Advice on electricity

[peak4]

Some useful comments here, thanks.

I intend to see what happens running the spot-welder off 13 amps, .

 

I assume the house is wired with MCBs, rather than fuse wire.

That being the case, if/when you try it, make sure that nothing will be damaged by a sudden power failure; i.e. desktop PCs writing to a HDD really don't like being unplugged whilst working etc. etc.

 

Personally I'd be looking at a 16A socket with appropriate breaker, but also seeking advice from a qualified sparky; I'm not one of them.

 

I've just been there with my new workshop. I wired a 110v transformer up to a dedicatd 16A socket and had to use a Type C breaker as the normal B curve one tripped due to the saturation current in the transformer when I powered it up. (It's only a 2KVA transformer.)

I'm guessing the 13A ring main will have a 20A B curve breaker, which should trip @ 3 to 5 times the rated load.

Don't forget that any load already on that circuit, TV, PC, Table lamps etc. will all reduce the overhead you have available to take the surge current on your spot welder.

 

Re. the generator, I'm not convinced you'd need a 16A one, 4KW generators are't cheap, and also buying then re-selling a nice quiet suitcase generator would probably be cheaper than hiring, so long as no-one nicks it from the garage.

 

Have a read of the various generator related posts on this forum http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/searchresults.asp?Search=generator&t=0 and note the comments about the modern solid state ones tripping out with surge currents.

Edited January 31, 2018 by peak4

[Dardandec]

I would just mig it, a lot more versatile than just spot welding for a fraction of the cost, and will happily run off a house supply. I rebuild a mini years ago with one. You can even buy spot weld attachments if you feel the need.

[Alcoblog]

I would just mig it, a lot more versatile than just spot welding for a fraction of the cost, and will happily run off a house supply. I rebuild a mini years ago with one. You can even buy spot weld attachments if you feel the need.

 

Most people would use MIG but I specifically want to use spot-welds as that's how the car was originally manufactured. The welds need to show up under the paint work (no filling). I'm rebuilding the car to concours so attetion to detail is of prime importance. I've looked at the spot-weld attachments for MIG but they're not good enough.

Apart from that, MIG is fine (and cheaper).

[alchresearch]

Welcome back, we've missed you.

 

Now, seeing your avatar, can you do something about Fray Bentos? I had a pie for my tea on Tuesday and can confirm it was nothing but slop.

 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/fray-bentos-pies-dubbed-slop-11947325