Wiring up my 250ex

[kenwhite]

Wouldn't a copper rod be a better choice for a grounding rod?, I know the one's on the house and also the new shop both have copper. the house has one because it's very old and all the outlets were only 2 prong with no ground and they were updated to the standard 2 prong with ground at a later time and under the house there are a number of them . I assume for the different circuits.

Don, chances are your ground rods are copper clad steel since it would be pretty hard to drive a pure copper rod into the ground without bending it. If you have a solid copper rod, that is definitely a good ground connection.

[DiabolicZ]

If you have any old welding cable it makes a pretty good ground cable for the HF signal since it provides a low impedance path, or any type of multi-strand copper cable will work too.

Most HAM shacks use ground strap that is composed of bare, tinned, copper conductors that are laid flat and woven into about an inch wide, but it is kind of spendy...

I have some left over 0 guage copper car stereo amp cable I can use.

Also, the manual suggested using your existing earth ground for your house, but NOT to ground directly to copper plumbing. If that is not an option, then to have 3/4" galvanized steel pipe in contact with the earth of at least 8', then to ground to that. Not my words, just from linconls manual.

[kenwhite]

I have some left over 0 guage copper car stereo amp cable I can use.

Also, the manual suggested using your existing earth ground for your house, but NOT to ground directly to copper plumbing. If that is not an option, then to have 3/4" galvanized steel pipe in contact with the earth of at least 8', then to ground to that. Not my words, just from linconls manual.

Ideally you want everything to be referenced to the same voltage potential for personal safety reasons and for lightning strikes, hence the single point ground back to the service entrance if feasible.

If the cable run is too long which could create too high of an impedance, then another ground point can be added.

Copper piping can become an issue for two reasons. The first is that not all piping, especially in newer homes, will be made from an effective continous piece of conductor, some insulating type of piping may exist within various sections of the home, so an acceptable ground may or may not exist. The second reason is that should a power line take a lightning strike, the energy could become coupled into the sink/shower/tub/etc... inside of your house, so a severe shock could occur.

Lincoln's recommendation is fine and your cable sounds like it will be sufficient too.

[DiabolicZ]

Another thing that the manual mentioned is that you have to ground to copper piping that is in the ground. If you ground it to the piping inside the house, it can actually create a high frequency field and amplify the effects that HF has on your electronics.

[kenwhite]

Another thing that the manual mentioned is that you have to ground to copper piping that is in the ground. If you ground it to the piping inside the house, it can actually create a high frequency field and amplify the effects that HF has on your electronics.

Yeah, years ago all of the water connections into/out of the house were metal pipe.

However, some water connections are currently made with a non-conductive pipe all the way into the house, so then it is true that this type of pipe can act as an antenna if the HF noise signal has a wavelength that approaches the pipes physical length.

[dgarnier]

would I be better off putting the welder on its own ground?

[kenwhite]

would I be better off putting the welder on its own ground?

The green ground wire coming from the unit must be connected to the bare wire the is connected back to the service entrance panel per code requirements. The ground lug located at the rear of the box, may have a seperate ground connection if desired and will help with noise issues if installed correctly.

[aaxiss]

basically what I am doing is drilling a hole through the slab in the garage 1" in diameter then using a 3' long 3/8 wood auger bit I will drill down into the soil beneath the slab as far as I can go. then pound in a 1/2 5' copper rod with a 1" x 4" tigged on solid at the top that is tapped for a bolt. vibro-hammer it down till just the 1" part is visible then apply epoxy and vibro-hammer flush with the slab. I will do this in the center of the shop which should limit the legnth of the bolt ground cable to about 6' and reach anywhere in the shop.

Just my Idea for what it's worth. Helps being the son of an aerospace metals broker, I can get just about anything but mild steel for mill cost and tons of rems for free. Got Titanium?

