Thread: Three phase welder running of single phase

Any one have any real world experience running a three phase welder of single phase.?

Some of the old Youngs could be wired to run on either but dont know of any modern welders that do it.

Yep the youngs would do it, B, and Cs I think, sold one a few months back

Originally Posted by Maca49

Yep the youngs would do it, B, and Cs I think, sold one a few months back

And my old Mitch welder as well.

A lot of the switch modes can do it too.

yes we had 2x 3phase 200A tigs which we had single phase adapater leads for when working on site, not sure if its some sort of electrickery going on with the adapters, thought it was just a 3ph plug on one end with single phase wiring and plug on the other

Ok I have 260 amp single phase that struggles on the larger repairs and would like to run 350 amps and still get that out put out of single phase? Not really looking to rewire one for lower output or go to a welder generator if I can help it.

Some sparky will tell us I am sure but that doesnt sound safe.
We trialed a 200amp tig that was drawing rtidiculous amps out of the wall, extension leads go all hot and floppy etc, we went 300 amp 3 phase rather than burn a building down.

Your 260 amp welder is probably lacking input current, upgrading to a bigger single phase welder wont help that, you will need to re wire your building with probably 16mm cables to feed the welder.

Anything over 160 amps will struggle on a single phase line, unless the building is wired for it.

260 amp on single phase is as big as it gets the shed has all the large cables and any extension lead is a $300 job so i dont think i struggle with current.Oversize earth lead and hand piece i just need a bigger welder

And the next bigger welder is three phase.I have seen it done on lathes etc not sure if it is feasible on what the welders draw.

Can you not put 3 phase in?
Sounds like a f up waiting to happen with single
Melted plug sockets and ext cables with far less power

Originally Posted by Markgibsonr25

260 amp on single phase is as big as it gets the shed has all the large cables and any extension lead is a $300 job so i dont think i struggle with current.Oversize earth lead and hand piece i just need a bigger welder

What sort of plug does it use? How many amp? What size cables is the shed wired with, will need to be 16mm cables to handle that current. Unless you extension cables are also 16mm then they are too small. Put a multi meter on the neutral and active at the welder and see what the volts drop down to when you are welding.

Originally Posted by Markgibsonr25

And the next bigger welder is three phase.I have seen it done on lathes etc not sure if it is feasible on what the welders draw.

You need a phase converter to convert the single phase to 3 phases, but if you dont have enough current to run a single phase, you wont be able to run a bigger 3 phase welder.

Most old school 3 phase welders only use the voltage between two phases (440V) rather than one phase and earth/neutral (240V). The newer switch mode welders would be easy enough to use all three phases.

Realistically you would be better running off a generator or getting heavy three phase put in.