Attaching 13A plug on 20A appliance safety

[azengineering]

Hello everyone, I hope this is the correct forum to post this. I am an amateur tinkerer with no formal training in electrical engineering and I’m just looking for some information and advice on how to safely wire up and use some appliances.

I have recently bought a hobbyist TIG inverter welder (single phase) to learn basic DIY welding techniques. It has been supplied with power supply wiring protruding from the back for the unit but with no plug attached to the other end of the bare wires. I was of the belief that I could attach a standard UK rectangular 3 pronged plug with a 13A fuse and just plug it in to the domestic outlet socket in my garage and use the welder with no problems at low power. Doing a bit of research it looks like the input current to the welder is stated in the handbook as 20.7A so I am concerned to just attach the 13A plug.

I do not have 32A sockets in the garage just what I assume is standard domestic duty rectangular 3 pronged outlets. My questions are, is it safe to attach the 13A fuse and plug to the welder and plug it in to domestic socket? If there is no other load on the circuit and I use only the welder at low output current will this be okay? Is the first thing to go the 13A fuse in the plug I installed or will the circuit breaker trip first, will the wiring behind the walls overheat before the fuse in the plug blows? As the property is rented I can’t really fit a 32A outlet in the garage so I’m just wondering what my options are and what solutions other people have come up with to safely overcome similar problems.

Thank you very much for your time it’s greatly appreciated.

Ali.

 

[littlespark]

No. It’s not safe to do as you suggest. The 13A fuse would blow even at a low setting on the welder.
Your only option is to ask the landlord if you can put in a circuit from the CU to the garage just for the welder.
And have an electrician put it in for you. Specialist equipment requires specialist knowledge

 

[Pete999]

No. It’s not safe to do as you suggest. The 13A fuse would blow even at a low setting on the welder.
Your only option is to ask the landlord if you can put in a circuit from the CU to the garage just for the welder.
And have an electrician put it in for you. Specialist equipment requires specialist knowledge

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[JOURNEYMAN]

What they said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Pete999]

Welding is NOT a domestic pastime is it? come common sense prevails, most of the time it does anyway.

 

[Toneyz]

What whoever said!

 

[Pete999]

What whoever said!

Well I said what he said.

 

[Toneyz]

Well I said what he said.

Yes you said it well Pete, let's move on.

 

[Pete999]

Yes you said it well Pete, let's move on.

Not up to me Ant

 

[Deleted member 26818]

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.

 

[Ian1981]

I believe that the maximum flex size for a 13amp plug top is 1.5mm

 

[westward10]

Any chance you can post a pic of the rating plate?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I purchased a Clarke mig welder 155T in 1994.
Supposed to be on a 20A supply, but it has always been on a 13A plug.
Not once have I had to replace the fuse.
Most of the time, it’s used on an extension lead, as the lead with the machine is too short.

 

[azengineering]

Cheers guys, that’s sort of what I thought, I think I’ll look into using a different lower powered unit. I’ve tried to attach a picture of the information plate on the back of the welder, hopefully the picture has worked.

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?

Ali

 

[westward10]

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

 

[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