Welder extension cord.

[Mike65]

Hi, I want to make an extension cord for my welder. It is a Lincoln Weld Pak - 155 240V, & I want to make a 10 ft extension cord so I could move it outside the garage to work on my 69 Mustang Coupe since I only have a 1 car garage most of my work must be done out in the driveway. I was going to use 10awg 3/c soow 90c 600v water resistant wire & a 30a-250v/50a-250v plug to plug into my current outlet in the wall, & a AL-CU 50a-250v outlet to plug the welder into. The breaker in the panel is a 30a dual pole breaker. Will this work? Any suggestions?.
Mike.

 

[kts]

Not sure if the plug is the right type but this is what I bought for my Miller 240v and it also works for my plasma cutter.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IZ99G6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I went with this one since it was cheaper than the parts to DIY it would have been from McMaster.

It's worked great in my 2 car garage where the car I need to work on is on the other side of the garage from the outlet. Plenty of reach.

 

[fourjeepin]

I considered doing this also, but found a cord cheaper than I ever found the components. The plug was the most expensive and difficult to find. This was about 10 years ago and I believe the cord was on eBay but can't swear to it.

 

[Mike65]

Not sure if the plug is the right type but this is what I bought for my Miller 240v and it also works for my plasma cutter.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IZ99G6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I went with this one since it was cheaper than the parts to DIY it would have been from McMaster.

It's worked great in my 2 car garage where the car I need to work on is on the other side of the garage from the outlet. Plenty of reach.

Thanks kts that's the best price I have seen so far. I think I will get that one.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I made one using 8 gauge, and it certainly was not cheaper than that one listed. I think for all the parts it ran me about 100.

 

[kunkernator]

I was going to suggest IF you make your own, be sure to use a heavier gauge wire than 10. I have a 10 gauge extension cord that I use for my 110v welder, and it still gets hot. Use at least 8 gauge.

 

[alan camby]

Read thru this thread.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180543

 

[Murphy4570]

I'd use at least 8 or 4 gauge wire for a 220V welder, but that's just me. 220 plugs can be easily found at your local hardware store, there are like 5-6 different types. I think the plug costs around $20-30 each. The copper wire is what is gonna cost you the big bucks though.

 

[Zelatore]

I can't help much with 8 or 4 gauge (though I do have a spool of 4/0), but I've had 3 pieces of 10/3 STW tinned copper stuff for sale on my local craigslist for a few weeks without a single bite. Asking price was $1/ft, now at $.75/ft. Still no interest. It's all Marinco 30 amp marine cable; nice stuff and stupid expensive to buy new but either people aren't looking for it or I'm not listing it in the right section or ??? I figured somebody would pick it up for exactly this sort of thing - making a power cable for machinery or a custom extension cord. 13', 23', and 47'. Heck, even if you're on the other side of the country I'll try to stuff it in a flat rate box if you're interested!

 

[Elwood42]

I got mine on ebay they even silk screened my name on it for me.

 

[zkling]

Hi, I want to make an extension cord for my welder. It is a Lincoln Weld Pak - 155 240V, & I want to make a 10 ft extension cord so I could move it outside the garage to work on my 69 Mustang Coupe since I only have a 1 car garage most of my work must be done out in the driveway. I was going to use 10awg 3/c soow 90c 600v water resistant wire & a 30a-250v/50a-250v plug to plug into my current outlet in the wall, & a AL-CU 50a-250v outlet to plug the welder into. The breaker in the panel is a 30a dual pole breaker. Will this work? Any suggestions?.
Mike.

Yep, good to go. Only thing I might do if I was you is to use NEMA 6-50 recepticals as they are more common for welders.

Technically you could get away with something smaller than 10ga, but that is a good all around size for welder extension cords. Especially for the welder you have and the distance you want to run.

To the recommendation of 4ga WOW, must be nice to be able to afford all that wire. Talk about overkill.

 

[tarbellb]

I have the exact same one as the Amazon link, and I can attest to how beefy it is.

Great construction, led light indicator for power, and did I mention beefy.

Plugs right in to my 220v Miller with no noticeable drain on power or heating issues.

 

[sberry]

Use the 6-50--R, its the one that comes on the welder. take it longer than 10 ft, 25 ft of 10 is fine for this machine, a 12 would work, a 30A breaker is ideal but it can use a breaker up to 50. The ready made cord is nice, heavy but cheap if you dont already have something for free.

 

[djjsr]

I must be lucky. I have a 40 ft. 10/3 extension cord connected to my Hobart 187 and it works just fine. It's not an industrial welder, it's a garage welder so it not running maxed out for long periods of time.

