water in oil

[oilcooled :)]

will water... moisture in oil cause an oil cooled welder to trip,i have two machines and one of them at most i can weld for 60seconds and it trips out. i put a new cable on it an no diffference. the machine was never out in the weather only when the galvinise sweats and drips on everything in winter. any idears??:P

 

[scarecrow]

if it's the trip-switch which that is going it could be that it's not strong enough or could be faulty it's also possible with all the damp weather that moisture has got into the system somewhere is there another plug you could try the Welder on just to rule that out

 

[oilcooled :)]

well i have an identical reconditioned bantam sitting beside it for the last year and that one runs fine off the same socket

 

[brightspark]

if it's the trip-switch which that is going it could be that it's not strong enough or could be faulty it's also possible with all the damp weather that moisture has got into the system somewhere is there another plug you could try the Welder on just to rule that out

when u say tripswitch do u mean an mcb =minature circuit breaker or rcd residual current device eg earth tripswitch if the latter possibly the dampness refresh the oil dry out and retry. dont supose u have an insulation tester ??

 

[oilcooled :)]

em rcd and eh no dont have that thingie

 

[brightspark]

em rcd and eh no dont have that thingie

its probably a 30miliamp trip the moisture in your hand is enough to knock it off any larger than 30 miliamp and its curtains 4 u thats all the body can take as i said dry it out replenish oil . oil is an insulator water isnt and try again. the insulation on transformer.might have broken down

 

[oilcooled :)]

i like curtains ill try dat but i got a quote for 25 litre of transformer oil for 195 euro. i have a good mind to get the riffle and put a barell under an esb pole with a transformer and take a shot at it

 

[brightspark]

i like curtains ill try dat but i got a quote for 25 litre of transformer oil for 195 euro. i have a good mind to get the riffle and put a barell under an esb pole with a transformer and take a shot at it

dont like the curtans ive had 3 near deaths at work allways what sumone else has done verry carefull now. allways double check the only thing i can think of is empty oil out and try running dry for a short while not realy recomended. best thing is test insulation with megger whilst full take readings . then empty and test again if u are getting better readings.when empty the oil is conaminated and or windings are down get a local sparky to test for u if he knows his stuff u should get sorted

 

[piman]

Hello oil,

how do you know there is water in the oil? Are you sure it's not dampness where the mains connections are made in the welder?

Alec

 

[brightspark]

Hello oil,

how do you know there is water in the oil? Are you sure it's not dampness where the mains connections are made in the welder?

Alec

a simple insulation flash test will tell all.generaly a look at the conector if damp will be evident .if the coils are breaking down under load use a clampon ameter start welding if the amperage rises windings are faulty

 

[brightspark]

dont want to bore u with details minimum value of insulation is 1.0 meg. test voltage 500 dc

 

[oilcooled :)]

ryt well first things first the welder was only checked for oil once since in was bought in 1973, so it should be due a change anyways, im sure there is sludge in there. on the other hand is 195euro not a bit pricey for 25litres of trans oil???

 

[brightspark]

ryt well first things first the welder was only checked for oil once since in was bought in 1973, so it should be due a change anyways, im sure there is sludge in there. on the other hand is 195euro not a bit pricey for 25litres of trans oil???

cant u just see the electicity guys an a substation they change the oil when it gets carbon in it mind u thats working at over 10k but would be ok at 240

 

[piman]

Hello Oilcooled,

can you switch the welder on and not use it to weld, just have it on?

If that doesn't trip the breaker there is nothing wrong with the oil, cable or connections. If it only trips after you start welding there is a fault within the welder.

If that is the case I would not think that it would weld very well?

Alec

 

[Bsmith]

I have heard of a few 1970 s Oxford coils burning out due to condensation in the cooling oil so I would suspect this with your welder. I would dismantle the welding set, check the oil for water/gunge etc, check the coils with avo or whatever it takes and if they are ok refill with new oil and reassemble. I don't know about the cost of the oil but I recon this is the only way to proceed.
Might be an idea if alls well with the coils to fit a tapping on the bottom of the welder box so future water can be drained off.
Good luck with it, Brian (",).

 

[Charred fingers]

ryt well first things first the welder was only checked for oil once since in was bought in 1973, so it should be due a change anyways, im sure there is sludge in there. on the other hand is 195euro not a bit pricey for 25litres of trans oil???

Sounds extortionate £68.50 +vat /25ltr from Morris Lubricants over here