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How heavy a wire can I use on my 180 amp 110volt mig welder?
I bought an old italian made welder (Daytona 180) that is only 110 volts. I can use .35 flux wire with the welder doing 1/4 to 3/8 plate and angle getting good penetration but a lot of spatter. I am wanting to change to Argon and CO2 mix and use the largest wire I can but do not know what the machine can handle? .030? .035? or even .045? I have read a lot of bad things about the Daytona welding machines but I got this one for 100 bucks and so far its been great.
Thanks for any and all information
Welding Newbie
2 Answers
- ?Lv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
Number 4 cable is what good battery jumper cables use. Consider using a number 2 cable for this machine. If you are not going to use it but for minor repairs then you could use #4 maybe. But do not cheap out on clamps. With cheap clamp on the return wire your current is limited and it gets hot. The better your return connection is the more working amps are available on the spot. The voltage you mentioned is not the voltage present at the tip. Look into that. It might be more like 75 volts, I suspect.
This lower voltage gives you a measure of personal safety.
Source(s): http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm - jmccustomknivesLv 47 years ago
First thing, at 115V the machine is not capable of running at 180 amps. 140 is the max and being an older machine probably 100. run 030 for normal and if doing automotive use 023, check out your drive rolls. If you have 030 the wire will slip.
