I've acquired for my home workshop (in my ex-garage attached) an old Oxford Olympic 185amp oil cooled arc-welder which is tripping the main RCD next to my consumer units ... there is no fault on the welder as I have used it elsewhere.
My home set-up:
in the cellar
100 amp main fuse then meter
to
5 way DP Service Con Box (this has some spare ways)
to
Wylex WEM 80/2 RCD (80amp 100mA trip)
to
a pair of Wylex NN616 consumer units (these are linked to create sufficient ways - big house!)
then from a 30A MCB (Wylex NB30) in the consumer unit via 4.0mm T&E (radial) to a Wylex 3 Way Metal Consumer Unit (rewireable fuses) in the garage
one lighting circuit
one ring main for sockets
one radial terminating at a 32 Amp 3 Pin Wall Socket.
This set-up has worked perfectly.
It's into this industrial socket that the welder is plugged and when the arc is struck the main RCD in the cellar trips. Now clearly the RCD is doing what it's meant to do but I want to use the welder.
Maybe I could create a dedicated 'welder circuit' by installing a 1 way consumer unit (rewireable) in the cellar from a couple of spare ways in the service box and run new cable to the industrial socket in the garage. This would by-pass the main RCD so avoiding it tripping. Is this feasable under the new regs or do I have to include a RCD (which will trip thus rendering the welder redundant)?
So are there any suggestions ...
My home set-up:
in the cellar
100 amp main fuse then meter
to
5 way DP Service Con Box (this has some spare ways)
to
Wylex WEM 80/2 RCD (80amp 100mA trip)
to
a pair of Wylex NN616 consumer units (these are linked to create sufficient ways - big house!)
then from a 30A MCB (Wylex NB30) in the consumer unit via 4.0mm T&E (radial) to a Wylex 3 Way Metal Consumer Unit (rewireable fuses) in the garage
one lighting circuit
one ring main for sockets
one radial terminating at a 32 Amp 3 Pin Wall Socket.
This set-up has worked perfectly.
It's into this industrial socket that the welder is plugged and when the arc is struck the main RCD in the cellar trips. Now clearly the RCD is doing what it's meant to do but I want to use the welder.
Maybe I could create a dedicated 'welder circuit' by installing a 1 way consumer unit (rewireable) in the cellar from a couple of spare ways in the service box and run new cable to the industrial socket in the garage. This would by-pass the main RCD so avoiding it tripping. Is this feasable under the new regs or do I have to include a RCD (which will trip thus rendering the welder redundant)?
So are there any suggestions ...