Welder

Lancs Lad

Lancs Lad

Well-known member
I'm looking at options of running a 100m 6mm arctic extension lead, vs getting the first part of the permanent electric supply (80 metre run) to an externally mounted 3ph dist board.
Are you asking which is best?
Proper supply always be better than an extension lead if that's the question. At 100m on 13a you'll loose 4% drop easily.
Or have I missed the point 🥸
 
S

Stroppymonkey

Well-known member
Are you asking which is best?
Proper supply always be better than an extension lead if that's the question. At 100m on 13a you'll loose 4% drop easily.
Or have I missed the point 🥸
Need to have a chat with sparks about logistics. I need power at some point so might as well get on with it but quite a lot of future groundworks taking place on the route. I just wanted to weld containers sooner rather than later. I can get a roll of blue 6mm x 100m for £250 and put it on skyhooks as a temp supply.
 
Lancs Lad

Lancs Lad

Well-known member
Need to have a chat with sparks about logistics. I need power at some point so might as well get on with it but quite a lot of future groundworks taking place on the route. I just wanted to weld containers sooner rather than later. I can get a roll of blue 6mm x 100m for £250 and put it on skyhooks as a temp supply.
Fair enough, you'll get a fair bit out of 6mm before it goes pop and as long as breaker man enough.
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
I'm looking at options of running a 100m 6mm arctic extension lead, vs getting the first part of the permanent electric supply (80 metre run) to an externally mounted 3ph dist board.
second option .... trying to run an inverter off the end of 100m extension'll be challenging ...... what size cable are you running to your dis. box ? 252? .. 1.6 MV drop per metre ... will give you a great supply and circa 95A capacity on a 4 core and earth run
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
Are you asking which is best?
Proper supply always be better than an extension lead if that's the question. At 100m on 13a you'll loose 4% drop easily.
Or have I missed the point 🥸
not far off bang on the money, according to the charts ... 8MV/m so 8Volts over 100m on 6mm 2 core 3.33%
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
Need to have a chat with sparks about logistics. I need power at some point so might as well get on with it but quite a lot of future groundworks taking place on the route. I just wanted to weld containers sooner rather than later. I can get a roll of blue 6mm x 100m for £250 and put it on skyhooks as a temp supply.
spend on SWA and have done ;)
 
Quattromike

Quattromike

Well member-known
I'd be tempted to use SY cable for a semi permanent extension. Or as @V8Druid says use SWA then it can be reused as the supply cable why you are ready be permanent
 
Canal Navvy

Canal Navvy

Well-known member
One of the great advantages of the modern little inverter welders is that they are so good on long extension leads.

SY cable could raise eyebrows if you needed the installation signed off as it doesn't have the BS number to use as an installed supply cable.

I'd go with long extension for the moment and then properly installed armoured in one length up to its permanent distribution board in time 🙂
 
S

Stroppymonkey

Well-known member
spend on SWA and have done ;)
It's not the money.. it's the fact that I'm a year away from having the site for the permanent dist board ready, and there's a lot of excavation needed right next to the route that the SWA will need to take. Will need temp power on site anyway for lighting and suchlike over the next year. I will ponder over it.
 
S

Smiffy

Well-known member
It's not the money.. it's the fact that I'm a year away from having the site for the permanent dist board ready, and there's a lot of excavation needed right next to the route that the SWA will need to take. Will need temp power on site anyway for lighting and suchlike over the next year. I will ponder over it.

Is it possible to bury the cable in a position that you won't have to directly through it's path,just near it ?? Or are you going to be criss crossing it with excavations ??
If your just near it then go overboard with precautions. Put it in ducting bury in an oversized trench filled with reject sand and tape over it then flags over it.
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
Don`t know if its been suggested, how about a mobile welder/generator? all your welding and power covered, a decent make bought right and you wont lose much if you sell it on.
issue is finding a decent set at a sensible price though ...
this is cheap and may just be a switch ...
plenty of folk about who'd look at it
worth double that sorted.


alternatively may be easier to find a decent 3ph genny and run a welder off that :unsure:


not dear and sounds/looks like a 6354 Perky ... bombproof ... well worth a go at
need to search religiously for 'em to find at the right money though ...
reckon mine's worth at least 60-70% more than I paid for it, today, maybe even double :giggle:
real hard to find good silenced units
 
V8Druid

V8Druid

do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
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Canal Navvy

Canal Navvy

Well-known member

For what you're planning to do at the moment a relatively inexpensive little MIG/MAG on a long lead is the way to go.
I've had my little 130 MAG and Jassic 180 MMA on a 50 metre 2.5mm extension, two of us site welding reinforcing and it took a long time for it to start objecting.

It's an absolute nightmare trying to find faults in armoured cable where its either been badly jointed or has been "kissed" by the digger bucket , definitely best well buried and not ever disturbed 😁
 
B

bobthebuilder

Well-known member
i bought one of these little fellers,not being much of a welder but getting better,this has gone up ladders etc ran on extension leads welds 20mm stuff
excellent tool to get you out of a fix
Screenshot 2024-01-21 20.43.14.png
 
Canal Navvy

Canal Navvy

Well-known member
I once had the pleasure of using an old Clarke transformer welder on the same long lead as an inverter welder, the inverter welder certainly made the most of the supply and was quite capable of giving a good arc when the old welder had long given up 😉
 
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