Club 80-90 Forums

I know this is probably a silly question,but ill ask anyway!

I need to practise welding on some small panels and have been doing this in my garden when the weathers been ok,ive got a gas welder but my garden is fairly sheltered from the wind.

The weathers cold and wet today and my shed is full so i cant really weld in there,am i crazy to think of welding in my house?

I know sparks can start fires I just wondered if its really that dangerous, I could weld in my porch where its a lino floor and no furniture about.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Simple - don't!
Fumes, fire hazard, etc.
It will shag your lino in no time.
If a fire broke your insurance company will be laughing.

that's you told! if your yard is sheltered why not rig up some sort of roof to enable you to play out side when it's raining?

DiscoDave wrote:that's you told! if your yard is sheltered why not rig up some sort of roof to enable you to play out side when it's raining?

Because its cold! lol fair enough i thought it would be a no no,ill have to leave it this weekend and get my shed emptied for next weekend

Thanks for the sensible replies

The fumes are dangerous and all the other things everyone else has said. Get a B&Q gazebo only cost a couple of quid.

if you get the welder cranked up enough you'll be warm!

seriously though consider the electrocution possibilities if your considering welding outside in the wet - the shock you'll get from a welder won't kill you -the arc-up voltages on nearly all 240V welders (mig/tig or stick) are not enough to kill - will give a jolt though.... it's the 240v supply to the machine part I'm making a point on - trailing extension leads that are wet track electricity and can/will kill get yourself a good trip switch (most of them run upto 13 amps which is enough for most thin plate welding) and also make sure your supply has breakers not the traditional fuses

dugcati wrote:if you get the welder cranked up enough you'll be warm!

seriously though consider the electrocution possibilities if your considering welding outside in the wet - the shock you'll get from a welder won't kill you -the arc-up voltages on nearly all 240V welders (mig/tig or stick) are not enough to kill - will give a jolt though.... it's the 240v supply to the machine part I'm making a point on - trailing extension leads that are wet track electricity and can/will kill get yourself a good trip switch (most of them run upto 13 amps which is enough for most thin plate welding) and also make sure your supply has breakers not the traditional fuses

Thanks for the info,i dont have any choice but to use an extension cable for the welder. So i should have a trip switch plugged into the extension lead then to the welder? (Like this one on ebay 360131402470)

That's virtually identical to the one I use on my 165amp mig unit -

Make sure you put the trip as close to your consumer unit as you can... plugging your welder directly into the trip wont protect the extension cable itself should it have a fault or not be man enough to cope with a welder hanging from it.

One other thing is consider the light coming from your welder - kids/dogs/neighbors etc can catch welding flashes if they are close enough and looking/able to see the light

One last thing I would suggest is get a POWDER fire extinguisher.. nearly all the ones you see in Wickes/ScrewFix etc should be powder however some people are able to get hold of water ones from work/friends etc - as I am sure you know....water conducts electricity

Ill be staying well away from people/pets etc so no proble there.

So if welding in my shed and its abit damp outside should i use an rcd on the plug end of the extension and one for the plug on the welder? thanks

nah - one should suffice I would say - I'm sure there will be someone who advises otherwise.. RCD's look for a difference between the live and neutral cables in the supply - if there is a difference ie your being electrocuted then some of that electricity is going to earth and not back down the neutral cable then it trips

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device
http://www.furryelephant.com/content/el ... rcd-works/

going back to the light thing - people/animals can get a welding flash from anything upto 50 feet away! if your wondering what a full on welding flash is like then I would describe it akin to having red hot sand in your eyes and then someone using a wire brush to get it out.. I kid you not it's incredibly painful and there is nothing you can do to get rid of it other than wait for it to pass... dark room wet towel on eyes and a load of sleep helps (a bit!)

I wouldn't weld in a small shed either - if I weld in mine (it's 20ft by 10ft) I have all the windows open and the door open, concrete floor.The splatter can reach things that you never think possible. The use of the gazebo as suggested is the best idea, if it's the wind that is the problem use gasless wire - it's ideal for windy conditions.

Thanks ill have to look for a gazebo,looked on the b & q website and couldnt find anything cheap.

My welders gas and gasless so i could always get hold of some gasless wire,im happy to use a gazebo though i thought my shed would be ok if its empty i can just leave the doors open so theres no gas build up.

weldore wrote:

Have i amused you?

just a tad ....dont burn ya house down just for a little welding dood