How to connect the welding machine correctly

The solution to everyday problems that occur when using the welding machine at home and in the country. Practical experience in using various types of welding machines.

The snow is gradually melting and the summer season is approaching, which for many is associated with the construction or troubles of arranging a summer cottage. One of the indispensable devices in the economy of a summer resident has long been welding machine, especially since the prices of household welding machines fell to affordable for each 4-7 thousand rubles.

If you bought a welding machine for the first time or took it from a neighbor, then the question naturally arises - how to turn it on correctly? Turn it on correctly, it means turn it on so as not to spoil the sockets and wiring when using the device for its intended purpose, not to burn the device itself and carry out the welding process.

Unfortunately, only general recommendations on work-rest cycles, i.e. It says about the need to take breaks during the welding process and nothing or almost nothing is said about the correct connection to the 220 V network.

What are the welders?

Let's talk about the nuances in detail. First of all, determine what your type of welding machine and which power outlet type. Welding machines can be divided into two large groups: transformer and inverter. Inverter welding machines much easier and more compact, have soft starters, many adjustments and protections. With output currents up to 140 A, they can easily be connected to a 16 ampere power outlet.

Welding inverter

Of course, inverter welding machines also have a transformer, but it works at frequencies of 50-100 kHz, therefore it is very compact. The weight of a modern inverter welding machine is only 2.5-3 kilograms, and the dimensions are approximately 300x190x130 mm. An example is welding inverter "Fubag IR160".

It has a welding current range of MMA 5-160 A. Welding current at a load of 25% 160 A. The open circuit voltage is 65 V. The diameter of the electrode is 0.6-4.0 mm. Power factor 0.92. Productivity 85%. Forced air cooling.

Dimensions (LxWxH) 340x120x240 mm. Weight 5 kg. Price from 5118 rub. Typically, such inverters are equipped with convenient plastic cases.

Welding transformer

Transformer welding machines, as a rule, devices are less modern, have fewer adjustments and protections. Since the transformer operates at a frequency of 50 Hz, it is much more bulky and heavy. An example is welding machine "Telwin Bimax 4,195 Turbo".

The range of welding current is 30-160 A. Power is 2.3-5.2 kW. The diameter of the welding electrode is 0.6-1.2 mm. Dimensions 600x340x430 mm, weight 28 kg, price 11800 rub.! When you turn it on, a surge current occurs that can burn the electrical outlet or turn off the circuit breaker. Therefore, such devices are better connect to the electrical panelusing a special outlet. For example, a very common outlet for a three-phase electric stove RShVSh 40 (40A, 380V) is suitable.

Wiring discord

Before using the welding machine, look at the sockets and wiring installed in your home. If the house is old enough, then there may be outlets designed for a maximum current of 10 A. Wiring to these outlets, as a rule, is designed for the same current. Look what traffic jams or automatic machines are, whether there are "bugs".

Welding is a very responsible process and you need to approach it seriously, otherwise you risk leaving yourself and your neighbors without light. By the way, if there is an overhead power line to your home, then the welding machine can load it so that the voltage "drops" below 150 V.This will lead to the fact that you will not be able to cook normally, and voltage fluctuations will appear in the network that are dangerous for electrical appliances and electric lamps.

Forward and reverse polarity when working with the welding machine in the video:

How to use extension cords?

Typically, the welding machine has a network wire of not more than 1.8 - 2.5 meters. Therefore, in the production of welding use extension cords. Uncontrollably using extension cords is dangerous. Here you need to pre-check and calculate everything. The wire in the extension cord must be of sufficient cross section. If the wire cross section is 1.5 square millimeters, then the maximum current for which it is designed is 16A, 2.5 square millimeters is 25A.

Choose a section of the wire with a margin and always deploy the wire from the extension cord, as In this case, it cools better and no additional inductive resistance of the coil with the wire is formed. Do not forget to use grounding, this is for your safety.

If you need to extend the wires at the outlet of the welding machine, it is better not to make intermediate connections. You need to buy a multi-conductor one-piece cable of the desired length. The cable cross section for current up to 140A should be at least 35 square millimeters, i.e. the diameter of the cross-section of the core for copper should be at least 7 millimeters.

Gas generator or welding generator?

As mentioned above, due to a voltage drop in the power line, welding is simply impossible. In this case, many try to use a low-power gas generator to power the welding machine. This is the wrong approach if the generator has a power of less than 5 kW. The voltage at the output of a low-power generator is highly dependent on the load power.

When welding with an electrode of 3 mm, the current reaches 120A, at a voltage of 40 V. The output power is 120x40 = 4.8 kW. Even with an inverter efficiency of 0.8-0.9, the input power should be 4.8 / 0.8 = 6 kW. By the way, inverter welding machines are very sensitive to voltage surges at the input and may fail.

Therefore, with a "weak" network, it is better to use welding machine combined with an electric generator. For instance, Champion DW 180 AE, welding current up to 180 A, weight 110 kg, price from 42000 rub. There is another option, it is to use ac stabilizer in front of the welder. True, if the network is very "weak", such a solution will not help or you need to choose a stabilizer with a wide range of adjustments, but it itself costs from 30,000 rubles.

conclusions

If possible, we told you about the problems that arise when using welding at home and in the country. In our opinion, you better choose to weld inverter welding machine. It will pay off faster, and learning how to work with it is much simpler and more enjoyable. Hope you know now how to connect the welding machine. If we missed something, write and share our experience, and we will tell others about it. We wish you success!