My welding leads are quite long so I have them coiled on two hooks beside the welder. I normally only unhook part of the leads to do my jobs. Someone has told me that the leads being on a coil like this will restrict the welder output? Not a prob, just curious.
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brightspark
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if u wrap them round a metal drum ect u end up with an electo magnet
if the leads are 2 long u end up with voltage drop the only way to overcome that is increase the conductor sizeor as shenion says whack the amps up to compensate
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zzr1200
Working at 650 ft on open steel work.
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How long are the leads???
Doesn't matter if its an ac or dc current, having the leads coiled will produce a magnetic field that could restrict the ampage available at the electrode.......an extension lead is a good example, doesn't even need a metal core just the cables wound up....its the length that matters in this case.....
Thanks. At a guess I would think the leads I use now are 10mtrs long each and about 19mm thick including the coating. The leads that came with the welder are about 3mtrs long and I'm sure I get a higher amperage output if I use them. The long leads are handier for me and they save me carrying the welder to the jobs where it could easily get damaged. So, when I do a job near the welder if I uncoil the leads and have them like zig-zag on the floor would this be better?How long are the leads???
Doesn't matter if its an ac or dc current, having the leads coiled will produce a magnetic field that could restrict the ampage available at the electrode.......an extension lead is a good example, doesn't even need a metal core just the cables wound up....its the length that matters in this case.....
rory1
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another thing that i ghave also noticed is that when i take the leads up in the air, (on a platform, up a cherry picker etc) the amps tend to drop off more than if i lay the leads out along the ground.
i have tried to work this out but i cannot come up with any reasonable explaination.
maybe the rods get colder at hieght ;-)
rory
i have tried to work this out but i cannot come up with any reasonable explaination.
maybe the rods get colder at hieght ;-)
rory
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It's cos electricity has to work harder to get up hill, as it's heavier than air. Well known fact.
shenion
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hehe, then be sure to drop the leads lower and pour the electrons out before storing so no one gets shocked
stucktoweld
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hehe, then be sure to drop the leads lower and pour the electrons out before storing so no one gets shocked
No mate its cos of gravity pulling the electrons back to earth or maybe their leaking in to the large metal structure of the Cherry picker
Cherry picker are make for picking CHERRY's hence the name.
Next time try holding the torch upside down and say gosh its really close to the ground up here. The electrons will be fooled and flow much faster
Have a genny to the power the welder on a platform suspended by a helicopter above the job, then the leads can be in a downward manner. Prob solved.
..DAZ..
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for a slightly more sensible reply, if you are welding at height the cables will have free air round them, when on the floor they wont, so they will get slightly warmer on the floor. Same reason why sparkies have to take into account where cables are runnning before deciding on cable size for a job. Although I wouldn't have thought 10mtrs would be a problem. And in answer to your first question it is better to uncoil the cables if you can. Had a guy at work last year using a wee portable heater on a 15mtr extension with most of it coiled up. He ended up with a puddle of molten cable on the floor and took out the fuse, he couldn't understand what had happened :-)
pedrobedro
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I'm picking up some good tips here, I've now put my welders on a high shelf to increase the output and do my welding on the floor. If I put my gas up there as well will I be able to drop the pressure at the regulator as they are heavier than air and will increase by gravity in the pipe ?
zzr1200
Working at 650 ft on open steel work.
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I'm picking up some good tips here, I've now put my welders on a high shelf to increase the output and do my welding on the floor. If I put my gas up there as well will I be able to drop the pressure at the regulator as they are heavier than air and will increase by gravity in the pipe ?
No No, gas has to be down low as it syphons out, if the bottle is to high, better off using pressure flow rate to push the gas up hill...more control available that way.
Plus you may be able to use it twice, shielding on the way up and purging on the way down..if you can get enough gas through the root face gap...bonus...
Weldingartisan
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Some great tips there! Unless you roll your 10metre leads up in a tight coil the difference will be negligable, I've used 50metre leads in loose coils with no ill effect apart from the cable resistance. If you get a wandering arc on DC it can help to take a few turns of the return round the job to create a magnetic field to stabilise the arc (especially pipe). W/A
brightspark
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current carrying capacity
all cables have electrical resistance.so theres an energy loss. when they carry current .this loss apears as heat and the cable temperature rises as it does so the heat it looses to its suroundings by conduction.convection and radiation also increases/the rate of heat loss is a function of the diffrence in temperature between conductor and suroundings so as the conductor temperature rises so does its rate of heat loss a cable carrying a steady current which produces a fixed heating efect will get hotter till it reaches the balance temperature where heat imput is equal to heat loss the final temperature reached by the cable will depend on the current carried , ho w easiy the heat is disipated from the cable and the temperature of cable suroundings i hope that makes things more clear
all cables have electrical resistance.so theres an energy loss. when they carry current .this loss apears as heat and the cable temperature rises as it does so the heat it looses to its suroundings by conduction.convection and radiation also increases/the rate of heat loss is a function of the diffrence in temperature between conductor and suroundings so as the conductor temperature rises so does its rate of heat loss a cable carrying a steady current which produces a fixed heating efect will get hotter till it reaches the balance temperature where heat imput is equal to heat loss the final temperature reached by the cable will depend on the current carried , ho w easiy the heat is disipated from the cable and the temperature of cable suroundings i hope that makes things more clear
