power source

[denny wise]

I spent a good part of today trying to fix an Italian MIG welder to
work long enough to fix a door skin ( no parts available ). A roller blade wheelbearing is the same as the pinch roller!!!. My wife has been asked to do bodily harm if she sees me using anything not blue with Miller labels. Now the question, can I use my Bobcat 225G as a power source for a Millermatic 200 & my Econotig? There is no power source in my shop (a.k.a. elm tree, as the barn renovation is taking forever. Many thanks -- denny wise

[MAC702]

The quick answer is "yes." Now, the ease of doing so depends on how able you are to make an adapter if you need one. The Bobcat 225NT (hopefully like your 225G,) like my Trailblazer 301G, has a 50-Amp, 120/240-Volt full-KVA receptacle. Basically, it has both 120 V conductors, plus the neutral and ground conductors, allowing you to power an auxiliary panel, bus for bus, if you ever needed to. I do. Now, to power my Millermatic 175 and my Spectrum 375 Cutmate (which I wired to have the same 30-Amp, 240 V plug), I had to make an adapter, using a short length of 8 AWG (You will want 6 AWG, probably.) Using "cord caps" from Home Depot (they cost between 9 and 12 dollars each, depending on which ones you need,) I wired the 50-Amp plug for the full-KVA receptacle, without using a neutral, not even putting the blade in the plug. So, yes, even though there are four holes in the receptacle, you only need a 3-conductor cord for this application, two "hots" and the grounding conductor. The neutral is the one in the middle/bottom, BTW. Now, on the other end of the cord, you install another receptacle, whichever is correct for your application, a 30-Amp, straight-blade, in my case. I also have another adapting power cord, a long one that converts the crowfoot dryer receptacle to the same straight-blade receptacle for my shop use. One last word from me, unless someone points out that I missed something: you may not get full rated output from your Econotig, which can draw up to 52 Amps input power at the normal 230 V wiring. I have no pictures of the exact plugs on the 200 or the Econotig (and they aren't in the spec sheets,) nor any idea how long you need these cords to be, or I could be more specific. I lied: one final word: it's not really hard to install a 240 V outlet. Most every house has a 240 V panel. If you aren't comfortable doing the work yourself, it shouldn't be a great expense to have it done.

[ASKANDY]

Great answer guys!

[MAC702]

wrong rated cord cap specified

Oops. Upon checking out my own gear I discovered I may be leading you slightly astray. You will need to install 50-Amp NEMA receptacles at the other end of your adapter. So you can have a Leviton 50-Amp / 240-Volt plug on one end (to go into your generator) and the other end can be a Leviton NEMA 50, straight receptacle. I had incorrectly stated that I was using a 30-Amp receptacle earlier. And this should be the plug used by all the 230 V Miller machines (the NEMA 50, that is.)

[jessp]

MAC702

If you are selling your 301g, can you give me some insight about it. How old? Hours? Trouble with it? and of course price. You may email me direct if you like. [email protected]

[hankj]

Mac,

Wassup? You back in the desert for good? Good to hear from you, and I hope all (and Amy) is/are well.

Hank

[Paul Seaman]

Hank:
The new guys are dredging up ancient threads, Mac isn't back, I would enjoy hearing from him.

Jessp, these threads have a date in the upper left corner.

Thanks.

[hankj]

Paul,

I was so glad to see his handle, I never looked at the date. Bummer. Kinda took down my morning.

Hank

[jessp]

Hank:
The new guys are dredging up ancient threads, Mac isn't back, I would enjoy hearing from him.

Jessp, these threads have a date in the upper left corner.

Thanks.

Sorry about that........didn't even notice....Anyway, anyone have a 301g for sale? I am looking for one to be able to use the rest of my toys without having to find a generator to run them off of as I don't do pipeline work anymore per se.

Thanks,

Jess