Attaching 13A plug on 20A appliance safety

[Toneyz]

I1eff=14A is your effective load current so this is excessive for connection to a 13A plug top.

To be honest, that's probably why a 13A moulded plug has not come attached.

 

[Pete999]

If the 13A plug will fit the cable, then there should be no problem.
It’s only when you start welding thicker material that you’ll find the fuse blowing.

If something is

To be honest, that's probably why a 13A moulded plug has not come attached.

anthony is correct I think, most appliances come with a moulded plug attached, when something arrives without a plug it could be the manufacturers are trying to tell you, don't plug this equipment into a 13 A socket imo

 

[Risteard]

If the 13A plug will fit the cable, then there should be no problem.
It’s only when you start welding thicker material that you’ll find the fuse blowing.

Instead of rating all of my posts "dumb" in retaliation, perhaps you should accept that your post actually is dumb.

 

[Taylortwocities]

this is excessive for connection to a 13A plug top.

Isn't the connection made to the bottom of the plug? The top is usually just a safety cover feature.

 

[westward10]

Plug bottom with top

 

[Lucien Nunes]

What exactly about it would be unsafe, if the 13A fuse would be the first thing to go wouldn’t this ensure that the garage wiring and everything else would be intact?

Marginal overloads do not usually blow the fuse, but experience shows that they can stress the contacts and connections in sockets etc. Prolonged load just over 13A is a known cause of burnt electrical accessories. The fuse is primarily there to protect against fault conditions, not incorrect usage, although it acts as a backstop to avoid wiring overheating if the plug is overloaded. In the case of the welder, because the load is intermittent, damage is unlikely, but you can't assume that modern accessories made down to a price with withstand even 13A for long.

As it is an inverter welder, you might find that the current is comfortably within 13A on lower output settings. Plugging it into an energy monitor that has a current display mode might confirm, if you can keep the current steady enough. But if the flex is 2.5 sqmm, it may not be possible to make a safe termination into a 13A plug anyway.

 

[westward10]

I am pretty sure BS1363 restricts the maximum size of cord to 1.5 so I would not suggest the OP attempts connecting a 2.5

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Indeed - if the current were within 13A I would terminate it to a 16A and use a jumper.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Instead of rating all of my posts "dumb" in retaliation, perhaps you should accept that your post actually is dumb.

Strange how I’ve posted the same advice on the Screwfix Forum and the IET Forum, yet it’s only you who thinks it dumb?
Like, I’ve said, I’ve been using the same 13A plug with the same fuse for over 20 years on my mig welder.
Unlike a tig welder, the mig also has a wire feed motor.

 

[telectrix]

as spin says. should be OK.try the bugger on a 13A plug. worst thing is the 13A fuse will blow.

 

[Risteard]

as spin says. should be OK.try the bugger on a 13A plug. worst thing is the 13A fuse will blow.

The worst that will happen is that it won't blow with a small overload of long duration.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

The worst that will happen is that it won't blow with a small overload of long duration.

Sorry, but that is rubbish.
The very nature of welding, means that there is no long duration.

 

[Risteard]

Sorry, but that is rubbish.
The very nature of welding, means that there is no long duration.

No point trying to dress it up - it's very poor advice to give that this could be an appropriate way of connecting it up. It's wholly inappropriate. There's a reason it doesn't have a BS 1363 plug (aka plug top) on it.

 

[Risteard]

Strange how I’ve posted the same advice on the Screwfix Forum

LOL. And you think that enhances your argument? Let's be honest - that forum is largely inhabited by the clueless and the clinically insane.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

No point trying to dress it up - it's very poor advice to give that this could be an appropriate way of connecting it up. It's wholly inappropriate. There's a reason it doesn't have a BS 1363 plug (aka plug top) on it.

I and many others disagree.
This is not an oven or tumble dryer that will be on for hours at a time, often at full load.
This is something that while it may be on for a long periods, will rarely (if ever) be at full load.
The only constant load will be for the fan and perhaps a neon to indicate the machine is on.
There will only be high load for short durations, the magnitude of the load depending on the thickness of the material being welded.
The duration of the load is restricted to the length of the filler rods being used and the duty cycle, which on higher loads can be as little as 30%.