welder woes

[brightspark]

went out tonight to bodge a jig up for bending threaded rod in to u bolts . plugged the oilcooled in of went the trip it normally takes the 30 amp mcb out on start up and a quick reset and its fine. having fitted an rcd fusebox 6 month ago its the 1st time ive used the welder and it was the rcd not the breaker it has a rubber flex feeding it that's been on over 40 years took the top off and the rubber was well perished and the neutral touching the earth .cleaned all the terminals and tested the welder for earth leakage . readings on megger were just under 1 megohm so alls good . just need a new flex on it now thank god it wasn't the tranny faulty

 

[Welderpaul]

Would that N to E fault take out an old Wylex type rewireable fuse?

 

[WorkshopChris]

Would that N to E fault take out an old Wylex type rewireable fuse?

No chance, even a slight L to E fault won't blow the old rewirable.

 

[brightspark]

Would that N to E fault take out an old Wylex type rewireable fuse?

no the neutral is just realy an earth and are connected together at source .or if pme its joined at your cutout supply. after that they have to be separate and if an rcd is fitted it will trip if they touch due to current imbalance .if the live touches it will take the trip or fuse out and the rcd

 

[Parm]

went out tonight to bodge a jig up for bending threaded rod in to u bolts . plugged the oilcooled in of went the trip it normally takes the 30 amp mcb out on start up and a quick reset and its fine. having fitted an rcd fusebox 6 month ago its the 1st time ive used the welder and it was the rcd not the breaker it has a rubber flex feeding it that's been on over 40 years took the top off and the rubber was well perished and the neutral touching the earth .cleaned all the terminals and tested the welder for earth leakage . readings on megger were just under 1 megohm so alls good . just need a new flex on it now thank god it wasn't the tranny faulty

you need to find an electrician to maintain your gear

 

[brightspark]

you need to find an electrician to maintain your gear

a bit thin on the ground had to come out of retirement to fix it . it was hard work carrying the mega out of my van once it has new flex on il be dead and buried next time it needs replacing

 

[Turbo]

If the varnish in the windings of an oil cooled welder has any breaks in it & if there's some water in the oil that can lead to some nuisance rcd tripping.

 

[Barking Mat]

you need to find an electrician to maintain your gear

Ooopppphhh!

 

[brightspark]

If the varnish in the windings of an oil cooled welder has any breaks in it & if there's some water in the oil that can lead to some nuisance rcd tripping.

ive tested it and its ok its only the connections on the top that aren't in the oil. il take the readings again then give it a good shake coat all the parts then check again see what it reads . will be interesting to see

 

[slim_boy_fat]

ive tested it and its ok its only the connections on the top that aren't in the oil. il take the readings again then give it a good shake coat all the parts then check again see what it reads . will be interesting to see

Daft question , but do these things have a dipstick or internal markings to indicate the 'correct' oil level?

 

[brightspark]

Daft question , but do these things have a dipstick or internal markings to indicate the 'correct' oil level?

no unless the the case leaks oil they stay the same level throughout there life mines never been outside but some were saying about getting water in them and it played a bit on my mind so i took the transformer out and checked the oil was clean and perfect and no rust or water in it put it back together and it wont ever come back to bits in my lifetime

 

[slim_boy_fat]

no unless the the case leaks oil they stay the same level throughout there life

Gottcha But, if water got in the only way you'd twig would be a raised/increased oil level?

 

[Turbo]

I've opened several of these & all of them had a bit of water in the very bottom, the oil floats on top of it. I think most of it must come from condensation as they are fairly well sealed.

As for oil level, some of the bigger 'Giant' models, 220a & over had a dipstick but I've never seen one on a 'Bantam' (180a & under). You can dip any of them by removing one of the tek screws holding down the lid & use a length of wire to dip them. The oil should just cover the transformers, I think the bantam holds up to 20l of transformer oil.