke some of the wire strands in the cord...

 

[GrimmJeeper]

i was popping 20 amp breakers with my lincoln 125sp, i ran a new line off of a dedicated 40 amp breaker and haven't had a problem since.

 

[old_man]

I disagree that using a larger conductor extension cord will increase the AMP draw. The AMP draw is fixed based on the design and internal specifications of the unit. If the wires are too small to allow the needed amount of current, the wires will over heat pass less current and repeats itself until something gives,...in this case the breaker trips.

While it is possible that you may have a faulty welder, I would also look at the size of wires in the wall. Like a high/er AMP alternator retrofitted to the XJ with the corresponding larger alternator to battery cable, so also all the wire from the breaker panel the the welder must be up to the task. There are charts available that will help you to determine based on length of wire and the AMP draw the correct size of wire to use. I will also get an extension with larger conductors as well take a good look at the outlet itself.

I hope it all work out for you soon.

SPOBI
Before you put forth your hypothesis, get some education in electronics. A smaller wire will heat up more and limit current. That would actually help since the breaker "blows" due to too much current.

 

[xcm]

OH NO HE DID-NT!

 

[techno1154]

SPOBI
Before you put forth your hypothesis, get some education in electronics. A smaller wire will heat up more and limit current. That would actually help since the breaker "blows" due to too much current.

Thank you very much for that reality check. I needed that.

Now to the OP,... I too had the exact same problem you have with a Lincoln Pro Core 100. My solution was to put the welder on a dedicated breaker and use #10 AWG wire instead of the 12 AWG that exsisted. And OH by-the-way, I still uses the same 15 AMP breaker that would trip every time I try to run a bead longer than 1.5".

 

[old_man]

So andecdotal evidence trumps the laws of physics?

 

[GrimmJeeper]

So andecdotal evidence trumps the laws of physics?

welcome to the internet

 

[knucklehead 61]

your problem is that you are exceeding the 20a breakers load capacity with the welder, lights, & radio & who knows what else all on one circuit.

plug the welder into a dedicated circuit with a 20a breaker.

problem solved. :cheers:

 

[xbaadleej]

The smaller size wire has more resistance than a heavier gauge wire would. The welder has an internal resistance that varies depending on the setting of the machine. The more resistance you add to the circuit(i.e. lighter gauge wire, the more current it will draw in turn tripping the breaker. Heavier gauge wire ALLOWS you to pull more, it does not CAUSE you to draw more current.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/ohmslaw.html

 

[old_man]

The smaller size wire has more resistance than a heavier gauge wire would. The welder has an internal resistance that varies depending on the setting of the machine. The more resistance you add to the circuit(i.e. lighter gauge wire, the more current it will draw in turn tripping the breaker. Heavier gauge wire ALLOWS you to pull more, it does not CAUSE you to draw more current.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/ohmslaw.html

SPOBI
Before you make such forcefull statements, how about if you get a degree in electrical engineering and a few years of experience. What you say is absolutely WRONG. I've been an electronics test engineer for almost 40 years and I am the head of test engineering for a 300 million dollar company.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

The smaller size wire has more resistance than a heavier gauge wire would. The welder has an internal resistance that varies depending on the setting of the machine. The more resistance you add to the circuit(i.e. lighter gauge wire, the more current it will draw in turn tripping the breaker. Heavier gauge wire ALLOWS you to pull more, it does not CAUSE you to draw more current.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/ohmslaw.html

ha!

What you say is absolutely WRONG.

^this.

 

[toyotawrench]

:wave1: