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I bought a Sherman™ DIGITIG 200GD from Amazon a month ago, sadly it came with a European 16A/230V two pin plug.

I've been so focused on making sure to meet stringent safety measures for my humble "workshop" that this slipped me by.

I am not knowledgeable in electrical matters, I would like to know how can I power this machine? I was expecting to get a 3 pin UK plug

I trust it’s not as simple as getting a shaving plug adapter. Is there a tool on the market that, in particular, welders rely on to convert 2 pin plugs to 3 pin plugs?

I also need to buy a 10 meter, 16A extension lead as well, if this converter exists in the form of a long cable it would be perfect

The plug:

enter image description here

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    Electrically, 230V is 230V. You should be able to cut the end off the cord and put a new one on. I'd pair that with an extension cord. You haven't shown a picture of the plug that the welder came with, but I'd be shocked (sorry) if a device with a metal case didn't come with a grounded plug. If that is the case, I would consider swapping out the whole power cord and plug to one that includes a ground wire. You would then connect the ground wire to the frame inside the welder.
    – Drew
    Commented May 17, 2022 at 2:24
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    You don't run a 16A machine on a 13A plug. Get an electrician to install a dedicated supply with isolator to run that welder.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented May 17, 2022 at 5:20
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    Can you add picture/s of the plug. According to amazon UK it has a UK/Europe standard two pin plug, but comes with a three pin adapter. Standard American welder plugs are two blades and ground pin prong.
    – crip659
    Commented May 17, 2022 at 13:05
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    @SolarMike wow, they recklessly overfused that. Should have used a 3/16" bolt! :)
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented May 17, 2022 at 18:39
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    From what I've been able to dig up, the Sherman DIGITIG is not an American machine but a Polish welder intended for use in continental Europe. The plug pictured is a standard Type E plug - 2 pins with Earth on a sleeve/collar. You should just need a pin adapter to plug into a UK socket since voltage and frequency are the same.
    – Chris O
    Commented May 17, 2022 at 22:46

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That's not an American plug. It's a combined French/German plug, with live and neutral pins, and an earth contact too.

Don't even think of trying to plug it into a shaver adaptor. They are limited to a maximum of 1A, and can't possibly handle a welder. And don't use any of the dodgy "universal" travel adaptors either. They are potentially dangerous, and won't make contact with the Earth on that plug.

You could try fitting a 13A plug. Unfortunately, the manual does not say whether this will work, or whether it will keep blowing the fuse in the plug. It says that it needs to be on a 25A protected circuit, even though the plug is only rated for a constant 16A.

A better solution would be a blue 16A "Commando" (also known as "CEEform") plug. But that requires a matching socket to plug it into.

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  • Hey, thaks allot for looking into this! I consulted an alectrician and passed your answer to him and he agreed. Am up and running thanks!
    – hellen_dorandt89
    Commented May 28, 2022 at 15:21

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