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That looks the business IMHO.
- Thread starter MattF
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MattF
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Another possibility I've just thought of, would be clamping the cable via one of the bolts holding on the top plate. If I pop a clamp there, that would stop it moving/pulling, so would prevent any risk of chafing either in the connection box or elsewhere? I could always make up something like these for the purpose of clamping if that'd do the job.
I like your idea of the seal around the box.
If you want to know what a black plastic gland will look like here's my 180a pickhill.
I also cable tied the flex to the handle for extra protection.
The 4 terminals under that box on my 110a welder are labelled 0v, 200v, 220v and 240v. The neutral is connected to 0v and the live to 240v - is yours connected the same way?
Our mains supply hovers between 220 and 230v, less than 220 if I'm welding. I was thinking of connecting to the 220v terminal and it might give me enough power to run 3.2mm rods.
If you want to know what a black plastic gland will look like here's my 180a pickhill.
I also cable tied the flex to the handle for extra protection.
The 4 terminals under that box on my 110a welder are labelled 0v, 200v, 220v and 240v. The neutral is connected to 0v and the live to 240v - is yours connected the same way?
Our mains supply hovers between 220 and 230v, less than 220 if I'm welding. I was thinking of connecting to the 220v terminal and it might give me enough power to run 3.2mm rods.
We recently got in a new larger mains transformer which has improved our voltage significantly. I tested it tonight and it now measures 232v and drops to 227v when welding. On the old transformer (5 kva) I have seen the voltage as low as 207v when there is a heavy load on it! The new one is 16 kva so we should have no voltage problems now.
Even so I decided to have a play tonight & switched the live connection between the 240v, 220v and 200v terminals and tried welding on each with a 3.2mm rod and the welder set to max amps (110a).
On 240v it was difficult to strike an arc and very difficult to maintain a stable arc. The weld had a raised look with poor fusion.
On 220v the welder performed perfectly, lovely stable arc giving a nice weld, slag virtually fell off.
On 200v I could only get 1" of weld before the welder blew the 13a fuse. This happened twice before I fitted a 15a 'fuse'. I know I should run it on a 16a plug but I haven't one installed yet but all my 13a sockets are wired with 6mm cable anyway and can take the power.
When I got it welding on the 200v terminal the weld seemed very fierce, the rod was running too hot. The weld looked decent but the slag was very hard to chip off.
Here's a photo, on the left is the weld with the live on the 220v terminal, on the right is the weld with the live on the 240v terminal.
It took several efforts to get the 240v weld as good as this but it's still not correct.
BTW The weld along the bottom was the test weld I did before I bought the welder, done with a 2.5mm rod at 110a setting, though I was running off some dodgy looking extension leads.
If the live on your welder is on the 240v terminal it might be worthwhile to swap it over to the 220v one and give you a more useful range of amps.
Even so I decided to have a play tonight & switched the live connection between the 240v, 220v and 200v terminals and tried welding on each with a 3.2mm rod and the welder set to max amps (110a).
On 240v it was difficult to strike an arc and very difficult to maintain a stable arc. The weld had a raised look with poor fusion.
On 220v the welder performed perfectly, lovely stable arc giving a nice weld, slag virtually fell off.
On 200v I could only get 1" of weld before the welder blew the 13a fuse. This happened twice before I fitted a 15a 'fuse'. I know I should run it on a 16a plug but I haven't one installed yet but all my 13a sockets are wired with 6mm cable anyway and can take the power.
When I got it welding on the 200v terminal the weld seemed very fierce, the rod was running too hot. The weld looked decent but the slag was very hard to chip off.
Here's a photo, on the left is the weld with the live on the 220v terminal, on the right is the weld with the live on the 240v terminal.
It took several efforts to get the 240v weld as good as this but it's still not correct.
BTW The weld along the bottom was the test weld I did before I bought the welder, done with a 2.5mm rod at 110a setting, though I was running off some dodgy looking extension leads.
If the live on your welder is on the 240v terminal it might be worthwhile to swap it over to the 220v one and give you a more useful range of amps.
MattF
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Did think of doing that, but my inner quirky git wouldn't let me.
Aye, mines connected to the 240V input. Our mains supply tends to be pretty spot on that voltage, as I recall, so it should probably be the best connection for use here. Good to hear changing the choice of terminal sorted yours with the larger rods.
Just an update on my pickhill 110a.
I cleaned the crud off the welder with petrol/diesel mix and a paint brush but unfortunately a lot of that nice pickhill transfer disintegrated and flaked off.
It was beyond saving so I took the decision to paint the whole welder.
It turned out rather well, a big improvement on before. I cleaned up the original rod holder & earth clamp and painted them too. I replaced all the ring terminals on the welding leads and rewired the mains cable.
Looks too good to sell but unfortunately it has to go. I don't need this welder as I have the 180a pickhill for bench work and I've just bought an inverter for on site work.
I cleaned the crud off the welder with petrol/diesel mix and a paint brush but unfortunately a lot of that nice pickhill transfer disintegrated and flaked off.
It was beyond saving so I took the decision to paint the whole welder.
It turned out rather well, a big improvement on before. I cleaned up the original rod holder & earth clamp and painted them too. I replaced all the ring terminals on the welding leads and rewired the mains cable.
Looks too good to sell but unfortunately it has to go. I don't need this welder as I have the 180a pickhill for bench work and I've just bought an inverter for on site work.
I sold this welder tonight and it's destined for Africa! Guy who bought it is involved with a company who buys up tools old & new to fill a container. Container is shipped to Africa and they go to schools where they are used to teach kids and young people practical skills or a trade.
He also bought this vice I refurbished
