Wiring Shop for Lincoln AC-225

[desertjim]

Hi All,

I just joined this forum. I'm a beginning welder and have managed to stick up a couple of metal buildings and so far they stayed "glued" despite the wind here in NM. I used a wire-feed and the beads aren't "purty", but....................... I have a long way to go.

I just acquired an almost new Lincoln AC-225 and my shop isn't wired for 50 amps. I was discussing this with my friend, who wired my shop for 30 amps. He thought that I might be able to just use a heavy duty 4-6 gauge extension cord to run from my the electrical input at the house since I don't weld that often and not for long at a time.

I would rather have the shop wired for the welder, actually, but there are other things to consider, not the least of which is the cost. One consideration is having the 50 amp plug right at the meter where I can plug in our motor home and then use the same outlet when I use the welder. Another thing is that I don't have room for another double breaker in the box.

Maybe I should be posting this to an electrical forum, but figured you guys must have run into this before.

The only thing requiring more than 30 amps in my shop, other than the welder, is a large
air compressor. Since I don't have room in my existing electrial box for another double breaker, so another thought was why couldn't we go ahead and run a 4-6 gauge wire to the shop and then run a 30 and a 50 off it (using the space of the existing double breaker).

I'm shooting in the dark at a black target that isn't even there, so any help will be more than welcomed.

Regards,

Jim