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[Andy H]

That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc.

So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?

Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery.

It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........

[chrisgixer]

Sorry, do you mean the cable with single nail clip heading up the wall, next to the feed for the original fused single socket?

That goes on to feed the other two 4gangs and the shed sockets.

So, main cable from consumer unit down the wall to the fused switch>plug socket next to it>4gang> then the cable I think you mean goes from the 4gang to the next 4gang>to 4gang> to shed.

in my defence, it was inherited from the previous owners.

[chrisgixer]

That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc.

So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?

Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery.

It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........

It's been there's for 15 years and has taken some abuse. But it is concerning me tbh.

As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest.

But then that's why I'm posting.

[AndyRoid]

So, main cable from consumer unit down the wall to the fused switch>plug socket next to it>4gang> then the cable I think you mean goes from the 4gang to the next 4gang>to 4gang> to shed.

Got the picture now 

As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest.

Because it's illegal (and also potentially quite dangerous) to spur off a spur, however your only saving grace in that setup as it is now is that you have the 13A switch fuse in place (although the break current of a 13A fuse is around 16A give or take).

Seriously Chris, I'm quite happy to pop over and take a look because how it is wired at the moment is something that I wouldn't consider even as a temporary.

I have plenty of T&E in my garage in various sizes, so cable replacement (if needed) will be free.
My labour will be a cuppa (white with 2), and if we have to run a new cable back to the DB (fusebox) then you'll have to be the cable ferret.

[AndyRoid]

Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery.

You're not wrong there Andy 

PS
I know where I screwed up on your S3, the ROM I installed was a European ROM. This doesn't affect handset functionality at all, but KIES (which is a POS anyway) objects as it can't see the correct CSC for the UK.

[chrisgixer]

There's always Monday? (curry night )

[dbdb]

That's a 135 amp welder (allegedly).  My 160 amp Murex Mig runs OK on 13amp but that is pushing it (official fuse rating is 16amp).

[Andy H]

That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc.

So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?

Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery.

It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........

It's been there's for 15 years and has taken some abuse. But it is concerning me tbh.

As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest.

But then that's why I'm posting.

a really bad thing to do is to mix solid copper conductors and flexible stranded conductors and stick them into the same screw terminal. Flexible stranded conductors shuffle out of way leaving all the conductors loose in the terminal which then overheat.

[Kevin Wood]

135 A is about the limit of what you can run off a 13A supply (although, as dbdb has implied, you can get away with a significant overload of such a circuit for short periods).

Assuming that switched spur box is fed from a spur off a ring main or a dedicated circuit on the CU and not another bodge, it should be capable of powering the welder. I'm guessing this was the original garage socket and the rest have been "tacked on"?

The only thing that would concern me, as AndyH has eluded is that, since the extra sockets have been added in a haphazard and illegal way, I'd also wonder about the standard of wiring employed, and we can't see that from the photo. I think I'd be happier plugging the welder into the socket next to the spur box, eliminating all the added wiring. Either way, the world won't end if it doesn't work, so try it.

I would, however, take Andyroid up on his kind offer, since I doubt that garage supply has an earth leakage breaker, and they are advisable, really, if using hand held power tools in such an environment, as are proper MCBs rather than wired fuses.

[TheBoy]

Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.

Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.

Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality^* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.

I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?


^* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.

[AndyRoid]

Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.

Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.

Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality^* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.

I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?


^* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.

No such thing where electricity is concerned IMHO, especially with the kind of loads we are talking about in this example 

[05omegav6]

Homebase/B&Q sell the cables off the roll

Have experience of the point Andy H made regarding the terminals... the chap who rewired our house (not me btw ) didn't tighten some of the earth terminals in some of the sockets

Nearly lost the garage to that... fortunately as the plug melted the pins touched and tripped the breaker. We were home at the time, and it didn't take long to locate the problem, but at the time of unpluging, the plug was just starting to smoulder

Checked all the other sockets and found similar with three of them...

[Taxi_Driver]

Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.

Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.

Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality^* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.

I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?


^* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.

Why? Ive got one, its rated at 13amp fully unwound and something like 5amp wound and is 25m in length. Its a lot tidier and i never have to spend ages tring to get all the knots out of the cable.
I noticed the other week, Tesco do something similar to mine, a kinda metal tripod with a drum attached, same kind of ratings, about £30 iirc

[05omegav6]

Being wound tight probably does the cable no good in the long run

[chrisgixer]

I have a cable only extension, problem there. I can run that from the house.

Now I need to read up on basic welding. I have a mask. Get some gauntlets. Overalls, and did I see the master in a leather apron? Lordy

Sus the gas regulator and what pressure it should be, blah...