Tig Welder

So I could actually use the same wire, just double it up. That sounds interesting. I may look into this more. Thank you.
Well, I said *I'd* consider trying it, but I'm an electrical engineer and also a little bit crazy. Whether or not I actually would try rewinding it would depend on what I found when I took it apart.
 
Transformers aren't as efficient in "reverse" as they are in the way they're designed to be used. It has to do with the magnetic flux around the core and the position of the coils.
They work exactly as well one way as the other.
 
You have sparked my interest in doing this. I don't want to mess anything up, could you give some tips. I know I will have to be careful with the wire. But what else should I look for?
 
Got a few pics of the inside of the welder. The main transformer actually has 3 windings on it
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Looking at the first post with the circuit diagrams, I would say the fan motor is 230Vac in both configuration (230V or 460V supply), so if you just disconnected wire '11' from the switch to the transformer and reconnect from the switch to the transformer terminal wire '13' connects to you would get all the correct voltages out of the transformer when running on 230Vac (the 24V control supply, supply to the electrode, etc). You would probably still only be able to draw the original 33 amp from the supply without risking burning out the transformer primary so would need to de-rate the welder output to around 1/2 current - but you could easily add a fuse or circuit breaker to the input to protect against that and give it a try.

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With wire 13 being 230v, logically wouldn't there be the other end of that wire somewhere? Or would it actually splice off of the 460 coil winding?
 
That's what the circuit diagram is showing, 460v across the entire primary with a tap off half way for the fan motor (which I'm assuming is 230vac). It is called an auto transformer and can be done with only one winding needed, and also work the other way round - when you put 230v on as show in my markup you will get 460v at the unused end so make sure you insulate it and don't just leave a wire floating around.

As you haven't increased the wire size you as still limited to the original transformer current limit - which is probably something just above the 33A quoted supply requirement, but how much above is unknown unless you can find some actual markings on the transformer.
 
According to the manual, there is over temperature protection circuitry so you could probably still use to full capacity, just derate the duty cycle chart accordingly.

If the tap for the fan comes out from the winding (and is 230v), you may be able to split the primary winding there and reconnect the two halves as two parallel windings.
 
Thank you everyone for the help with this. You all are a great bunch of guys!
 
Yes the fan is 220v. So I can input 220 to the "fan" lead (#13) and power the welder, this is great news. I really can't express how grateful I am for the info guys, you saved me a lot of time and money on this. Thank you!
 
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