how to stop voltage drop

[DuncanCallum]

help im not getting enough current to my welder my garage is well away from the house 40 meters and about 15 meters from the main garage.

Mine has no elecy to it so i run an extension from the main garage to mine. the main garage is feed from the meterbox with 6mm wire.

can i run a 6mm cable from that to mine or do ineed to do something else.

please help im on max power welding car body work with a 130 am sip(i know bad choice but whats done is done) my mates clarke seemed not to be as affected

Thanks

 

[Wozzaaah]

What type of cable is your 6mm feed to the main garage? If it's 3 core SWA that will give you a maximum of 33 amps to the main garage with a volt drop of 9.2 which is the maximum permissible amount of 4%. If you run another length of 6mm SWA to your other garage, the maximum permissible load drops to 26 amps.

 

[DuncanCallum]

I'll ask the fatehr inlaw my garage is on their land, not well up on electrickery

 

[Wozzaaah]

I'm in the same boat as you but my garage is 70m from the house! I need 16mm cable.

 

[DuncanCallum]

how dears that?

 

[Wozzaaah]

I've been quoted £3.65 + vat per metre. I've been putting it off buying it but I'm going to have to do it sooner or later.

 

[DuncanCallum]

is there a formula to work the cable out as to regards to the votage drop per meter and the cable req

 

[Wozzaaah]

yes but there's an easier way, use an online calculator

 

[DuncanCallum]

cheers sorry for being dimmer than a 1watt bulb what kw will my welder draw

 

[Wozzaaah]

You need to look at the rating plate for that, what model SIP is it?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Just looked at your original post again, I'm assuming it's a 130 turbo in which case it only needs a 13a supply anyway. What problems are you getting?

 

[DuncanCallum]

130migmate.

i bought it cos it won best of test and apparently its not that good but so far seams ok

 

[Wozzaaah]

The main problem with Smaller SIPs is the poor quality wire feed assembly. Just about everyone who comes on here with a problem with one is having trouble with the feed.

 

[DuncanCallum]

poor penitration im on sealy o.6 wire and disposable co2 canister im running full power and mid wire speed

yeah ive put a bigger spool on and the feed mech looks very cheap

 

[Wozzaaah]

Ok, I'm not sure volt drop is your main problem but it probably doesn't help. If it's just bodywork you're trying to weld then you shouldn't need anything like full power but if it's say, chassis repairs then you'll need as much as you can, 0.8mm wire will help there as it effectively raises the welding current. Using full power on thin bodywork you should be blowing holes left, right and centre. Plain CO2 isn't really ideal either, CO2 + argon mix is best. If your extension lead is a normal coiled one it's probably only 1.5mm cable. Make sure it's fully unwound or better, why not make one up using a length of 2.5mm arctic cable, it's not that dear and will lower the volt drop. Post some pics of your welds, that will help to diagnose your problem.

 

[DuncanCallum]

i always run the cable out fully and clean the eartpoint up and make sure the clamps on best as possible

i use co2 cos i cant get the argon mix bottles to wrk on my reg for some reason ive tried 2 from machine mart.

what do i need to swap to 0.8 mm wire.

i runn at full power and it will just about blow a hole where the metals thin cos ive attacted it with the grinder. its an old mini so its only thin stuff

 

[irondarren]

you are getting good gas flow? that can cause problems. post a few pics of some welds, it might be easier to give some good advice then

 

[DuncanCallum]

its hissing im gonna go the big bottle route ill get some pics

im out the garage at the mo because im injuered i burst by hip joint by falling off my mountin bike.

im just enquiring so i can collect any bits i need

 

[irondarren]

with a big bottle you get far more control of the gas flow, little disposable bottles are not the best of things for constant gas flow

 

[cobminor]

The voltage supply in this country is 230v +10% -6%, giving 216.2 to 253 volts. The true supply in this country is 240V. Losing 9v still gives you 231 so you could still lose a lot more and still be in spec. Your welder should be rated for 230v, being the European standard, if so you are still over nominal voltage.