More POWAA for my welder

[ion529]

Okay so, I have a shed down the end of my garden where I like to weld and do stupid stuff. Anyway I have an arc welder which at maximum power gives me 160A @ 20V which is 3200W. When my parents built the shed they didn't take into account that there son was going to be a raging metal melting maniac and hence there is just 2 G-pin 13A @ 230V AC sockets in the entire shed, very inconsiderate I know. This of course allows for a maximum of 2990W which just isn't good enough if I want to weld thick steel without the fuse going every 2 seconds.

Luckily the electrician clearly saw my future struggles and popped in a 25A breaker for the shed on the mains board back up at the house when it was built. But here's where things get a little iffy: The cable for the shed comes in though a big dirty black wire from the house underground and goes straight into the G-pin sockets and then a smaller grey wire goes from the sockets to the strip light up above. (I've attached a highly detailed diagram below) I assumed that the strip light was just in parallel with the power coming into the sockets and turning off the power for the shed at the breaker would therefore turn off the sockets and the lights. But alas it only turned off the sockets and the lights are still fully functional. I don't know what witchcraftery this is but I don't really want to open up the socket and have a peak if there's live electricity going through her. My plan was to just attach a big 16Amp connector to the big dirty cable but it seems a bit tricky as I've no idea whats going on inside the socket.

Thanks in advance,

Peter

 

[Pete999]

Okay so, I have a shed down the end of my garden where I like to weld and do stupid stuff. Anyway I have an arc welder which at maximum power gives me 160A @ 20V which is 3200W. When my parents built the shed they didn't take into account that there son was going to be a raging metal melting maniac and hence there is just 2 G-pin 13A @ 230V AC sockets in the entire shed, very inconsiderate I know. This of course allows for a maximum of 2990W which just isn't good enough if I want to weld thick steel without the fuse going every 2 seconds.

Luckily the electrician clearly saw my future struggles and popped in a 25A breaker for the shed on the mains board back up at the house when it was built. But here's where things get a little iffy: The cable for the shed comes in though a big dirty black wire from the house underground and goes straight into the G-pin sockets and then a smaller grey wire goes from the sockets to the strip light up above. (I've attached a highly detailed diagram below) I assumed that the strip light was just in parallel with the power coming into the sockets and turning off the power for the shed at the breaker would therefore turn off the sockets and the lights. But alas it only turned off the sockets and the lights are still fully functional. I don't know what witchcraftery this is but I don't really want to open up the socket and have a peak if there's live electricity going through her. My plan was to just attach a big 16Amp connector to the big dirty cable but it seems a bit tricky as I've no idea whats going on inside the socket.

Thanks in advance,
View attachment 43025
Peter

I have to say Peter, that is without doubt, the dumbest idea I have ever heard of, you need to get yourself a quick dose of realism and employ an Electrician to install the proper wiring and switch gear to attempt the work you would like to do, either/or this has to be a wind up.

 

[Wilko]

Hi Peter - can you tell us about the welder? Is it the 13A fuse in the plug that's melting?

 

[ion529]

I have to say Peter, that is without doubt, the dumbest idea I have ever heard of, you need to get yourself a quick dose of realism and employ an Electrician to install the proper wiring and switch gear to attempt the work you would like to do, either/or this has to be a wind up.

Look buddy the last thing i'm doing is employing an electrician. Over the years every single electrician we've ever employed has done a seriously half assed job which then requires us to hire another one for another 200 quid. I'm not saying all electricians are bad but all the ones in my area set everything they do up to fail within 6 months so they can secure more income later on. I'm not interested in someone coming and screwing up my electrics so I may aswell setup a direct debit to them for the rest of my life.

 

[ion529]

Hi Peter - can you tell us about the welder? Is it the 13A fuse in the plug that's melting?