[dgarnier]

why not just drive the rod into the ground right outside the shop rather then put a hole in the floor

[aaxiss]

cause my way will give me access anywhere in the shop with a short lead and its the easiest way to go. I have all the material already and I have a Ridgid vacuum base core drill with bits from 1/2 all the way to 9 or 11 inches I think. also had a meco 35hp flat saw and a wall saw. I used to do a lot of cutting and coring on commercial tilt-up buildings. kept the core rig because I still find uses for it.

I could do that but my cable length would be like 20' ..... then I have a trip hazard with the cable running out through either door. I just don't see how that is better in any way. My way I have a 6 foot lead and one bolt to tighten down when welding..... simple

[everlastsupport]

basically what I am doing is drilling a hole through the slab in the garage 1" in diameter then using a 3' long 3/8 wood auger bit I will drill down into the soil beneath the slab as far as I can go. then pound in a 1/2 5' copper rod with a 1" x 4" tigged on solid at the top that is tapped for a bolt. vibro-hammer it down till just the 1" part is visible then apply epoxy and vibro-hammer flush with the slab. I will do this in the center of the shop which should limit the legnth of the bolt ground cable to about 6' and reach anywhere in the shop.

Just my Idea for what it's worth. Helps being the son of an aerospace metals broker, I can get just about anything but mild steel for mill cost and tons of rems for free. Got Titanium?

Great idea. Still a little trip hazard if it's not recessed. Maybe recess the plate and then you can remove the bolt and put a rubber plug in it. Your idea will save on the ground lead cost and looks clean too.

I have a friend that owns and iron work factory. Drops are us. Only problem is he can't work with anything under 1/4", but works for me. He and the foreman there are great guys too. In a pinch, run out of argon or C25, call and run about 4 miles.

[kenwhite]

Mike brings up a great point and Don, your idea is great.

Making the ground connection as short as possible means that less inductance will be present for a given sized cable and more of the HF noise/interference will be shunted to ground.

[aaxiss]

it will be flush with the floor and I have round head short thread hex bolt I plant to keep in it to the little bits out. The 1" round by 4" long solid copper round that is tigged on to the rod will be epoxied to the slab flush. I'll vibro hammer it in till just the 1" round is showing then coat with epoxy in the hole and on the copper then drive it flush. In all likelihood while the welder is in use I will have it parked right over the bolt because if my Pops trips over the cord it will be my fault regardless LOL

I took it to one of the 1" holes I did in a neighbors wall a while back and it pits perfect with almost not play, the epoxy should seat it really well and it will look clean as well.

On a side note I spent the day cutting 2" square tubing to build my tubing bender. gonna do a build thread on it once all the pieces are cut to size. really wish I had a horizontal band saw I guess the big HF chop saw did well enough on the straight cuts though.

[performance]

A key to having a functional "ground" is that the earth must be wet around the rod to conduct the power drained.

[aaxiss]

A key to having a functional "ground" is that the earth must be wet around the rod to conduct the power drained.

No Problem There Got a 60' Hill Behind the shop See Overhead , red star is 60' higher than green star ( Shop ) and another 20' down to the yellow star ( Driveway) Garage is under the house. Because the hill is always wet and water tends to move down through the slope I think I'll be fine, even under the slab

Attachment 1338

[eide]

I would also recommend a short cord with plug from standard (whatever you choose for that) to the dryer plug. Then if you use your welder somewhere else you can make another short cord with standard to (whatever you need).

[ducksface]

three simple quick questions;
Ebay has 50' cables that are 3/6guage and 1/8guage wire.

Is this useable for a pp256? Which leg would I use the 8 guage on? I can get 110 with this setup also?

If so, I'm ordering one.

[dgarnier]

i belie you will want the 3/6 2 hots and a ground and then use the 1/8 for neutral. Then you will have 220 and 110 as long as you get the 4 prong plug and outlets.

how much for? the cable

[ducksface]

As low as $169 for 50ft with both ends done/molded for rv four prong plugs. I'll change my wall plug or get an adapter, and put a 2ft tail on the welder, then can use the cord for welder or RV.

[dgarnier]

wow not sure you can even buy just the wire for less then 3.38 a foot