What to Practice?

[HasBean]

Well it looks like I've been accepted on an evening class at last (having waited 8 years for one to turn up )
Previously did one 9 years ago (two hours one night a week) but spent weeks and weeks on oxy, two weeks on arc, one on mig, one on plasma/gas cutting and one week in the pub

This time it's open for qualifications, level one and two, for those who wish, or are able, to take them but I would just like to become 'relatively' competent at arc, mig and hopefully a bit if tig (ideally I'd like a new mig and an AC/DC tig unit but want to to have a play first before selling the children to finance it)

In the mean time is it worth having a bit of a practice first? I have an old 170A mig and a 'loverly' IFL 180MA to play with.
Any suggestions?

PS A welding God I am not

 

[HasBean]

Well I've had a bash on some basic downhand mig tonight and apart from having to turn up the gas flow to prevent excessive brown dusty bits it's not too bad.......apart from the circuit breaker in the consumer unit tripping on top voltage setting
It's only 170A max but takes out the 25A breaker. (As it happens the 20A type C breaker that it's connected to in the garage doesn't trip
I'm on a 4mm radial circuit but do you think I should bite the bullet and get an electric chicken in to put a 40A 10mm feed in?

Paul


PS

The 25A mcb in the consumer unit was a 20 job which mysteriously changed
I have a 30A job but am a bit wary of changing it in case the electrical fairies get angry and remove my testicles with a pair of blunt garden shears in the middle of the night

 

[Paul.]

A type D would be better, oh and hide those garden shears

 

[HasBean]

Hi Paul,
Unfortunately my old Wylex consumer unit only has type 2 (type B as we know it now) breakers so can only 'upgrade' that particular circuit to 30A which I'm wary of on a 4mm radial

Comment about shears duly noted

 

[HasBean]

Sorry to bump this up guys but need a bit of advice.
I reckon I'd be safer to have a seperate feed put in but hereby lies the question. Assuming that consumer units use type 2/B mcb's, would I need a 40A breaker at the unit and, say, a 32A type C/D mcb at the isolator in the garage, because at the moment it's the 25A mcb in the fuse box that's tripping and not the 20A type C mcb in the garage