Chassis Ground

[tjjolle]

I feel redundant in asking this, but for those of you who are experienced, what has been your preference for the chassis ground? Ive been told I can run a wire to a stake in the ground, as well as run a wire to a grounded table, etc. If you use the unit often, but its on a service cart, what would you do?

[KHK]

Check out this link Workpiece Grounding

[ISKI]

I was always told that the metal case of the welder should go to ground through a seperate wire. This will protect the operator if the input power circuit in the welder fails and makes the steel case hot. I was also told that the welding table should go to ground for several reasons one is if the output power of the welder, isolation fails and it becomes hot with respect to ground vs. isolated. The output of most welders when no failure exists is isolated from the input power and from ground so it is like a car battery and either the plus or the minus can be connected to the table, but not both at the same time. These grounds are for safety if something else fails, not for carrying current.

A service cart is a tough one. Some use rubber sole shoes and thick leather gloves for protection and let the cart float. One thing that could work is to run a wire to the ground bolt on the back of the welder as it must be close to the cart. This bolt should already be connected to ground through a separate wire (safety ground). I have been bitten in the past by buddy welders that were converted from 220 to 110 and the case was always hot.