Just a surmise here with some experience in similar currents. I suspect you were on long long leads. The inductance (think choke or coil) was to high and the RF if any or simply current surge - would ring or oscillate. We had to wrap the return ground around the sense lines of a 1000 amp supply with remote sensing. I suspect you added more inductance that helped absorb hv pulses bouncing back and forth in the line.
Good hint.
Mart> "TinLizziedl" wrote
You know it's funny how sometimes the most simple solutions take awhile to discover. Thanks for the cable tips, I'll give those a try today.
Jon
I wish we could wrap our leads around the work, but trying to explain to our boss why we're wrapping several hundred feet of lead around a submarine would be entertaining.
That's why I rely upon magnets and "jumper cable" type solutions. They ground the big Miller 6-packs to a ground pad welded to the boat, then we stretch our leads usually over 100 feet to our jobsites. The paths the current takes in that circuit must be dizzying.
I would love to have some sort of magnetic field analyzer / ammeter / voltage senser dooderhicky that could tell me which lead ran where, rather than chasing them down hand over hand when someone shuffles them around and doesn't label them on both ends!
Ok - so some distance away from the torch - and not bothering you - wrap some soft iron/steel a few turns. That should do it.
There are ferrite cores that have holes through them and are in to parts. Clamp on and away you go. Might be enough to help.
Mart>>
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