Mig welder questions

[wehey]

hiya all,
Last year I picked up this Clarke en 130 gas/gasses mig welder which I am yet to try

Over Xmas I was chatting to the brother-in-law who used to be an electrician. He said that it would be dangerous to use it on a domestic electricity supply as its 130amp.
I know very little about electrics. Can this be run on a regular domestic plug

 

[frank]

130 amp @ low voltage yeh, they only draw about 10 amps from a 240v supply tho

 

[wehey]

130 amp @ low voltage yeh, they only draw about 10 amps from a 240v supply tho

Sorry if I sound dumb Frank but before I plunge the house into darkness, is that a yes or a no....the numbers mean nowt to me lol

 

[wehey]

Not sure what this means but I'm sure I don't have an rcd

 

[frank]

no it,ll be fine mate there is a transformer inside that cranks up the ampage ( and drops the voltage), so that it,ll melt the rod/wire
and an rcd is optional on any mains electric tool

 

[wehey]

Thanks Frank, that's put my mind at rest

 

[plmval]

Not sure what this means but I'm sure I don't have an rcd

The car internal electronics systems need protecting from high voltage transients whilst welding with transient suppression equipment across the battery and alternator.

The highly inductive welding transformer load can induce transient voltage spikes back into the household electrical system. This is not good for susceptible electronics equipment with programmable controls such as central heating boilers, PCs and TVs, games machines etc. Switching these off and unplugging them, will protect them from HV transient voltage spikes, whilst welding.

RCD provides extra additional protection against electric shock risks up to present IEE 17th Edition Electrical Standards. This may be built into your mains power distribution circuit breaker board if it is up to current standards.

Switch off & unplug stuff in the house before welding to avoid all risks to susceptible electronics.