heavy duty 1ph welder

[kitcarman]

Hi All
I got a new welder today but the cable on it is about 1" with 3 inner cables coming out and they are about 8mm thick. they will never fit in a 3 pin plug. how do i wire this thing into a plug,what size of plug.will i have to change the socket to a heavier one ohhhhhhhhhh help

 

[merlin50]

more information on the welder needed

 

[flameport]

3 inner cables coming out and they are about 8mm thick

If that measurement is correct, it puts the cable size at 25mm+, which would imply a load current of 80+ amps, could easily be more.

Certainly it will require it's own dedicated circuit. Also quite likely it is too powerful to be connected to a normal domestic supply.

 

[MrTinker]

When you say new, do you mean new new, or new to you?
My guess is it's an old oil cooled stick set? Very often these have somewhat oversized supply cables, as the welding set itself, can run at full tilt all day without overheating, hence the supply cable must keep up with it, without over heating.
If that is the case you might be able to down size the cable, providing you don't want to re-build the ark royal, on a 1:1 scale.
Spec's of the welding set needed though please.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Yes, there will be a rating plate on the welder with information about supply (volts), power (watts) and current (amps).

Tell us what it says or take picture of the plate and post it on here.

 

[toasty]

probably one of those old (but excellent) Oxford oil cooled ones.

You won't get much past about 150Amps output on a 13Amp plugtop I'm afraid.

Mine (a 265Amp Clarke) runs nicely off a 32Amp Ceeform, but obviously has a dedicated radial. You'd probably get the cable you are talking about into one of those (just)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

probably one of those old (but excellent) Oxford oil cooled ones.

I got one of dem.

Haven't used it for DYs, but when I was using it as a callow and ignorant youth I found I needed to replace the fuse in the plug with a bit of 15A fusewire soldered in....

 

[toasty]

probably one of those old (but excellent) Oxford oil cooled ones.

I got one of dem.

Nice!!
I've always wanted one, blooming heavy I'm told...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Nice!!
I've always wanted one,

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...&_nkw=oxford+welder&_sacat=See-All-Categories

blooming heavy I'm told...

Somewhere between 55 & 60kg, IMMSMW (one of, if not the, smallest ones they did...). It's a challenge to lift into the back of a car, that's for sure. And it's eating something - the last time I lugged it it was definitely heavier than it had been the time before.

 

[SimonH2]

As other have said, you could do with stating the information from the ratings plate.

However, depending what you want to do with it, it may still work on a 13A plug - or you could have a 16A socket added to the ring main (with local breaker to prevent overload on the socket). At a pinch, and I'm sure the qualified guys will shoot me down, it should be possible to add a 32A socket to the ring main - with the obvious issue that if you overload it then you'll trip the whole ring (which might lower the WAF* if it also supplies other essentials)

To connect a 13A plug you could replace the cable as suggested, or make an adapter with a 13A plug connected to a 16A free socket via a short length of flex. If the cable really is that big, then you might need a 32A plug & socket just to take the cable.

When I talk about 16A and 32A plugs, I mean the big blue industrial ones - BS 4343, aka "Commando" although that's a trade name of one make.


* Wife Acceptance Factor

 

[flameport]

However, depending what you want to do with it, it may still work on a 13A plug

Fairly obvious that if the cable is far too big for a 13A plug, it will require a lot more than 13A.

or you could have a 16A socket added to the ring main (with local breaker to prevent overload on the socket)

Not permitted

it should be possible to add a 32A socket to the ring main

It isn't.

To connect a 13A plug you could replace the cable

which will swiftly overheat and be destroyed

or make an adapter with a 13A plug connected to a 16A free socket

Same problem as shoehorning the cable into a 13A plug.

 

[SimonH2]

Fairly obvious that if the cable is far too big for a 13A plug, it will require a lot more than 13A.

Err, not at all, which bit of "depending what you want to do with it" did you not understand ? I have a welder that is rated to pull up to 40A on full chat, it runs quite nicely on a 13A plug (with correct fuse) for what it gets used for. The trick is, as pointed out, we aren't trying to build a 1:1 scale model of Ark Royal.

or you could have a 16A socket added to the ring main (with local breaker to prevent overload on the socket)

Not permitted

Is there a specific regulation on that ? Not a trick question or argument, but as someone who doesn't have an intimate knowledge of the regs then I am interested. I can see no logical reason why it should be unsafe - after all, you could plug in two electric fires/kettles/whatever and have a 6kW load on one double socket on a ring.

To connect a 13A plug you could replace the cable

which will swiftly overheat and be destroyed

Are you saying that 2.5mm cable, or even 1.5mm cable won't carry 13A ?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Is there a specific regulation on that ? Not a trick question or argument, but as someone who doesn't have an intimate knowledge of the regs then I am interested.

Yes.

433.1.5 only allows BS 1363 accessories to be supplied by a ring final.

 

[SimonH2]

Is there a specific regulation on that ? Not a trick question or argument, but as someone who doesn't have an intimate knowledge of the regs then I am interested.

Yes.

433.1.5 only allows BS 1363 accessories to be supplied by a ring final.

Fair enough, but an interesting restriction given that it allows 26A to be loaded at one point on the ring, and 30 (or 32) between two points - but you can't put 16A at one point. I guess the people who wrote the regs had their reasons !

Doing a quick search on 433.1.5 does bring up some interesting discussions !

 

[bernardgreen]

Fair enough, but an interesting restriction given that it allows 26A to be loaded at one point on the ring,

It is a fallacy that a double socket outlet is rated at 2 times 13 amps. The manufacturers give a maximum loading which can be ( depending on make ) as low as 18 amps total for the two sockets.

People might load it at 26 amps but very often this leads to the socket's terminals and / or internal connections being overloaded.