In summery, you would pay an electrican a far amount of money to do this. In most cases, it would be far cheaper to have a new circuit run to carry the load you need than to try and bring an existing one up to the task.
-Rob
I can attest to this, the apartment building I am remodeling slowly was quoted out at $20K to rewire all 4 units, the main areas, install a 220V for a dryer in the basement, and run new service with a new service panel. That sounds like a lot, but after doing 2 of the units ourselves(with a certified electrictian to check off and deal with permits) It is not that much. To run wire, depending on the home can require a lot of demo. On the first unit we tried to fish the wire, but with old lathe and plaster walls, that is a very difficult. The second one we learned it was easier to just gut the wall, run the wire and resheetrock.
Rob hit it on the head, the upgrade to an outlet won't cut it, you have to make sure the wire is up to par, I know to get passed off you have to use a minimum of 14/3 wire for 15amp, and 12/3 for 20 amp. Now, 12/3 can feed a 30amp and be fine, as long as it has only one outlet on it. That is what we had to do to run an electric heater to the bedroom. It is a standard heater, but they did require we run a seperate circuit and 30amp breaker to feed one outlet.
Sorry to break it to you Kevan, but it sounds like, until you check out what you have in the house, you may want to stay away from buying a welder. You may not have the capacity for it. Being a landlord, I can tell you most will not want you welding in the garage, let alone running new wires.
Steve
