breaker tripping

[cooter]

my shop has a subpanel that is ran off of my dad's house's service panel. it has 6 gauge cable ran from a 20 amp breaker in his panel to the shop. it is probably 100-150 feet from one panel to the other. i have a 220 plug on a 20 amp breaker that i run my century 230 ac stick welder off of. i trip the breaker all the time. what size braker do i need and am i safe running the welder off of that 6 gauge cable ran that far. keep in mind my whole shop runs off that 6 guage cable.

[DSW]

Not a surprise the 20 amp breaker trips. Most of those 230v buzz box stick machines want a 50 amp breaker to run full out. Many guys get away running a 30 amp breaker (like a dryer circuit) and running at lower settings. I'm honestly surprised that you can accomplish anything with a 20 amp breaker.

If I remember right, 6g wire will run 50 amps for the whole shop. My concern would be if there is anything else in the run thats under rated, so thats why they tossed in the 20 amp breaker. If the set up would take it, I'd run the 50 amp in the main panel, then a seperate breaker in the sub panel for the machine, with breakers for lights, outlets etc. I'd probably run a 30 amp for the welder, simply to avoid overloading the 50 at the house and tripping everything at once. Thats not hard to do if you are running a fair number of lights ( the 2 or 3 twin 500 watt Halogen work lights are usually our biggest culprit working at night), add in the chop saw or grinder while some one welds at high amps and "Thar she blows!"

One of the sparkys will probably chime in and let you know if code will let you run a bigger breaker on the 6g or not. I can't remember what size you need for a 60 amp breaker right now.

[got aluminum]

Not sure what kind of wire you have but one of the most common is THHN which is actually good for 75 amps. 150 feet should not be an issue for voltage drop.

[moneymaker17]

Not sure what kind of wire you have but one of the most common is THHN which is actually good for 75 amps. 150 feet should not be an issue for voltage drop.

my lincoln 125 welder trips the braker all the time! and its on a 20 amp

[cooter]

thanks for the help. i will look at the cable to see what type it is. i work alone, so i don't have to worry about anybody turning anything on. the only other thing on while i am welding is my stereo and 6 t-12 fluorecent lights.

[Broccoli1]

my lincoln 125 welder trips the braker all the time! and its on a 20 amp

Is this a question?

If you run a Piece of equipment on a certain size breaker i.e. 20amp and it trips the breaker, it is clearly indicating the need to install a Bigger CB and wire accordingly.

I don't understand why you quoted Got Aluminum's post about the wire being able to handle 75amps.

[got aluminum]

Is this a question?

If you run a Piece of equipment on a certain size breaker i.e. 20amp and it trips the breaker, it is clearly indicating the need to install a Bigger CB and wire accordingly.

I don't understand why you quoted Got Aluminum's post about the wire being able to handle 75amps.

Thanks for saying bigger CB abd wire accordingly. It is amazing how many people will put in a bigger breaker because it is tripping but not change the wire size. Here comes the fire.