Higher amps in my garage

[barisk]

Hi ,

I’ve just bought a welder i will attach specifications and i has a round pin power adapter, how can i use that in my garage with a regular house socket . I also found a convertor from 13a to 16a , not sure if that’s the way to do it . Many thanks

 

[flippineck]

Which way round are live and neutral supposed to go in the 16A commando style plug & socket in the UK? I have an Ebay commando to 13A adapter I use with a standby generator to power drills angle grinders etc & I'd like to check the live and neutral are the right way round..

 

[James]

Open the plug or socket up, live and N are marked inside.
often not really easy to see but they will be marked.

 

[swaRRR]

Can someone do the maths on this so i can understand?

If it's ~6000w / 230v = ~26a how can it work on a 13a/16a fuse?

 

[flippineck]

Can someone do the maths on this so i can understand?

If it's ~6000w / 230v = ~26a how can it work on a 13a/16a fuse?

You're looking at the 'generator minimum size 6kVA'? I've stalled my small generator outright many times when I've struck an arc badly and shorted the rod to the metal.. but it's run fine once I've gotten over the hill of starting the weld; once the arc is going nicely the current draw drops markedly. The 6kVA minimum is really needed in the first second or so during and after striking the arc. I think a standard plug fuse will cope with substantially more than its nominally rated current for a brief time without blowing so in most cases with a fresh fuse and good welding technique it will get by for a while. Not to say it's a good situation as the plug could get hot and the fuse will likely blow completely after quite a short time in service. Issue very variable with conditions.. tiny rods and thin metal maybe no problem ever, thick rods and chunky metal may not be very friendly to a sub-ideal supply at all.

 

[swaRRR]

You're looking at the 'generator minimum size 6kVA'? I've stalled my small generator outright many times when I've struck an arc badly and shorted the rod to the metal.. but it's run fine once I've gotten over the hill of starting the weld; once the arc is going nicely the current draw drops markedly. The 6kVA minimum is really needed in the first second or so during and after striking the arc. I think a standard plug fuse will cope with substantially more than its nominally rated current for a brief time without blowing so in most cases with a fresh fuse and good welding technique it will get by for a while. Not to say it's a good situation as the plug could get hot and the fuse will likely blow completely after quite a short time in service. Issue very variable with conditions.. tiny rods and thin metal maybe no problem ever, thick rods and chunky metal may not be very friendly to a sub-ideal supply at all.

Just seems like the fuse would blow all the time. As for start up power wouldn't changing to C/D type breakers be a decent solution?

 

[flippineck]

Just seems like the fuse would blow all the time.

I was fine doing little bits of car body repair but when I bought a secondhand, extremely rusty tractor bucket and tried to do some extensive patching on it, many foot-square 5mm plates on top of even bigger slabs of 5mm plate.. no chance. pop, pop, pop, one after another.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Which way round are live and neutral supposed to go in the 16A commando style plug & socket in the UK?

As well as the markings, if you hold the 16A in the same orientation as a 13A the pins are in the same relative positions. E.g. for a plug with pins facing away from you and earth at the top, line is on the right.

 

[flippineck]

As well as the markings, if you hold the 16A in the same orientation as a 13A the pins are in the same relative positions. E.g. for a plug with pins facing away from you and earth at the top, line is on the right.

Good way to remember it, thanks.