Wiring up my 250ex

[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.