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Welder, The correct answer to your question is IT DEPENDS..... . Mainly on the welders amperage rating and at what welding amps youre using it IFFFFF FFFFF you wanna serve it from an existing branch circuit!!! Ifffff the Dryer (depends on its size n rating of course) was only served by a 240 volt 30 amp branch circuit (typical 10 gauge wire and 30 amp circuit breaker), thats 0NLY rated for supplying 30 amps or 24 amps continuous..... . HOWEVERRRRR RRRRR RRRRR R Some (depends on size obviously) home or small shop welders require a 50 amp branch circuit (like 6 gauge wire) SO A 30 AMP BRANCH CIRCUIT IS INSUFFI0CIENT !!!!! !!!!! Ifffff fff the Welder ONLY requires a 240 volt 30 amp branch circuit supply (doubt it unless its a smaller type) and provided the Dryer branch circuit has 10 gauge wire and is indeed a 30 amp branch circuit,,,,, then given a proper sized and matched receptacle (wall outlet) and plug (on the welders cord) you can use it to power the welder. Ifffff fffff the Dryer was served by a 50 amp branch circuit, then of course, provided its all sized proper, that same branch circuit could power even a welder that requires 50 amps. ALSO, its typical for a 240 volt welder to be served by a straight 240 volt branch circuit of 3 wires, 2 hots (240 VAC) and an equipment ground, WITH NO NEUTRAL. In the event (sorta doubt it but I dont have the welders specs) the welder required BOTH 120 VAC and 240 VAC (like it had some fancy shmancy 120 volt controls n other goodies) then the welder branch circuit would have to have 4 (2 Hots, Neutral, Ground) NOT just 3 (2 Hots and Ground) wires BUT AGAIN I DOUBT THAT AS MANY ARE STRAIGHT 240 VAC ONLY..... NO NEUTRAL REQUIRED EXTENSION CORDS AGAIN, the answer is IT DEPENDS on the wire length and the amperage load, buttttt ttttt tt if youre just talkin a plain old garden variety 120 volt 15 or 20 amp branch circuit and youre talkin 50 feet or so, 12 gauge wire (still depends on if cord or in air or conduit n insulation etc etc etc) will suffice. HOWEVER if youre talkin higher amperage it wouldnt hurt to use 10 gauge wire in order to reduce potential voltage drop across the cord(s). The short laymans answer would be simply to use 12 gauge wire which is plenty for medium loads and moderate distances BUTTTTT T if the wire lengths get close to 100 feet and/or the amps increase, then you may wanna consider the use of 10 gauge wire to reduce voltage drop and less I squared R heat energy losses in the wire. AGAIN the load amps,,,,, wire length,,,,, ,,, and voltage requirements of the load is what determines the answer, but that being said, in typical home n shop 120 volt 15 and 20 amp branch circuits under 100 feet, 12 gauge wire should suffice..... .... LET US KNOW THE WELDERS AMPERAGE N VOLTS REQUIREMENTS AND THE DRYER BRANCH CIRCUIT RATING FOR A BETTER ANSWER. See if the dryer was fed with 10 gauge wire (30 amp) or larger (like 6 gauge) ????? ????? ????? ? and check the circuit breaker rating that fed the dryers branch circuit i.e. see if its a 30 amp (probably) or 50 amp branch circuit. Dont forget those outside circuits should be GFCI type, available either from a GFCI outlet or a GFCI circuit breaker. John T (Long retired EE n a lil rusty, but I try n stay safe even if oversized n overkill circuitry is used)
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