Sorting the shed out for welding

[Burf86]

I'm gonna be buying a 200a ac/dc single phase welder. The problem I have is that I don't think the wiring in the shed is good enough, and I'm probably going to burn it down...
Can anyone help with any information on the size of wire I need to run from the house to the shed, trip switches, fuses, things like that?
Any help or pointers to books or whatever is greatly appreciated!

 

[GrahamGKD]

Hi Burf86,
I think people will need more info before answering your question on cable size - a lot will depend on whether you choose an inverter or a conventional transformer based welder - I have a Lorch AC/DC inverter TIG/MMA which will run quite happily on a 13A plug but a transformer based machine would be more power thirsty. The length of the cable run, where the cable is routed (whether underground etc.?), cable type etc. all come into play. There is a cable size calculator here:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Charts/VoltageDrop.html

Hope this helps,
Graham.

 

[Burf86]

Thanks Graham!
I will probably be going for a 200a ac/dc R-Tech welder, so an Iinverter. They run off 240v and 13a plug.
Cable length is roughly 25m
The cable can be run under ground or along the fence. I thought the cable might get attacked by a spade if I routed it under ground, so was thinking of running it through some plastic pipe or something to protect it.

Burf

 

[Burf86]

That calculator is asking me for the power in watts or Kwatts. Can't seem to find any info in the welders owners manual about wattage?
I put 60w in cos the manual says the welder needs a 240v 50/60hz supply, I thought maybe they were the same thing ha ha. The calculator told me I need a 1mm wire!?! That's not right now is it.

Burf

 

[GrahamGKD]

Burf86,
If the welder will run of a 13A plug then the wattage is 240 (volts) * 13 (amps) = 3.12 Kw. If the cable runs outside you should use steel wire armoured (SWA) cable. If you bury it it needs to be a certain depth with a warning tape above or otherwise protected by concrete capping. I believe the regs say it is permissible to clip SWA to a wall but not a fence. I'm not a sparky so I can't speak with confidence on the regs - you need to get a response from either madkayaker or brightspark. I believe the regs also say that you should get a qualified sparky to do this kind of work, which would be a good plan in any case if you are not knowledgeable and confident with electricity.
Cheers,
Graham.

 

[brightspark]

if u are only running the welder in the shed it will be ok to.run a 2.5mm 3 core steel wire armoured cable across to the shed either burried underground at spade and a half depth or clipped above ground along the fence. connect into the house db and use a 16 amp mcb on its own circuit ran to a 16 amp round.pin socket in shed . if u require a light and 13 amp socket as well a fuse box will be required and larger cable and mcb at mains required

 

[GrahamGKD]

Hey Burf,
I should go out and buy a very short spade. Graham

 

[brightspark]

Hey Burf,
I should go out and buy a very short spade. Graham

 

[Burf86]

Right, So
The old man found a 35m armoured cable at the boot sale for £25 squid. Absolute bargain.
I had an electrician come round and tell me what I need to do with it and what else I would need. Bury the cable 800mm min. and get a garage consumer unit was the reply.
So a weekend was spent digging up the mothers flower bed, and found a consumer unit on flee-bay for a tenner (Confirmed by the electrician to be a good'un).
Also bought myself a welder, R-Tech Tig161. Haven't been able to test her out yet because I haven't sorted out any gas yet. Doing that this Friday so hopefully it will be sorted by the time all the new electrics are finished.
I'll post some pics of the shed when it's all done. I'm having the first proper tidy up in 5 or so years too, so I will want to show off my hard work.

Easy Now
Burf

 

[the snooper]

no one will see your hard work unless you post before and after pictures

 

[Burf86]

Yeah... I'm kinda half way through so it won't be the same

 

[rkde]

Half way through it the proof your doing it

 

[Burf86]

Here are some pics then.
I made a welder cart too...

 

[Burf86]

Anyone want some bicycle wheels?

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

Anyone want some bicycle wheels?

Go on a sea fishing site or two and offer them chopped in half and hinged at the cut ...all ready to make their folding drop nets ..

 

[Cris B]

There are a few schemes where you can support charities by donating old / surplus bike parts. Here are some close to you:

http://cranks.org.uk/
http://www.magpie.coop/shabitat.php
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=634

 

[neilo]

Freecycle is another way to donate stuff locally.
Neil

 

[silversurfer]

Sorting shed out

Looks like one big fire hazard to me !!!!Got a good extinguisher ?????

 

[Burf86]

There is one in there, dunno if it works tho

 

[Burf86]

Looks like one big fire hazard to me !!!!Got a good extinguisher ?????

I just looked at those pictures again, that fire doesn't always have so many boxes so close. I was in the middle of a re-arrange...