Help please

[widge292]

Hi,
I am new to welding and am having a few problems.
Have a clarke 110en gasless mig.
recently welding about 5mm angle mild steel to 5mm pipe had problems as it was too much fpor the welder and it didn't weld just melted metal on to it. So i think i will upgrade.
I only have a 13 amp domestic supply.
I am looking at the 160en turbo clarke. Machine mart state it needs 15 amps but i notice that this site sells the next one down the 130 which also requires 15 amps according to them but the shop on here says 13 amps is fine.
I can't really get a 15 am p circuit.
Will the 160en (150amps max) work on the 13 amp circuit ?
If i do anmd use a deciated short extension with a plug in rcd which will have the welder plugged into it be ok.
Is there any risk of me causing a fire oir an y problems at all.
If the answers are i need 15 amps is there a cheap way of doing this pleae with a step up unit or something.
Thank you in advance

Pete

 

[volition82]

I'm no expert , but what I did when I had an older welder which required a 16amp fuse (very hard to find but did manage to get it online) was run it off the cooker socket. Not exactly sure what amp cable is used as standard but think it's around 25amps, so it will be fine.

If you could post some pictures of what your trying to weld and more details of what the finished item does it would help because you might not need a new welder. Depending on what your trying to do you could v-prep the pipe/angle to a point and do multi runs.

I don't have a lot of experience on smaller hobby type welders but I can't see why it couldn't be done perhaps someone else with more experience of that type of welder could confirm or dismiss this?

 

[the snooper]

the welder should still have laid a bead of weld, whether it penetrated enough would be a different matter.
on thicker steel i is better to v the joint