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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default Check, Repair or Replace your Earth Clamp regularly

    I was reading a post of a few days back.

    A point made about cleaning the end off the electrode to allow it to start caught my eye.

    Working in an industrial situation people do not file ends off their electrodes to get them started.It is simply not time efficient.

    Instead what occurs is a regular and ongoing maintenance of their equipment and the ancillaries.Once an earth clamp unit is noticed giving problens it is simply replaced. On a lesser budget you and I can't afford that, so a strip down of said clamp is usually necessary. If your clamp or any part of the earth cable /connections becomes hot it is a dead giveaway that there is a resistance present.

    A squirt of WD 40 won't usually do, so a check of the cable to ferrule crimp and the integrity of the bolted and screwed connectors and their associated washers is in order. A buff off of any built up crud / corrosion will restore your electrical conductivity back to what it should be.

    Although it is an infomercial there is to be some very good information re earth clamps to be gleaned from the following: https://www.weldclass.com.au/blog/9-...th-a-bad-clamp.

    It will probably amaze some, how much conductivity is lost through a poor connection.

    Grahame

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    Thanks for that Grahame, it's probably a good point for the person who uses their welder occasionaly, a bit like having the earth clamp on a rusty bit of steel, it won't work.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Ballina, NSW
    Posts
    900

    Default

    Good post Grahame. In fact I bought some of these very clamps a couple of years back and they are very good value. I got the 500A versions for my three 240V machines. Possibly overkill, but I've have never had an issue since.
    I bought them after I looked over one day and saw my little cheap earth clamp glowing red hot. The hotter a clamp gets, the worse it gets as a conductor, so it doesn't take long to really cook a clamp if it hasn't got a clean connection.
    Cheers
    Mick

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,105

    Default

    I've always preferred to use the solid brass g clamp style clamps. Very little to go wrong with them and they don't come off when someone is not looking where they are going and trips over the lead.

    ECG60.jpgEW131550.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Aldinga Beach.
    Age
    73
    Posts
    148

    Default

    When I was working in the industry we had strips of 1"x 1/8" steel running across the floor from welder to bench, striking was never a problem, we were using Ferrocraft as well which helped an enormous amount. I have a similar system on my welding table now, inverter under the bench and earth cable bolted to the table.

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