Can I run a US 240V L1,L2,G 50/60hz welder on UK 230V L,N,G 50hz power supply.

[Ashi49]

Hi, I'm in the US and moving to the UK. I have a welder that runs on US 240V 60/50hz L1,L2,G power and would like to know if it is possible to run the welder in the UK on 230V 50hz L,N,G power. In the welder the ground wire is connected to the chassis and the L1 and L2 wires both connect to the same board, albeit it different places. Where I'm confused is around the US being split phase and the UK being single phase with a dedicated neutral wire for all 230V loads. Seems that just wiring L1 to L and L2 to N would not produce the desired result but would there be a way to rewire it to make it work? Happy to try to provide any info I haven't that is relevant. Thanks

 

[Sgt. York]

Since you have provided no information on what kind of welder you have, perhaps you could go to the manufacturer's web site where you will likely find the answer to your question.

 

[Ashi49]

Since you have provided no information on what kind of welder you have, perhaps you could go to the manufacturer's web site where you will likely find the answer to your question.

Hi, it's an AHP alphatig201XD. I have already spoken with their electrical engineer who vaguely said that he has heard that other people made it work but could offer no details other than that. But besides a products specific question I am also interested in the theory behind the question and understanding the differences in the power supplies.

 

[herm0016]

should work fine. L to N is 230 volts and l1 to l2 is 240 and ground is 0 potental. if you said it required 4 wire l1, l2, N and G then i would say it would not work. just make sure your outlet / wire / panel is rated for the current you will pull on the circuit. your output may be slightly less.

 

[skyking]

Think about it. The UK 230 volts is from line to Earth, or neutral. It's not 230 from Line 1 to line You're going to bond both the neutral and earth circuit, or the safety ground as it's termed in the US, in your welder. I wouldn't even try it.

 

[Ashi49]

Think about it. The UK 230 volts is from line to Earth, or neutral. It's not 230 from Line 1 to line You're going to bond both the neutral and earth circuit, or the safety ground as it's termed in the US, in your welder. I wouldn't even try it.

So I could never really get a satisfying answer so I eventually gave in and paid 2 different electrical engineers to answer my question and both independently agreed that you absolutely can. 230V AC L to N with work fine on a 240V AC L1 to L2 machine. the key is that the machine must run on AC and be 50hz compatible.

 

[herm0016]

you can.

skyking: you are not using the neutral in a US 240 circuit on a 3 wire set up. your ground is still the ground. nothing needs to be bonded in the wrong spot.

in the UK you have 3 wires also, ground 0v, line 230v and neutral 0v. here the 3 are l1 120v, l2 -120v and ground 0 v. to the welder this is the same either way.