Electric Bill...

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how many of you hobby welders see a big increase when your "farting around?"..i know when i use my buzz box for a few hrs at a time vs not using it for months..i see a rather hefty bill sometimes..anyone here notice..or don't you care? i for one don't care.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Sure do...and the wife lets me know about it each month when she writes out the check to the power company.    In turn, I just remind her that it's the cost of keeping me busy and out of her way.There are no small projects
Reply:I just remind her that it's the cost of keeping me busy and out of her way.good one.. ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterI just remind her that it's the cost of keeping me busy and out of her way.good one.. ...zap!
Reply:i dont care the only thing that stops me from welding is running out of stuff to weldChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:I guess the bill goes up a bit. I'm more worried about the Argon....that stuff's getting expensive.
Reply:???  my bill at the shop is less than at my home ----an it don t make since but i aint complaining
Reply:I don't know that I notice the electricity cost but I'm with GNM109 it's the Argon that's expensive.  $45.00 to fill my cylinder each time. And, when your "farting around" (according to Zap) it adds up fastMichael
Reply:My welder is on another power meter.  My bills don't vary at all with use.  I never get out of the minimum, even if I put several dozen arc hours into it.  However, I only have welders, flourescent tubes and power tools on that meter.  Our dryer uses way more juice than any of my welders.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:There are lots more expensive hobbies than welding. I had a beautiful old timber boat for a few years. Now that was an expensive hobby.Also, most of the welding I do around my house - pergola, gates, fountain, carport (5% finished) etc adds value to the house.
Reply:Figure it out.  Depending upon what kind of welder you use, just multiplying the primary current consumption by the time and the voltage will give you a conservative (higher than true) estimate of energy consumed in watt-hours.  Multiply by your local cost per kilowatt-hour off your last bill (correcting for watt-hours vs. kilowatt-hours).Because hobby welders usually have long off periods with a little active welding time (i.e., a very low duty cycle), I'd bet that most of us hobby welders don't see much impact on the bill.  Can't say that I've ever checked, but my wife has never commented on unusual bills after a welding project, and she keeps a pretty close watch.You can also calculate out the fuel cost of generating your own.  Neglecting amortization of the purchase cost (which would add a lot), I'll bet home engine-generator power is far more expensive than utility power unless you live way out in the wilderness. awright
Reply:Originally Posted by LockdownThats funny, but question thou, would it be cheaper to run a small generator?  Or hell find a nice sized one with a diesel attached?  Would the cost outweigh the reward, maybe vice versa?
Reply:I have a similar setup to smithboy's it seems. My shop is on a seperate meter. I have eight 8' flourecent fixtures running 10 hours a day plus my well is on the same meter. Arc time probably runs 3 or 4 hours a week ?? My compressor is never switched off, several chargers are running 24/7 for the cordless tools, shop stereo stays on 24/7, two 500 watt security lights  on and off constantly and shop fans running 8-10 hours a day. My bill hovers around $40 a month."I need this parade like I need a hole in the head"~John F.Kennedy
Reply:Originally Posted by awrightBecause hobby welders usually have long off periods with a little active welding time (i.e., a very low duty cycle), I'd bet that most of us hobby welders don't see much impact on the bill.
Reply:Another thing to consider for us Hobby guys or anyone for that matter.  I run an inverter based welder for Stick and Tig it runs on a 30 amp circuit compared to some of the transformer based units that require 50 amp and above circuits I would imagine they impact the electric bill more more.
Reply:Originally Posted by WashmanRun a generator? With what gasoline cost these days? Your joking rightWashman
Reply:I'd love to have an 1800 RPM diesel-drive.  It would have tripled the cost of the machine, though.
Reply:(Third try.  I have no idea where the prior two attempts went.)OK, Lockdown.  We'll use your numbers.  I'll accept your statement that it costs $4 to run a small diesel genset for an hour.Let's say you are using a welder pulling 50 amps at 230 volts from the line.  That's 11,500 watts during active welding.  Assume a really efficient, skilled operator and welding machine that can sustain a 50% duty cycle (extremely rare for a home welder).  That's 5.75 kwh for an hour's activity on your welding project.  At a typical electricity cost of US $0.10 per kwh, that's $ 0.575, or a little less than 15% of the cost of diesel generated energy.  And that does not include the amortization and maintenance of the diesel generator.  Plant construction, operation, amortization, maintenance, lobbying to limit alternative energy technologies, lobbying to promote wars to sustain their fuel supplies, bribes to legislators, golden parachutes for managers, dividends to stockholders, and legal defense of top managers for insider trading prosecutions are only some of the extra benefits that are included in the 10 cent/kwh rate.  None of them are included in your cost of operation of the genset.I'll stick with the wall plug.Remember that you are competing with an electrical utility that operates at about 60 to 65 % thermal efficiency in their power plant, in contrast to the small engine that operates at about 30 - 35% thermal efficiency.  The inefficiency is represented in the heat that the radiator or cooling fan on your genset tries despirately to get rid of, but out of which the utility uses every last BTU, leaving just enough energy in the exhaust plume to get it out of the chimney.  You are also buying fuel at retail, compared with the tremendous purchasing power and hedging ability of the electrical utility.  And they have  operators and engineers who's entire careers are spent in tweaking out the last 0.01% of thermal efficiency in their power plant.Gensets definitely have their places.  I wish I had one.  (Actually, now that I think of it, I do, but I never use them unless I'm out in the boonies.)  But their place is not in competing with utility supplied electrical energy where it is available.awrightLast edited by awright; 08-04-2006 at 12:32 AM.
Reply:Awright ... You put a little thought into that one didn't you?   ROTFLMAO ...Washman
Reply:Bad habit I have.  But it allows me to avoid the preparation I should be doing for my next job.What is ROTFLMAO?awright
Reply:Let's say you are using a welder pulling 50 amps at 230 volts from the line. That's 11,500 watts during active welding. Assume a really efficient, skilled operator and welding machine that can sustain a 50% duty cycle (extremely rare for a home welder). That's 5.75 kwh for an hour's activity on your welding project. At a typical electricity cost of US $0.10 per kwh, that's $ 0.575, or a little less than 15% of the cost of diesel generated energy.
Reply:Originally Posted by awrightWhat is ROTFLMAO?awright