buying wire

[charger0926]

i am making a extension cord for my welder and i am trying to source awg 6/3 wire that is oil resistant i believe soow type cable. where is a good place to purchase this at a reasonable price. i happened to be at HD and they want almost $5.00/ft.

thank for the help

 

[patrickoneal]

How much do you need, and what state do you live in? If you're local to me, I can see what the supply houses charge me for it.

Zoro has it on 100' spools, and if you wait a week or so, a 20% off coupon will pop up bringing the price under $4/ft:

http://www.zoro.com/i/G2432071/

They're probably still high on it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

eBay ! Around $3.50/ft

 

[patrickoneal]

I just setup a login for one of my favored suppliers... I usually just call them.

They have 6/3 SOW listed at $2.55/ft, and I know they can get SOOW.

If you're in the south, I can probably hook you up if you don't find a better deal.

 

[kd3pc]

these guys are good and reliable

http://www.genuinedealz.com/marine-wire

 

[Norcal]

Other then NM cable, "Romex®", Home Depot is way too expensive for wire & cable.

They bend you over & don't use Vaseline.

 

[AndyCBR]

i am making a extension cord for my welder and i am trying to source awg 6/3 wire that is oil resistant i believe soow type cable. where is a good place to purchase this at a reasonable price. i happened to be at HD and they want almost $5.00/ft.

thank for the help

Check out a few local electrical supply houses. Even if you don't have an account they will typically do a cash sale.

The other posters are right, aside from NM cable HD is high on wire. Lowes seems to be competitive though with their spools of individual wire (THHN, etc.).

6/3 SOOW is a specialty item and I suspect the big box stores price it high as they probably sit on that spool for a long time before it is sold.

 

[sberry]

I goofed up on a roll on saleand that's another story,,, but out of curiosity what machine are you hooking to this? A buzzer will run from 100 ft of 10 with 1/8 rods and you never know you were not next to the service pole. You can buy ready made cord for half that.

 

[charger0926]

thanks for the replies. i am looking for 25-50 feet of wire, it is overkill for what im doing but it will be the last ext cord ill ever need. i am just using it for a miller 211 as of now but will be available for some future equipment.

still trying to find it for around $2.00/ft shipped if at all possible

thanks again

 

[ctfjr]

eBay ! Around $3.50/ft

this ^^^

When I wired my generator I needed 300' of #2 copper. I found different sources on ebay for lengths that I needed at about 1/2 what I would have to pay at an electrical distributor.

 

[brewchief]

ebay has 8-3 welder extension cords 50' long with molded ends for just over 100$, going to be very tough to beat that price.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Do you have an OE Meyer in your area ? They had these listed in a sale flier, can't remember the price.

http://store.oemeyer.com/storefront...sioncordswelder-extensioncords-25-ft-p-136169

 

[PCustoms]

ebay has 8-3 welder extension cords 50' long with molded ends for just over 100$, going to be very tough to beat that price.

Priced it out every which way, including using the company account at the local supply house, this was the cheapest option for medium size welder. Runs my 190 MIG off my dryer outlet across the apartment no problem.

 

[MushCreek]

Also look at 50A RV cords- that's what I used for mine. I got it off ebay, but don't remember the cost. It even has a plug molded on one end.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Also look at 50A RV cords- that's what I used for mine.

RV cords usually have a different plug. Also, I have found they can be more expensive.

 

[sberry]

Buy a welder cord if you figure you need one but do yourself a favor and buy 50 ft of 10 vs 25 0r 30 of a cord you will never need and get one that will be the last cord and could actually prove useful.
Who is coaching this deal is doing you a dis service including some on this forum that know just enough to be safe but a little short giving practical advice.
Same for the OP, should have asked,,, what cord do I need? A full welding shop with 252 running wide own only uses an 8 and the OP has a 211 but feels the need to prepare for nuclear war.
The 211 runs at 100 ft of 12, a 10 gives a little better mechanical connections at plugs and recepts and is still good for any machine that comes factory cord and plug at home.

 

[MushCreek]

I just wired up my outlet to match the RV plug- it's one of those one that looks like a giant 120V plug. Since my welder came without a plug, it didn't matter (to me) which configuration I used. At the time, the RV cord was far cheaper than buying the same size cord.

 

[sberry]

Get one decent cord you will be using NOW the right size with a few feet more than you think you need. I think some of the common cords are about as cheap as any, cut ends off.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I just wired up my outlet to match the RV plug- it's one of those one that looks like a giant 120V plug. .

That is a NEMA 6-50A. 250V 50A Very common on welders, even ones that will never pull 50A.

RV plugs are usually on an angle. 120V 30A

 

[sberry]

All the welders, at least all the brand name stuff uses the same plug, the 6-50 They are designed to be able to be plugged in to 50A circuits.

 

[sberry]

Believe it or not that system uses about half a dozen real fundamental principles of electricity and overcurrent protection with wire rating all balled in to one to allow that to happen.
The assumption from a lot of the crowd for art 630 is you can add extra load and that it describes the upper limits of the wire etc which in reflection is somewhat opposite in regards to small welders.
The limits describe the smaller end in the sense that this is the smallest we can connect to this 50A and in fact install a cord a size larger than the machine requires to match the short circuit interruption of 50A circuits.

 

[sberry]

It aint so you can put bigger machines on smaller wire but so you can put smaller machines on bigger circuits................. Make any sense?

 

[sberry]

Art 630 allows this machine that only draws half the current to operate on a large circuit. Searching for better wording, those who know more in depth than I would be able to elaborate.

 

[sberry]

In the owners manual they describe the minimum circuits which could really use some work in my fos opinion. The machine was never really intended to be connected to this lame deal anyway but to be able to use general 50A welding circuits.
The cord end allows it and the wire size to the switch which disconnects both conductors followed by thermal to protect internal components and also incoming wire. Some of these machines could be connected 2 to a circuit (maybe more) with a 12 to a 50A and could possibly tailor a circuit to run more with a change in the cord.
The simple plug that comes on it determines the max circuit rating which while great to ponder the rest of it makes things kind of easy.

 

[sberry]

Its happens by default that the type of circuits these get connect to are so far superior than most 120V. Double the power thru a wire 2 sizes bigger than it needs vs a 120 loaded to the max.
One of the benefits of buying modern equipment is the affordable and convenient use of proper size cords. I do have a 400 service and a 300 tig but nothing else I own would overheat a 10 cord. I use a couple short ones for light welding when the machine is away from its home port but the rest of it is all hard wired or has some lead.
I own a ton of ****, aint used a 6 cord for anything in decades since I figure out I don't need it.
I even had to pull a 12 out of storage for power for a renovation, only rarely do I consider a 14 and could use a couple more 50x16.