Clarke 150 TE Blowing fuses

[Can'tWeld]

Hi all,

I blew two 13 amp fuses (in the plug) when welding with my MIG this morning.

I think I might have accidentally touched the tip to the workpiece; is it normal to blow a fuse when doing this or does it indicate something wrong?

I am welding 3mm box-section, maximum voltage and wire speed between 5 and 6 - so the settings are quite high. Perhaps they are too high for a 13 amp plug? I didn't have any problems doing the tack welds yesterday but I've blown two fuses doing the final ones so far and I've only finished welding one corner!

Cheers.

 

[Wozzaaah]

It would help if we knew what machine you're using.

 

[Can'tWeld]

Sorry Wozzaaahh, it's a Clarke 150TE.

Didn't put it in the Clarke section as I thought it might be more of a general question about 'what can and can't I do with a 13 amp plug...'

Cheers

 

[Wozzaaah]

Title edited and moved to the Clarke section.
Blowing fuses at top-whack is probably about right, they're designed to be run on a 16A supply.
What I would say is that if you're running it flat-out all the time then you need something bigger, you'll run the risk of damaging the machine if you're constantly hitting the thermal cut-out.

 

[Can'tWeld]

Cheers, at least it's not a problem with the machine.

I'll try turning the wire speed down to limit the current a bit first, if that fails I'll maybe look at finishing the job with my arc welder.

It's not hitting the thermal trip, just blowing the 13A fuse in the plug - It's supposed to be able to weld up to 4mm comfortable according to the manual.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I'm sure the manual also says it HAS to be fed by a 16a supply, you'll get away with a 13a supply on lower settings but as you've found out, it won't like full power.
It may be worth trying a different brand of fuse, you may find it'll give you just enough extra.

Edit: The reason it's not hitting the thermal cut-out is that the fuse popping is preventing it from reaching it's critical temperature, by upping the supply you may find you'll be running it long enough to hit the thermal cut-out which may cause issues if it's happening frequently.
I can speak from experience on that one.

 

[madkayaker]

If you are regularly poping the plug fuse there is the risk of burning the socket or even the wireing out try to advoid useing extension leads as well as the volt drop on these increases the current draw