INSTALLATION
Safety Precautions
WARNING
ELECTRIC SHOCK can kill.
• Do not touch electrically live parts or electrode with skin or wet clothing.
•Insulate yourself from work and ground.
•Always wear dry insulating gloves.
FUMES AND GASES can be dangerous.
• Keep your head out of fumes.
• Use ventilation or exhaust to remove fumes from breathing zone.
WELDING SPARKS can cause fire or 
explosion.
•Keep flammable material away.
•Do not weld on closed containers.
ARC RAYS can burn eyes and skin.
• Wear eye, ear and body protection.
See additional warning information at the front of this operatorʼs manual.
•Connect the Idealarc 250 grounding terminal located under the reconnect panel (marked 
) to a good electrical ground per the U.S. National Electrical Code and any applicable local codes.
•Turn the power switch on the Idealarc 250 “OFF” before connecting or disconnecting output cables or other equipment.
•Only qualified personnel should perform this installa- tion.
Undercarriages: If the optional K866 undercarriage is to be installed, it should be done before connecting the welder to power lines. Instructions are included with the undercarriage.
Location
The machine should be located in a clean, dry place where there is free circulation of clean air such that air movement in the back and along the sides will not be restricted. Dirt and dust that can be drawn into the machine should be kept to a minimum. Failure to observe the precautions can result in excessive operating temperatures and nuisance shutdown of the machine.
Input Connections
Be sure the voltage, phase and frequency of the input power is as specified on the welder rating plate locat- ed on the rear panel of the machine. Either a single phase or one phase of a three phase line can be used.
Have a qualified electrician install the machine per the following instructions:
Remove the left side panel (viewed from the front). Route the input power lines through the hole in the rear panel and center baffle. Lug the input leads with a ring terminal for a 1/4” (6mm) screw. Connect lugged leads to L1 and L2 of the reconnect panel per the wiring diagram pasted to m inside of the side panel. Input connection must conform to the U.S. National Electrical Code and all local codes.
Models designed for two or three input voltages are shipped connected for the highest voltage. Reconnect instructions are on the diagram pasted to the inside of the side panel. Consult rating plate on the rear panel for machine input voltage rating.
The welder frame must be grounded. A stud marked
with the symbol 
located under the reconnect panel is provided for this purpose. See the U.S. National Electrical Code for details on proper ground- ing methods.
Fuse the input circuit with the recommended super lag fuses. Choose an input and grounding wire size accord- ing to local codes or use the following table. “Delay type” circuit breakers may be used in place of fuses. Using fuses or circuit breakers smaller than recommended may result in “nuisance” tripping from welder inrush currents even if not welding at high currents.
RECOMMENDED INPUT WIRE, GROUND WIRE AND FUSE SIZES 200 Amp Output and 50% Duty Cycle
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| Copper Wire Sizes | Fuse Size | ||||
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| Input Amps |
| 75°C in Conduit | (Super Lag) | ||||
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| With | Without |
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| With | Without |
| Input | Freq. | P.F. | P.F. | With |
| Without | Grounding | P.F. | P.F. |
| Volts |
| Cap | Cap | Cap |
| Cap | Conductor | Cap | Cap |
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| 200 | 50/60 | 58 | 81 | #8 |
| #6 | #8 | 70 | 100 |
| 208 | 60 | 55 | 77 | #8 |
| #6 | #8 | 70 | 100 |
| 220/230 | 50/60 | 50 | 70 | #8 |
| #6 | #8 | 70 | 90 |
| 380 | 50 | 29 | 41 | #10 |
| #8 | #10 | 40 | 50 |
| 400 | 50/60 | 29 | 40 | #10 |
| #8 | #10 | 40 | 50 |
| 440/460 | 50/60 | 25 | 35 | #12 |
| #10 | #10 | 35 | 45 |
| 500 | 50 | 22 | 31 | #14 |
| #12 | #10 | 30 | 40 |
| 575 | 60 | 20 | 28 | #14 |
| #12 | #10 | 25 | 40 |
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