Hey there. I was wondering if anyone can help me with my simple problem. I'm thinking of buying a 3 phase welder but want to move it from place to place. Is there anything out there that would let me use it from a single phase power supply. If needs be i'll just buy a smaller welder on single phase, but really it would be getting used a lot so would prefer a bigger one. Any help would be great.

 

Hi,

For the current draw you need, the solution is a motor-generator. It runs on 120 VAC single-phase and outputs three-phase. This may be expensive.

 

There is also a "phase splitter" that I used to see a lot of farmers and others who lived in rural areas use to convert single- to 3-phase. But it's big, clunky and expensive.

Your best bet is to just buy a good size 220 volt welder. Should be pwerful enough to do most jobs, and 220VAC is pretty common. The biggest problem you would have is switching the plug end from time-to-time to accomodate what-ever 220 receptacle that is available at your varioius job sites.