Thread: Anyone familiar with Peerless 180 Amp arc welder?

Have no doubts at all about Peerless they were one of best welders around .

Four copper coils if I recall.

They were made in 240 volt.I had one There should be a plate on the machine which will indicate if this one is multi voltage.

Changing the plug is a ajob that must be done be a qualified electrical tradesman if you wish to stay within the bounds of the law.

Grahame

Yep, Very good unit.
I have had one for over twenty years, and it is still going strong.

My questions are does this run off 240volt mains? If not can I cut the industrial plug off and replace it with a 240 volt plug? (I forgot to ask)

Do not run the welder off a 10amp supply, or with a 10amp plug. That will lead to failure of the unit.
This unit was designed to run from a 15amp single phase supply only.

The newer models are single tapped 45v only, for general welding. Mine is the dual tapped 45 & 70v unit, But I have never used the 70v tap.

Ditto to what all the others have said.
My father has a 45 -70 v taped one.

At least 25 years old. Heavy as all buggery. Almost burst a poofoo valve lifting it into the boot of the car.

Great old welder...

He has always run it from 10amp and it works fine. Filed the earth pin down and had no issues with it. When the rod sticks to the work he'd blow a fuse at the meterbox at the front of the house. Mum was an expert at changing the fuse wire in no time flat.

Do not run the welder off a 10amp supply, or with a 10amp plug. That will lead to failure of the unit.
This unit was designed to run from a 15amp single phase supply only.

Yeah, I have to admit I have run mine off not so good power, but.......

When mine was twelve years into a ten year warranty, one of the coils burnt out. I was encouraged by a boilermaker freind to contact Peerless in Vic anyway, which I did.

They repaired the unit at no cost to me with 4 brand new copper coils, installed new acrylic window at the choke, and stuck a new sticker on the top. They paid freight both ways from NSW.

They also attached a letter saying something like...... we have cut off the 10amp plug that you had on the welder. The unit should be run from a good power supply, using a 15amp plug only. You Fu%@ed up the unit by running it with the
10amp plug fitted.

Since then, I have run the unit off good power, and the welder runs as well as it did when I bought it.

Nothing like a bit of Technical jargon to make you sit up and take notice.

prozac

Originally Posted by glock40sw

He has always run it from 10amp and it works fine. Filed the earth pin down and had no issues with it. .

Love it You're not my brother are you?

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Changing the plug is a ajob that must be done be a qualified electrical tradesman if you wish to stay within the bounds of the law

I'm pretty sure that is not the case. Not being fixed wiring, you can replace the plug and still be within the law. But only do so if you are confident that you can get the connections right.

Putting a 10amp plug on a 15amp welder won't usualy damage the welder but you will almost certainly blow fuses or circuit breakers on your 10amp circuit. If you up your fuse size or breaker size then you may get a visit from the big red fire truck. And pretty sure unless you are a qualified electrician you are not supposed to work on any 240volt equipment line side or load side.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

I'm pretty sure that is not the case. Not being fixed wiring, you can replace the plug and still be within the law. But only do so if you are confident that you can get the connections right.

Vernon ,
I draw your attention to a safety bulletin from the NSW Govt Safety Authorities

http://www.dft.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/About...ions/ftb35.pdf

Right at the top under the title Prevention Measures is states
"All electrical work must be carried out by a licensed electrician "

There is no ambiguity about it.
Of course individuals may choose to do otherwise ,but in an open forum as this is,we really have a duty of care to offer only advice on what is Safe and is Legal.

If people do other wise and are caught out doing their own electricals, a likehood of prosecution is something I am pretty sure will occur. Those in other states should do some research. Perhaps some kind electrician would care to enlighten us all on the national situation as who can do what .Inquiring minds ,want to know.

Grahame

Hi Grahame,
In that document they are referring to fixed wiring, not replacing plugs on appliances. Here is a reference

Although it is legal to connect your own plugs to flexible cords...

from http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/EnergySaf...city/index.htm

and here is a thread from the renovate forum http://www.renovateforum.com/showthread.php?t=53708 which also covers the topic.

So yes it is illegal to work on fixed wiring ... but it is not illegal to replace an appliance plug.

Hi,

Coincidently we had our electrician here at our home yesterday. This was to put in a 15amp GPO in my garage in order to use my Tig Welder. Although the wiring was connected to the main switchboard on a separate line to anything in the house, I had it connected to a separate safety switch (RCD).

Mind you just thinking about it (and I have already had 3 crowns & a Guinness) it isn’t connected to the surge protector that is on the main ring. Does one really need a surge protector for a welder? Btw, the Tig unit is a VRD but I think this is equal to a RCD isn’t it? Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
MH

In all seriousness, we all know that technically speaking we have to call an electrician to put new plugs on cords and so on. But it'd be like calling a plumber to replace a tap washer. So if we feel we can do it safely, we tend to do it. In my experience, even the most pedantic of electricians gives the nod to this.

So far as using 10 amp extensions and outlets for 15 amp appliances, I think that you can get away with it if you understand what's happening. That is, you shouldn't do it, but if for some reason you need or want to use a 15 amp welder and you only have 10 amp connections, then you can only use it in short bursts. It's only common sense to reaslise that you're dramatically decreasing the duty cycle because the machine is sucking up to 33% more amps through the wires than it's size legally allows. Whenever I do anything as silly as this, I often feel the supply lines to monitor heat build up. You can hear me curse when I feel warmth in an extension. Like this: *(^%^#@%&^& *%^$$%*&^%$$%. Because it means a delay.

Originally Posted by Rossluck

Whenever I do anything as silly as this, I often feel the supply lines to monitor heat build up. You can hear me curse when I feel warmth in an extension. Like this: *(^%^#@%&^& *%^$$%*&^%$$%. Because it means a delay.

So when do you stop welding Ross? When the outer sheath is just warm, luke warm or too hot to hold?

Cheers
MH

Originally Posted by Metal Head

So when do you stop welding Ross? When the outer sheath is just warm, luke warm or too hot to hold?

Cheers
MH

Generally my welding stops when the cord melts and the wires fuse.