“Can a MIG welder work from a regular 110 volt outlet? My shop space only has this kind of power at the moment. Do I need to have a 220 volt outlet installed?”
The short answer is yes, 110 volts can work fine for MIG welding, but with limitations. One of the great things about learning to weld as a homeowner right now is that there are many small welders on the market that are inexpensive and only require an ordinary outlet to plug into. Even the big welder I’m using right now in my own shop – a Lincoln 210 – can use either 220 or 110 volt power. The unit comes with two cords, one for each kind of outlet. Working off of 110 volts limits the thickness of metal that can be welded (about 1/8″ maximum), but you can still do a lot of welding like this. Step up to 220 volts for welding the full thickness of metal – about 1/2″ thick.
The most economical welders all operate exclusively on 11o volts. You can see one of these small welders in action on a job I did recently in the video below. I think this will surprise you.
- Video Watch Time = 4 minutes
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