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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.
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.