60 amp single pahese 240 volt AC supply (UK)

I have bought a TIG welder that will run off UK 240 volt single phase 50 hertz AC supply, but on full power can draw up to 50 amps. I want to wire this off the house incoming mains distribution board, to a spur in my worksshop, about 30 feet away. The mains supply from the road is on a 100 amp fuse to the meter. The meter then feeds straight to a fuse switch with an 80 amp fuse in it. If I can get an extra pair of tails into the outlest of this switch fuse i was going to run armoured cable to a 60 amp switch fuse in the workshop, with the welder hard wired into that. Can anyone see a problem with this? I live in the sticks, and although the mains is fused

What core size armoured do I need to be looking at? BTW, a pic of the welder load plate is at ftp://ftp.chriswilson.tv/mig/mig.jpg

Thanks.

I would agree with Charles. Give your local electricity board a ring. They will give you a definitive answer.

This should be OK. You'll need a 50A MCB in the distribution board and cable with 8mm^2 or 10mm^2 cables.

I'm not sure what you mean by "a fuse switch". Is this separate to the distibution board? I've seen some installations where the tails from the meter go to a switch which then supplies two distibution boards (in the case where the first distibution board didn't have enough connections).

Anything after the meter is your responsibility. The meter and the distibution head (which has the 100A fuse) is property of the supplier (the fuse just protects their system should there be a fault on your property, it doesn't really increase safety).

The key points are: The cable to the workshop must be rated for the application .Different cables will have different ratings depending on whether they are clipped to the surface of a wall or if they are enclosed in the wall or in conduit (where they are derated due to decreased ventilation). The cable must be protected by a circuit breaker (MCB) or fuse. This prevents the cable from overheating so the cable must have higher rating than the fuse/MCB that protects it. If the "fuse switch" is connected directly to the meter and you run cables from this you will neeed something like 16mm^2 or 25mm^2 cable as the only thing protecting the cable will be the 100A fuse.

Your local library (if one exists) on town/city library may have a copy of the IEE 16th edition wiring regulations:

The work you are intending to do falls under the new Part-P building regulations and will need approval from the local building inspector:

Various examples of distibution boards and cable:

Is this really a 12kW single phase welding device?

Bear in mind that, in the UK, new regulations mean that unless formally qualified, you can NOT do electrical work in your own house, you MUST get an approved electrician to do the work.

Paul

It's approaching the limit of the typical company fuse. I guess he'll be okay if there's nothing else switched on at the same time. ;-)

Damn! I'll have to rip out the distribution board I renewed 5 years ago, then.

Wrong newsgroup! Try posting this to uk.d-i-y as there are plenty of qualified electricians there who will assist you to do this within the UK wiring regs.

Sorry for delay in replying, been away (I haven't blown myself up yet... :)) really good links and info, I have bought a 60 amp fused switch and will get an electrician to split the meter supply tails to feed two switches, the original to the house distribution board, and the new one serving just the welder down an armored cable to the workshop, with an isolation switch at that end. I think that should cover things? Thanks again for all the advice!

Thanks for coming back with a progress report; the fact that it's a report of success is kinda like icing on the cake, so to speak. :-)

Cheers! Rich

No the original poster said 'single phase'!