Ground Clamp Differences

[k0ua]

on a welding lead I doubt it makes a (tangible) difference.. that is.. if we are talking a spare grund lead.. etc..


soundguy

Agreed.

 

[Haywire]

Let us know how you like it.

I was in Ace Hardware and they had the Forney version of it on the rack. Double the price and still made in China. I think I'm going to like it. It's more compact than the battery clamp ground.

Ian

 

[Haywire]

Got it in today. Made in USA. Nice. Only thing I'm not liking about these welding ends are the over-sized holes for the wire. They're all made to fit 1/0 wire which leaves a lot of slop on #2. I work in aviation, so I am accustomed to wire contacts that fit properly. I might have to come up with a copper shim or something to take up the space. --Ian

 

[Soundguy]

sounds like a place for some 3/8 copper tube.. or a coupler..

soundguy

 

[Haywire]

sounds like a place for some 3/8 copper tube..

soundguy

Yep... I split it horizontally and used half of it under the wire for a shim. Worked nicely.

Ian

 

[Soundguy]

i've made po-mans heavy wire ends with copper tubing.. slid ethe wire in the tube, solder in, then pound the front hollow piece of the tube flat, then use a hole punch or drill and drill out the end for a hole to attach to a bat clamp or ground location thru a bolt.. etc. a 2' section of pipe is cheap and makes many DIY ends.. way cheaper than a pack of solder on terminals of the same size..

soundguy

 

[Grayson Klassen]

on a welding lead I doubt it makes a (tangible) difference.. that is.. if we are talking a spare grund lead.. etc..


soundguy

Call it parallel 500MCM conductors feeding a service 100 feet away from the source 3p600VAC 400AMP

 

[Soundguy]

fortunately it isn't.. for most of us it's a 32 +/- vac or dc in some cases, line 6-10' long in the 235a max range..

soundguy

 

[Grayson Klassen]

fortunately it isn't.. for most of us it's a 32 +/- vac or dc in some cases, line 6-10' long in the 235a max range..

soundguy

Silly Rabbit

The emphasis was on parallel current paths and I don't mean the stock being welded:laughing::thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

i wasn't refering the stock being welded but the standard leads on the regular consumer grade 225/235 machines.

parallel current paths on the ground.. on a redundant ground.. as I mentioned.. for our setups are going to have a negligible affect.

soundguy

 

[J_J]

I bolted on some cable to a bolt I welded to some large vicegrips, and , and use that to grip the material real hard. I also use the magnetic ground clamp.

If one ground cable is secure, then adding any more grounds, will not make much difference.

 

[Soundguy]

i've found when making the initial joint between 2 pieces, that haveing an extra ground is nice. especially when it's a rusty, painted piece that broke on your tractor and you need to get it welded pronto before it : gerts dark, rains, etc.. etc.

I like the vice grip idea..

soundguy

 

[Grayson Klassen]

Okay I give up

 

[Soundguy]

to clarify, a ground on each of the 2 seperate pieces.. not 2 grounds on one piece.

soundguy

 

[Grayson Klassen]

Okay I give up

I still give up

 

[JB4310]

Well on the subject of grounding, I know it's pretty common practice to ground a steel welding table and only the table, just lay the work piece on the table for ground. Never seemed like a great way to get a good ground.
But I know it's been done like that for ever.

JB

 

[Shield Arc]

Well on the subject of grounding, I know it's pretty common practice to ground a steel welding table and only the table, just lay the work piece on the table for ground. Never seemed like a great way to get a good ground.
But I know it's been done like that for ever.

JB

That is how I do it 99% of the time. I keep my 4 x 8 table shinny clean. But I also have a jumper ground lead hanging overhead just in case I can't get a good ground off the table. Say for something that is painted, and can't get a good ground, or even painted / stainless steel / aluminum and I don't want to scar it up I'll lay some cardboard on the table, and use the jumper lead right next to the weld zone.

 

[JB4310]

That is how I do it 99% of the time. I keep my 4 x 8 table shinny clean. But I also have a jumper ground lead hanging overhead just in case I can't get a good ground off the table. Say for something that is painted, and can't get a good ground, or even painted / stainless steel / aluminum and I don't want to scar it up I'll lay some cardboard on the table, and use the jumper lead right next to the weld zone.

So the jumper is clamped to the table or somehow split off the machine's ground cable?


Also off topic a little, Why are AC amps more dangerous than DC amps ?

I have the warnings on my AC/DC machine, about only using AC when absolutely necessary for risk of electrical shock.
I know this has been discussed before but I forgot the answer.

JB.

 

[Soundguy]

So the jumper is clamped to the table or somehow split off the machine's ground cable?

think about this. in the world of motive electrons, having a table as the entire ground plane and laying the work pieces on it is no different than my discussion about using ground jumpers to jump 2 pieces together.. ie.. both pieces laying on a common ground vs both pieces jumped to a common ground.

electrically you are accomplishing the same thing.... the fact a pro welder does it, and it's fine, and yet my mentioning of the parallel ground cable got beat up by a pinata is quite humorous same thing, said by different people, diametrically opposed reactions and responses..

soundguy

 

[Shield Arc]

So the jumper is clamped to the table or somehow split off the machine's ground cable?

Well actually I have my welding table tacked to an 8" x 8" box tube column for my bridge crane, and I have a bolt welded to the column with a Tweco female lug connection bolted to the column, with a short section of ground lead that runs out on an angle iron tacked to the same column. I hang the ground clamp off that piece of angle iron until needed.