Hello to all,
I'm new to the site as a contributor but have read many of the articles and posts with great interest. I'm running my big old Oxford RT 180 for the occasional project. I started as a mechanical engineer back in the day when I left school to do an apprenticeship, but I'm now a qualified electrician to boot.
I wanted to offer general advice about the subject of electrical supplies for welders, because I have read with growing concern the number of people who are asking questions that show that despite being well meaning, some highly risky advice is being offered and some people seem to fail to understand "the regs" or the under pinning theory and some even suggest that Part P building control and the wiring regulations are obstacles to be circumvented as if they were some Government conspiricy theory and doing what they feel is their right is a badge of honour .
Many people are trying to operate quite powerful welding plant in a domestic setting but do not understand the limitations of the domestic power supply, which was never designed to handle such heavy demands. Indeed, some pre war houses on TN-S supplies, may only have a 40A or 60A supply
What I would say is;
Choose a welder with some regard to the electrical supply currently available if possible. Inverters can offer a great way of operating from the domestic 13amp plug socket up to fair electrode sizes, especially if you consider that it may be cheaper(in the long run) and more satisfying to buy a high quality machine and concentrate on welding skills rather than expending a lot of effort trying to power some industrial sized monster off a bit of cooker cable run illegally off a consumer unit.
What duty rating and output do you really need for working with? Look at material type and thicknesses on your projects and then work backwards to electrode sizes and the power needed to drive them.
The "regs" and the building control are there for your protection and a good electrician will have invested great deal of time and money to comply with these and have your safety in mind as he/she is taking responsibility for doing so. If it can be done safely, they will be able to find a way.
Part P applies to domestic installations in England and Wales and restricts electrical installations to those who are either "competant" and authorised to certify their work to the local authority or to those who may be competant but are unregistered and willing to pay for building control inspection. Although "minor work" is non-notifiable" it does not extend to any new circuits, new consumer units or adaptations to existing standard domestic circuits to the kind of use soome people are suggesting with 32 a commando sockets.
Please employ a competant and registered electrician - you will know one when you speak to them as they will be able to give you a straight answer about your questions. Without building control documentation you may have problems with selling your house not to mention the safety of your family must outweigh your interest in your hobby.
Take care and happy safe welding.....
Ian
I'm new to the site as a contributor but have read many of the articles and posts with great interest. I'm running my big old Oxford RT 180 for the occasional project. I started as a mechanical engineer back in the day when I left school to do an apprenticeship, but I'm now a qualified electrician to boot.
I wanted to offer general advice about the subject of electrical supplies for welders, because I have read with growing concern the number of people who are asking questions that show that despite being well meaning, some highly risky advice is being offered and some people seem to fail to understand "the regs" or the under pinning theory and some even suggest that Part P building control and the wiring regulations are obstacles to be circumvented as if they were some Government conspiricy theory and doing what they feel is their right is a badge of honour .
Many people are trying to operate quite powerful welding plant in a domestic setting but do not understand the limitations of the domestic power supply, which was never designed to handle such heavy demands. Indeed, some pre war houses on TN-S supplies, may only have a 40A or 60A supply
What I would say is;
Choose a welder with some regard to the electrical supply currently available if possible. Inverters can offer a great way of operating from the domestic 13amp plug socket up to fair electrode sizes, especially if you consider that it may be cheaper(in the long run) and more satisfying to buy a high quality machine and concentrate on welding skills rather than expending a lot of effort trying to power some industrial sized monster off a bit of cooker cable run illegally off a consumer unit.
What duty rating and output do you really need for working with? Look at material type and thicknesses on your projects and then work backwards to electrode sizes and the power needed to drive them.
The "regs" and the building control are there for your protection and a good electrician will have invested great deal of time and money to comply with these and have your safety in mind as he/she is taking responsibility for doing so. If it can be done safely, they will be able to find a way.
Part P applies to domestic installations in England and Wales and restricts electrical installations to those who are either "competant" and authorised to certify their work to the local authority or to those who may be competant but are unregistered and willing to pay for building control inspection. Although "minor work" is non-notifiable" it does not extend to any new circuits, new consumer units or adaptations to existing standard domestic circuits to the kind of use soome people are suggesting with 32 a commando sockets.
Please employ a competant and registered electrician - you will know one when you speak to them as they will be able to give you a straight answer about your questions. Without building control documentation you may have problems with selling your house not to mention the safety of your family must outweigh your interest in your hobby.
Take care and happy safe welding.....
Ian
to the forum. There are a few professional sparkys on here, what gripes me about part P is I've been an industrial sparky for 30+ years, have 17th edition regs but technically 
can't work on my own house without getting LABC to check it 
