Air Compressor and Tools

[pgilbeau]

Lack of 220v should be fixed, as you want a welder too. Trust me, you do. Yes, long hoses are the solution. They're cheap and ive found very few things around my house that a 100 footer wasn't good enough for.

100ft won't cut it for my painting, maybe 200ft. Funny you mention the welding because I would like to learn how in the future. I had some money set aside for garage lighting, maybe it will have to go for 220v instead.

If your main panel is 150 amps or more and has room I'd recommend just getting a sub panel installed into the garage. That way you can have as many outlets, lights, welders, and air compressors you want. I added a 100 amp panel to my garage and it was one of the best things I could have done.

I am no electrician, how can I tell if my panel is more than 150 amps? Also noticed I have 2 50amp breakers marked hot tub, however we don't have one so maybe that is a good thing.

[ZOSO]

how old is the house? Also there should be a main breaker that feeds everything. It would say 100/125/150/200 amps depending on service. If you have a 50 amp breaker marked hot tub but dont have one you may get lucky.

[Justin]

Those two 50 amp breakers would be perfect to run a sub panel off. Mine is run off a pair of 60's and ive had no problems with supply.

[pgilbeau]

how old is the house? Also there should be a main breaker that feeds everything. It would say 100/125/150/200 amps depending on service. If you have a 50 amp breaker marked hot tub but dont have one you may get lucky.

House was built in '98, the main breaker has a 200 on it. Also its two 50 amp breakers that were marked for the hot tub. I may just have to check into the whole 220v thing.

[ZOSO]

You've got plenty of power to do what ever you want. Find an electrician and have them look at it. It wont be much more expensive to set a sub panel over just a 220 compressor.

[Aztec77Bronco]

how old is the house? Also there should be a main breaker that feeds everything. It would say 100/125/150/200 amps depending on service. If you have a 50 amp breaker marked hot tub but dont have one you may get lucky.

House was built in '98, the main breaker has a 200 on it. Also its two 50 amp breakers that were marked for the hot tub. I may just have to check into the whole 220v thing.

You'll have 240V (220V), all electric dryers are 220v. My house is 116 years old and I only have a 100 amp service, I still run a 60 amp double pole breaker to my shop. I've never personally seen a home that doesn't have 220v run to it. If you have overhead service from your transformer count the wires. you'll have either 2 solid black and one black w/ a yellow stripe or 3 black wires, all wrapped around a bare aluminum wire.

You can also pop the cover on the breaker panel & look inside. You'll have 2 separate bars, called bus bars. Each one is 120V. To get 240v just pop in a double pole breaker that connects to each bar and Voila` you have a 240v feed.

More than likely the hot tub breaker isn't connected inside your panel, if it is, pull the breaker loose, disconnect the wires, and wire up your new service. Or find where it runs to and connect from there if it's closer. The biggest issue I've seen is people running too small of wire for too long of a distance and everything overheats.

This may help www.icmag.com/modules/Tutorials/Electri ... y/1655.htm

[crawlercreations]

These look like a decent deal to get a nice reel. Missing the guides but they aren't super required. Yank the hydraulic hose and install your own air hose and you're set.

[pgilbeau]

Looks like the power issue in my garage is going to get resolved, going to get set up for an air compressor and welder, also still doing new lighting. I think I am going to go with the compressor Justin has. Can anyone post some pics of their set up? I am basically re-configuring my work area and looking for ideas. Since I am planning ahead for welding what are some good welders, I would primarily be using it for the Bronco.

[Justin]

I can post up a pic or two. What's the welder budget? If you can spend a grand, there are some awesome options. Also some great ones for less.

[Gunnibronco]

My 60 gal IR.

P1030313.JPG

I would recommend a welder 180amps minimum, probably a 210 if you can swing it. Hobart is a good less expensive brand made by Miller (we use a Hobart 230 almost everyday at the bodyshop). Miller & Lincoln are both great brands. Justin has a Thermal Arc, and likes it.

I have an older Century welder 230 amps, its big and loud, but I really like it.

[phyler]

There is a Porter Cable 80 gallon on CL: http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/5509968432.html

I have the Tweco 211i welder which is pretty much the same as what Justin has. It's a great welder and you can usually find it for less than $1000. You definitely want to go as big as your budget will allow.

[pgilbeau]

Right now I am just getting the electrical done and going to most likely get the Home Depot 60 Gallon compressor. Realistically I am just trying to figure out everything I need to get and what outlets and circuits I should get installed. I don't have a welder budget at the moment, just trying to get ideas/plan for down the road.

[Justin]

The cheapest welder I'd buy is the hobart mvp 210. It's a solid welder, and hobart is owned by miller. With a couple hundred more in budget (money well spent) I'd be looking at the new version of the Miller 211 or the Lincoln 210 Mp that came out recently. I'm generally very happy with my thermal arc 211i as well, but there are fewer places to have it serviced.