Neil we are flat out at work till next mon,if you would like to try co2 ,or just get some help setting up, give me a shout after then ,.....I can get co2 local to me for £16 if you struggle in Swindon
Most extension leads in the shops are 1.25mm cable - which is 13A, the 1.50mm mentioned is actually 16A cable.
www.10outof10.com do H07RNF and Arctic cable off the reel cheap.
- 1.5mm H07RNF is 104p inc VAT - ideal to 15m
- 2.5mm H07RNF is 150p inc VAT - ideal to 25m
- 6.0mm H07RNF is 330p inc VAT - ideal for very long runs
Always worth shopping around, last year 1.5mm H07RNF was 67p/m so prices can vary up and down significantly re price of copper. I picked up 25m of 2.5mm H07RNF (search under H-oh-7 sometimes) on Ebay for £27 delivered Jan 2011 which made a very nice extension lead.
Plug into a socket near the Consumer Unit (CU), rather than the end of an existing 33m run. For some people this might be a socket built into an electric cooker switch (which will be wired in 6mm cable), for others it may be a socket in the hall (right next to the CU).
If a 13A fuse blowing is a problem you can get 15A sockets with shutters (thus legal), just connect them to an existing 16A radial circuit (not 32A). Likewise there are 15A plugs with shielded pins - do not buy the ones without shielded pins. Very few "16A welders" will complain on a 15A plug/socket combo re duty cycle whereas a 13A plug with square pins is not the best - the old nylon plugs were better I think.
If you want a super long extension (say 4mm or 6mm cable) and want to still plug it into a 13A socket, run 1.5mm from a 13A plug to a 16A socket, then 4/6mm from a 16A plug to your welder. Recent Mennekes plugs/sockets IP44 16A have a new gland in the rear which handles a much bigger range of cable and will seal on 1.5mm as well as 4.0mm & 6.0mm.
Fitting a BS4343 (16A or 32A) socket in domestic is technically not legal, because the sockets are unshuttered, however using the 13A plug solution above removes this problem because it is now "portable" and not subject to the same restriction. Ebay can be handy for window shopping, then check on prices (sometimes Ebay is more expensive than elsewhere, sometimes much better).
Obviously if you do not know how to wire up a plug, do not do anything. Even with a welder use an RCD because electricity does not give second chances, you do not have to have wet hands, you are outside using a Class-1 welder and metal objects.
Sometimes a welder may not like a long cable at all and require a higher setting even on low current draw, that can be down to a high impedance supply from the street (usually a joint in the street or overhead TT supply).
Arctic cable is cheaper than H07RNF, but not as long lasting. You can get Arctic in 4mm in orange very cheap on Ebay (80p/m) although quite rare.
Check around on prices, Ebay, even Farnell & CPC, because sometimes bargains crop up. On Ebay you have to search under H07 and wrongly HO7 (letter O), someone sometimes lists offcuts (part reel) at silly low prices, about 4-5x a year so if you can be patient it is worth it.
For cheap 4mm Arctic Ebay is £1.35/m delivered - 100m reel though, if you want 40-60m you can flog the rest for about £55 bringing the price down a lot.
Great help again thanks, gavuk may give you a shout. What I am thinking is i am going to try it as is the guy in the shop said it would not have a plug and it did, got to get a hook up leed anyway so if i have probs will try that with a fuse box in the garage
Thanks Neil