Arc Welding machine.

[rattlehead85]

Was asked to attend a car paint/ repair garage yesterday and was presented with this. It had a 3 core 2.5 flex connected to it on a 13a plug top, however, i noticed that the info suggests that this is a 400v 2 phase machine. I am slightly confused as to how this has been working using a 230v supply. Im presuming the brown and blue cores of the flex should be separate phases with no neutral required. Any ideas on this?

 

[shanky887614]

Back on original subject anybody have any ideas how this welder could have worked using a standard 230v 13a plug with the blue cable connected to the neutral pin?

Yeah, used the L asL1 N as L2 and Cpc as N.

Not right but it wouldn't suprised me

 

[GMES]

Rattlesnake With a combination of alcohol and iPad corrective text I feel I need to bow out of this thread

 

[Richard Burns]

The welder is just a transformer and rectifier so if it were supplied with 230V not 400V then it would just work at a reduced voltage, I think.
I do not think there would be any electrical failure internally, but there may be some welding failures and possibly some fuse failures.
Though I do not know what additional control circuitry is used.

 

[Knobhead]

You’re going to have to take the back off and post a few pictures of the transformer and IP terminals. I’m not going to guess what’s in there.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

The info on the front, suggests that it is rated for up to 400V 2 phase.

 

[Knobhead]

Yes, I can read.

Welding transformers can have multiple primary tappings.
I’d like to read the manual but I can’t even find the company on Google.

As for if it would work at reduced output it would be at about 29%. I wouldn’t like to try to strike an arc with it.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Yes, I can read.

Welding transformers can have multiple primary tappings.
I’d like to read the manual but I can’t even find the company on Google.

As for if it would work at reduced output it would be at about 29%. I wouldn’t like to try to strike an arc with it.

rotary switch on one of my stick plants can be set for 110 V or 240V inputs...

lid`s off it at the mo so i could always get pics of that.....should be similar to the setup here....

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Looking at that plate it's a spot-welder, i.e it welds by resistive heating not by an arc. Ih 2800A and ED 3.5%, and it's got an electronic timer. If you tried stick welding at 2800A, never mind the machine's duty cycle you would need 96.5% of the time off yourself to recover from the burns!

So if it's a spot welder, it has an electronic impulse timer that dumps a slug of current through the transformer primary for x cycles of the mains, making the weld in one impulse. The timer circuit probably has a regulated power supply that will work on a wide range of input voltages, even if it's not supposed to. The weld current depends on the resistance of the work + cables and the transformer itself, and of course the supply voltage. Turning the timer up would compensate for the low voltage and provide the same heat input to the weld, but less efficiently because the heat has more time to dissipate.

Supplies for spot welders should to go back as far as possible towards the origin without sharing submains etc, otherwise the workshop lights flicker annoyingly when you squeeze the trigger.