"Camilo Ramos" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 17:21:33 +0000, Rich Jones wrote:



Is the intent to draw less wall power?


Not exactly. The intent is to keep the arc from drawing more current than
the house wiring can take. Thus the max available amps are limited by the
breaker rating, in my case 50 amps.
Obviously this is an atrociously innefficient way to get an arc for
welding but its the only one that can be had for $0, which is the amount
I can spend for now.

The easy answer is to weld at less amperage. Reducing the imput current
won't help any; all you will get is an underpowered welder.



--

Regards,

Mongke



If I understand correctly, you are going to use the 208V volts as welding
potential through a water resistor to limit the current so you don't pop the
breaker. If so, what you are likely to do is kill yourself since the stinger
will have the full voltage applied to it when not welding. I believe the
open-circuit voltage of buzz-boxes is not supposed to be higher than around
80V and for good reason. Suggest you wait until you can afford a safer
setup - good coffin probably costs more than a used buzz-box.
billh