I am going to fit a 20A 3Ph plug to an old 3Ph arc welder I've had sitting around here for years. I know which terminal the green (earth) wire goes to but the rest of them are pretty much well hit and miss for me. I fitted the same type plug to my compressor years ago and it took me two goes to get it right . the first time the compressor spun backwards and I had to swap one of the wires to make it go the correct way. After that - no more problems. Given that my compressor spun backwards . if I get the welder wrong . what will happen! Or don't welders really care too much as long as the earth is correct and the other connections secure! Story dudes!
Ta for this . but unfortunantly it does not answer what I was asking. I did a quick google prior to asking on here. Alot of the stuff on google refers to other countries color codes . I looked at my lathe for an idea but it has relatively new wire that is totally different in colour compared to the stuff coming out of this old arc welder.
johnf_456,
Sep 5, 12:40pm
Getting a sparky that way its done safe and you have insurance if it goes wrong.
crzyhrse,
Sep 5, 12:55pm
How do you swap just one wire!
rob_man,
Sep 5, 1:11pm
If you get it wrong the welder will suck metal off the work and the rod will get longer. Also it will suck light into the spot where the electrode meets the work and everything will become incredibly dark.
attitudedesignz,
Sep 5, 3:21pm
That's called 'a black hole' rob', he could get it wrong and then we're ALL in a world of poo lol.
trader_84,
Sep 5, 6:38pm
Theres 4 pins in all of my 20A 3Ph plugs. Theres 4 wires in all of the 3Ph wiring in my shed. The only one that will f@%& you up is getting the green (old colour) or yellow/green (current colour) earth wire attached to the wrong pin. The earth pin is always marked (and at least on all of mine) is always the bottom pin. The rest of them are always marked L1, L2 and L3. Get these mixed up like I have done in the past and you can have your compressor turning the wrong way (and not compressing) just swap one of the wires and it spins the other way. I am not an electrician and only know what I have seen being done in similar circumstances by electricians on the job. I have fitted all of my PDL 3Ph plugs except the first one where I watched, confirmed then dealt to all of the rest of them when they had gone. I have never had any problems. These machines I am currently comissioning are old (but were running prior to me owning them) and come with their own wiring. Its the older stuff meaning it has the old colour codes. Thats all.
ryanm2,
Sep 5, 7:10pm
this is how it normally goes red is L1, white L2 and blue L3. Neutral in neutral and green is earth. Its easy to stuff up the phase rotation (when shit runs backwards). If you are confident and know what you are doing you should be ok - one of the most important things is to ensure all connections in terminals are tight.
trader_84,
Sep 5, 7:53pm
Cheers mate, this is the confirmation I was after. Yep yep on the tightness. Ta.
easygoer,
Sep 5, 7:57pm
You will find that the welder is only using 2 phases and an earth, it won't matter which lines you use as rotation will not be an issue for an arc welder,
trader_84,
Sep 5, 8:05pm
Ahhh . that might make sense. The welder came without the plug fitted (by prior agreement) I gave it a cursory glance today and noted I could only see 3 wires sticking from out of the round with the 4th one looking like it had been cut short or not used. Thanks.
easygoer,
Sep 5, 8:16pm
Check internally to see what they have done with the spare wire, it should be earthed to prevent it becoming live if the lead gets damaged
travis47,
Sep 6, 4:43am
Be careful with this as usually supplying a machine with no plug is usually a sign of a faulty machine. It should be properly tested before being plugged in.
trader_84,
Sep 6, 6:00am
Ta. It might mean that but in this case, both came with no plugs by prior agreement. This is somewhat normal I have found when buying secondhand 3Ph equipment. New plugs are expensive but are worth nothing to the new owner if he is running a different amperage socket on his walls. Both of these machines went but both were running a different plug than I use. Cheers anyway.
elect70,
Sep 6, 12:43pm
Hope not using those old metalscaping earthplugs .
trader_84,
Sep 6, 1:11pm
All of mine are the orange/clear plastic PDL 4 pin 20A 500V ones . ummm 56 series! What are these 'old metal scraping earth plugs' you talk about . those old silver/tin plugs you sometimes see! Or I've got the wrong end of the stick . I dunno what your talking about, mate. Tell.
frytime,
Sep 6, 4:41pm
or would it be a hole of poo!
travis47,
Sep 6, 6:40pm
They are called Reyrol and are illegal now because of the scraping earth connection. Sockets and plugs now must have an earth pin.
vivac,
Sep 6, 9:03pm
Is this at your home or some other workshop of yours! Did you get the inspector to test, certify and liven them for you! If not, dont bother paying your insurance premiums.
Update . the welders going! What a grunter! Made in 1957 in Onehunga by Youngs . Model F. Hums like humming thing and goes hard. Yeah baby. Cheers for the advice guys.
Oh and vivac . I came on here for facts . not your f@#$ing opinion on whats right or wrong. In case you hadn't noticed . most people on here are the diy type, considering a diy approach or want to check the work of others.
I got another question too re what i have been up to but later. Ta.
vivac,
Sep 8, 6:49pm
Sweet as man, burn.
rob_man,
Oct 15, 4:03am
I'll bet he doesn't.
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