It hasn't melted yet but i'm assuming it will if I crank up the welder and draw 16A from the circuit. It's also probably safer to have a proper heavy duty connection over a Gpin

 

[Pete999]

Look buddy the last thing i'm doing is employing an electrician. Over the years every single electrician we've ever employed has done a seriously half assed job which then requires us to hire another one for another 200 quid. I'm not saying all electricians are bad but all the ones in my area set everything they do up to fail within 6 months so they can secure more income later on. I'm not interested in someone coming and screwing up my electrics so I may aswell setup a direct debit to them for the rest of my life.

OK seeing as you have all this sorted, and have some sort of issue with Tradesmen doing their best I will sign off.

 

[Spoon]

Welcome to the forum mate.
What breaker size do you need for the welder?
How do you sw2itch the light on and off?

There are cowboys in every trade.... unfortunately...

 

[Octopus]

Matey.... When I hear tales like this, they are normally the result of penny pinching...

Find a local spark via recommendation and go from there.

Where are you based?

 

[ion529]

Goodbye

 

[Pete999]

Matey.... When I hear tales like this, they are normally the result of penny pinching...

Find a local spark via recommendation and go from there.

Where are you based?

La La land by the sound of it.

 

[ion529]

Welcome to the forum mate.
What breaker size do you need for the welder?
How do you sw2itch the light on and off?

There are cowboys in every trade.... unfortunately...

Well I have a 25A Breaker installed and there's a switch on the wall i'm using to turn the light on and off (between the light and socket on the gray cable)

 

[DPG]

Obvious wind up. I gave it a like for the picture though. Reminded me of one of Elsparko's weird posts.

 

[DPG]

Give us a photo of the light switch and socket (including wires to/from them).

 

[westward10]

I have reported this so hopefully will get removed/locked.

 

[Intoelectrics]

Well I have a 25A Breaker installed and there's a switch on the wall i'm using to turn the light on and off (between the light and socket on the gray cable)

Is the light switch wired directly from the socket and does the light switch have its own built in fuse?

 

[Spoon]

Well I have a 25A Breaker installed and there's a switch on the wall i'm using to turn the light on and off (between the light and socket on the gray cable)

Yes, you stated that there is a 25A breaker. You also stated that you thought of putting a 16A connector onto the cable.
So the welder will not need more than 16A then, but what is the max rating for the input. The output is in your original post.
From what you have put so far, the whole wiring of this sounds dodgy...

 

[ion529]

Give us a photo of the light switch and socket (including wires to/from them).

It's not a windup which is the funny part here you go:


The cable goes to this switch:

Via this relay:

To this light:

And heres the welder for good measure:

 

[ion529]

Give us a photo of the light switch and socket (including wires to/from them).

It's not a windup which is the funny part here you go:

View attachment 43026
The cable goes to this switch:
View attachment 43027
Via this relay:
View attachment 43028
To this light:
View attachment 43029
And heres the welder for good measure:
View attachment 43030

 

[ion529]

Yes, you stated that there is a 25A breaker. You also stated that you thought of putting a 16A connector onto the cable.
So the welder will not need more than 16A then, but what is the max rating for the input. The output is in your original post.
From what you have put so far, the whole wiring of this sounds dodgy...

Max input for the welder is 38A

 

[Intoelectrics]

Look buddy the last thing i'm doing is employing an electrician. Over the years every single electrician we've ever employed has done a seriously half assed job which then requires us to hire another one for another 200 quid. I'm not saying all electricians are bad but all the ones in my area set everything they do up to fail within 6 months so they can secure more income later on. I'm not interested in someone coming and screwing up my electrics so I may aswell setup a direct debit to them for the rest of my life.

There are cowboys in every trade but if you have hired a "cowboy" every time I'd be surprised. Unless of course every time its someone you have just chucked a few quid at cause they claim to be an electrician and are cheap.

No one on here is going to advise you on attempting to fix the problem yourself. The advise given so far is the correct advise and my advise is that you take it. :- You need to hire the services of a good electrician who can then advise you on the best possible option for what you require.

The job maybe a simple fix and you might be able to achieve what you want relatively cheaply, alternatively what you want may not be safely do-able without re-doing the install entirely. But we cannot soundly advise you on this over an internet forum without the full details and an initial inspection of your current set up.

Sorry but this is the reality of the situation.