arc welder electric usage

[ChrisJ]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this question but I have been using my old transformer type welder for about a month and thought I better submit a meter reading online, I was a bit shocked to see the bill was £149.00 for about 6 weeks use, welding maybe welding for like no more than 10 minutes a day 2 or 3 times a week, do older welders use more juice? Should I be looking for maybe a new inverter type arc welder? Any advice would be much appreciated thanks
Chris.

 

[440dodgechargerrt]

Is it connected to a BS1363 plug (13 amp max) or to a 16A, 32A plug?
What is the input current requirements of the welder?

Assuming it is on a domestic BS1363 plug which is 13A at 230V giving 2990W of power.

You say 10 mins * 3 times per week * 6 weeks = 180mins welding
180mins welding = 3 hours
3 hours * 2.99kW = 8.97kWh

Assuming 10p/kWh = about 90p

If the welder is left on for long periods while you prep etc it will consuming some power even when not welding, though not nearly as much as when welding.

 

[madkayaker]

Welders are power hungry no question about it. Stick welders will also use power when ever they are buzzing away

 

[brightspark]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this question but I have been using my old transformer type welder for about a month and thought I better submit a meter reading online, I was a bit shocked to see the bill was £149.00 for about 6 weeks use, welding maybe welding for like no more than 10 minutes a day 2 or 3 times a week, do older welders use more juice? Should I be looking for maybe a new inverter type arc welder? Any advice would be much appreciated thanks
Chris.

how man kw is the welder . work it out. look your electricity bill up and it will tell u how many pence a kwh is, i dont know the price but as an example if your welder was 3kw and your electric was 30p a kw it would cost 90 pence per hour to run what u dont say is what else apart from welder are u using plus add the standing charge for meter

 

[ChrisJ]

Hi 440 yes it is connected to a 13 amp plug up my shed, all that welding for 90p, I'm gonna blame thevmissus then lol, and thank you for responding, I eas about to freak out

 

[440dodgechargerrt]

Just check how much you pay per kWh and multiply it by 8.97kWh to get a closer figure.
Is it possible time flies when your welding and in fact you've been in your shed welding 12hours a day??

 

[ChrisJ]

Just looked all over the case but cannot see anything reating to kw

 

[@Turbo]

Just check how much you pay per kWh and multiply it by 8.97kWh to get a closer figure.
Is it possible time flies when your welding and in fact you've been in your shed welding 12hours a day??

 

[rtbcomp]

Would the power factor of the welder have any effect? I understand that conventional electromechanical electricity meters are only really accurate for resistive loads.

 

[madkayaker]

Power factor is normally not taken into account on domestic meter

 

[440dodgechargerrt]

If you assume 2.99kW as that is the maximum you should draw from a plug, then multiply it by the number of hours you weld (according to what you say it totals 3 hours), then multiply this by the 'price per kWh' which is the same as 'price per unit' of electricity.

I assumed 10p/kWh but you may pay more, depends on your electricity tariff.

 

[rtbcomp]

Power factor is normally not taken into account on domestic meter

Does it need to be taken into account, or does it just happen that the indicated power consumed is different from the actual?

The reason I'm interested is that I'm due to have a smart meter fitted and most of my consumption is to power my compressors. If the smart meter can compensate for power factor can I expect higher bills for the same work done?

 

[madkayaker]

At work the metering we have measures the power factor due to increased power needed to generate 1watt at higher power factors. I presume smart meters will take this into account but will also have more accurate voltage measurements so might reduce bill.

The size of kit you will have shouldn't be to big an issue

 

[ChrisJ]

Were paying 11.732 per unit, 12 hoursvwelding I wish there's just the compressor and my angle grinder, usually fill the compressor up then use that 50 litres of air...

 

[ChrisJ]

I feel a bit better now, thought I was going to have to give up something I love doing due to costs before I got going, thanks for all the responses

 

[PTvor]

I did some rough calculations and worked out the cost of electricity at well under 1p a rod to burn a 3.2mm, assuming the rod takes a minute, so not really worth worrying about.

An inverter uses about 30W when it's not welding, so you could leave it switched on and it would be the price of a unit for 33 hours.

A transformer welder will use a fair bit more than that when not welding because the transforner core will get warm etc. I don't know how much they use when idling, but say it was 500W, you could leave it switched on and not welding for 2 hours for the cost of a unit.

Three two-hour sessions where the welder didn't burn any rods would be three units - 36p. Once again not worth worrying about too much unless you are leaving it on for long periods.

It's been a cold past few weeks, and if you have any form of electrical heating, that will bump the bills up pretty quickly. It will be the price of two units, say 25p to run a 2KW heater for an hour.

 

[ChrisJ]

Thanks for taking the time to explain all that PT :-) I usually switch it on weld then switch it off, feel a lot better now