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

 

[littlespark]

Not really, as there’s a 13A fuse in that adaptor.
It might work a few times, but the fuse will go, or the 13A socket will overheat.

You should get a new 16A radial circuit run from your consumer unit to a dedicated 16A socket to match the plug on the welder.

 

[Vortigern]

Thinking about it, that adapter should not be allowed to be sold. The whole point of commando plugs and sockets is to stop exactly what that adapter will acheive i.e. plugging something higher rated into a a lesser rated socket.

 

[marcuswareham]

Thinking about it, that adapter should not be allowed to be sold. The whole point of commando plugs and sockets is to stop exactly what that adapter will acheive i.e. plugging something higher rated into a a lesser rated socket.

Thats not the point of a cee-form connector "commando" and the 13A plug has a fuse in for that reason, That connector has many uses with a higher IP rating than a 13A plug, Live events uses mostly cee-form connectors from 16A to 125A and many jumpers which go from a lower amperage male to a higher amperage female which are fine to use provided the correct over current protection is in place

 

[telectrix]

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

need to see the spec of the welder before advising. if it's fitted with a blue round plug, must be 16A, so a dedicated 20A socket on a C type MCB looks favorite.

 

[barisk]

that’s the plug , do i have to get a different socket ?

 

[ipf]

I know of loads of single phase welders used via 13amp plugs/sockets...the main problem being regular replacement of 13 amp fuses. Presuming the wiring is to standard, it's still not ideal, especially looking at some of the many inappropriate methods used to 'upgrade' BS1362 fusing.

 

[barisk]

Thank you for replies, I’m very confused atm , what do i need to get to work it properly please ?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

According to the spec, it is intended to be supplied via either a 13A or 16A fuse. If that is correct it will work on any normal correctly-installed 13A socket using the adaptor.

As per @marcuswareham above it is customary in industry, events, outdoor environments etc. to fit 16A plugs for robustness, regardless of whether 16A is needed.

 

[Julie.]

Thank you for replies, I’m very confused atm , what do i need to get to work it properly please ?

You could use it with the adapter you pictured, or change the plug to a standard 13A type.

However this may result in a reduction of range, so if you are using 1mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, or 3mm rods you may be alright as typically you will set 3mm rods to run at 100 - 120A - this is likely to translate to less than 13A on the supply side. (Smaller rods would be lower current)

However, it's likely that if you try to run at higher currents for larger rods (towards the max of 202A), then this is likely to be greater than 13A on the supply side, and is not safe on 13A circuits, and will cause frequent fuse failures and potential issues as these overloads would stress the wiring.

Getting a dedicated 16A or 20A circuit installed would allow you to use the full range offered by the machine.

(Or use TIG or MIG rather than stick!!!)