The guy that's overheating a 10 gauge cord with a 120 volt welder? There's something else wrong there. It's hard to believe that the duty cycle of a 120 volt welder would even allow that to happen.

jmo

 

[diesel research]

The guy that's overheating a 10 gauge cord with a 120 volt welder? There's something else wrong there. It's hard to believe that the duty cycle of a 120 volt welder would even allow that to happen.

jmo

do realize, that for a given output, a 110 welder draws more AMPS?

using higher voltage equipment allows cabling size to shrink.

little car blower motor only draws 200 watts. easy on household voltage, yet melts automotive connectors and wiring much easier, due to proportionally higher amp draw.

 

[djjsr]

do realize, that for a given output, a 110 welder draws more AMPS?

Yup. A 120 volt mig needs a 20 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire. That's why I think it's abnormal if a 10 gauge cord is overheating.

 

[2oolhound]

All the Princess Auto, KMS HF type places arounf here have sales on their 50 amp 8ga regularly. 20' is $50, 25' = $75., 50' I don't remember the sale price but yes it's cheaper than making them.

Another place to look into is recreational vehicles, they use a thick cable to a 220 recepticle. I think they use 10 ga and it's a bit cheaper than the welding extensions.

 

[Zeke]

I'm running 50' of 'generous' stranded 12 ga to my 240v tombstone, 120 MIG and dual voltage TIG. Not even warm.

 

[devoncoolman]

I must be lucky. I have a 40 ft. 10/3 extension cord connected to my Hobart 187 and it works just fine. It's not an industrial welder, it's a garage welder so it not running maxed out for long periods of time.

The guy that's overheating a 10 gauge cord with a 120 volt welder? There's something else wrong there. It's hard to believe that the duty cycle of a 120 volt welder would even allow that to happen.

jmo

A 220 welder will pull about half the amps as a 110 welder plus you gotta push a 110 welder to get it to burn in to anything so ur gonna pull some amps.

I have a 50ft 10-3 cable on my welder that i wired right to the welder works great. Weve been using the same 10-3 cable on the shop welder for 20 years never had an issue so i think you will be okay.

I just went to home depot and bought a 110 volt 10-3 heavy duty extension cord and hacked the ends off it and wired the one end into the welder and the other onto my plug. It was cheaper to just buy an extension cord then to buy buld. Plus the heavy extension cords have a nice flexable sheathing on it compared to bulk will have a rubber less flexable sheathing.

 

[sberry]

What makes the 240 unit so great, pulls 20A just like the 120V unit too. Double the output wattage and because this is a dedicated vs the usuall general circuit the breaker can be tailored. A 10 cord is a good compromise, it can be used on most machines come with factory 50A end and makes its use/length pretty much irrelevent to a 200A 240 v mig.

The reason the 8 comes as a premade is its code legal for any factory prewired 50A.

Only reason it isnt 10 wire is a couple 250 class mig that require it for rated output which is way beyond a avg home brew garage, its for a welding shop. It increases duty cycle.

 

[sberry]

Before I had all the building wire in the long cord was useful.

 

[Elwood42]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25Ft-8-Gaug...446?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d23235ae
Quality is great.

 

[srmofo]

menards has the best prices around on heavier gauge cable. They even have some pre built cords.

All of my machines have the 6-50P.

I used a Bell outdoor box and installed a cord strain relief. I had to drill a solid cover for the bell box because I could not find any locally. Its not pictured here.

Definitely go at least 25'

 

[jrlp]

I have 2 cords I use. A 25' and a 50' 10 gauge. I bought them on sale at HD years ago. They're the yellow jacket or equiv. I cut the ends off, put strain reliefs on a box with a receptacle at one end (with hinged cover) and a plug on the other side. 10 gauge is enough for what I do, it will handle the max power I have anyhow. I run everything with my Bobcat which puts out around 50A of 220. I run my Mig (200A), my Dynasty 200dx Tig, my PowerMax 45 plasma.. all from those cords, including the 10g 50'.

I've never once had the 50' cord heat up to unacceptable levels. That's with ambient air temp over 115 degrees F. I ran a big job about 2 years ago putting in new floors, crossmembers, and rub rails on a 52' dump trailer. I almost died a few times, the inside was polished smooth and I was working ON SITE with no shade. It was a giant sun tanning mirror. Anyhow..

Ran the plasma pretty much non-stop for 8 hours cutting **** out and fitting the new sheets, then ran the mig non stopthe next day for another 10 or so. This was in 117F degree heat, in a giant metal oven. I actually melted 3 sets of knee pads that job.. my cord is still in use without any repairs.

I think 10 gauge 50' will handle your little 155A mig without a second thought.

 

[Mike65]

Thanks for all the info guys I really appreciate it.

 

[porschedude996TT]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to make a new pigtail cord on the welder. That would save you the cost of the extra receptacle and plug.