welder extension cord...?

[tylerdurben]

well i got my millermatic 175 it runs off 220. Lucky for me i do most of my weling in my backjard near my only source for such power. I am using the cloth dryer's power outlet cause we dont have a cloth dryer. Now my question...

where can i get a long (30-50 ft) extension cord for my welder?

I tried using the search tool but came up short. Thanks in advance.

 

[PAToyota]

Make one. Get the appropriate plug and socket from Lowes and a length of eight gage wire - stranded.

 

[tylerdurben]

thanks, i didnt know you could do that. i will also need to put the 2 ends in boxes right?

 

[tubeman]

Here's the one I use...
http://store.cyberweld.com/powerproducts.html

 

[PAToyota]

thanks, i didnt know you could do that. i will also need to put the 2 ends in boxes right?

No, you can get male and female plugs (see below). And you want stranded wire for an extension cord. Solid wire won't bend as well and repeated bending will break the conductors.

Check here for the proper designation (ie: 18-60P) for the blade configuration of your welder: http://www.leviton.com/sections/techsupp/nema.htm

Note, I just grabbed a picture to show a typical 220V plug. That isn't likely the one that you need. Also note that your extension cord will use a four prong plug on the dryer outlet end, but only needs three wires (two hots and a ground) and only a three prong plug on the welder end.

 

[D-Cal]

I have the same welder and made my own 30 ft cord. I found it a bit hard to find a nice sealed up female end for it, ended up using a baseboard box for a stove. Not ideal, but it works. Just have to be extra careful to not drag the cord through liquids on the floor, until I can find a better end.

 

[PAToyota]

Hmm... I have a male and female 50amp plug end on my cord, but I haven't been able to turn up a female end in some quick searches...

 

[DIGGER_DAVE]

I have the same welder and made my own 30 ft cord. I found it a bit hard to find a nice sealed up female end for it, ended up using a baseboard box for a stove. Not ideal, but it works. Just have to be extra careful to not drag the cord through liquids on the floor, until I can find a better end.

Here is an example ...

http://assets.twacomm.com/assets/1839443507/product_images/23354.jpg

Browse this site ... Leviton is available through almost any hardware store.

http://www.leviton.com

 

[tubeman]

Hmm... I have a male and female 50amp plug end on my cord, but I haven't been able to turn up a female end in some quick searches...
__________________
Did you look at the link I sent?

 

[tylerdurben]

No, you can get male and female plugs (see below). And you want stranded wire for an extension cord. Solid wire won't bend as well and repeated bending will break the conductors.

Check here for the proper designation (ie: 18-60P) for the blade configuration of your welder: http://www.leviton.com/sections/techsupp/nema.htm

Note, I just grabbed a picture to show a typical 220V plug. That isn't likely the one that you need. Also note that your extension cord will use a four prong plug on the dryer outlet end, but only needs three wires (two hots and a ground) and only a three prong plug on the welder end.

thanks again! i will look for those plugs. My washer outlet is actually a 3 prong, my causin helped me out with that. we took of the excisting 3 prong one and replaced it with the correct blade configuration. so i will be using a male and female blade configuration to match the wall outlet. he also checked the braker on the wall to make sure it will protect my machine.

thanks again, i will be going to lowe's tomorrow night to buy the 2 plug ends and the length of wire i need (3-wire setup). i think i got this now.

 

[JCByrd24]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think 10 gage will work fine on this welder. Its 30A. I'm using 10/3 SJOOW (about 20'). This is rated for 30A and with the duty cycle I think its more than acceptable.

 

[mikeyr]

I got the male and female plugs at my local welding supply shop, they also had the wire on a big spool cheaper than home depot, I don't remember what I went with but it is BIG wire, 6gauge maybe (too lazy to go look) it is what the welding supply recommended for 50ft.

next day edit : You guys made go check, its 6/3 wire that the welding shop suggested and sold me. As I said I was suprised it was cheaper than Home Depot, his excuse was "we sell this stuff by the spool everyday"

 

[PAToyota]

I didn't check on the amperage of the machine. I'd still go at least 8ga. I'm using 4ga. for my MM250X to account for voltage drop and such for a 60amp circuit.

 

[tylerdurben]

ok, so i went to Lowe's last night and they didnt have anything that i needed. I even took my welder owners manual but couldnt find anyone that could read, just a bunch of box pushers

maybe someone here can help me out by posting a link to a website where i can buy what i need and just order the stuff. That would be a huge help.

Millermatic 175 (info directly from the manual):

Select extension cord of 14AWG for up to 50ft or 12AWG for 50ft up to 200ft. (I need to make a 60ft extension cord for what i need so i guess 12AWG is what i need, i dont know what that means)

Plug (NEMA 6-50P)
Receptacle (NEMA 6-50R)

I have the manual with me so if you need me to find any other info just let me know and ill post it up. Again it woud really help if someone that knows about this stuff could hook me up with a link on what to buy.

THANKS!

 

[tylerdurben]

found this on e-bay, what do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/HEAVY-DUTY-50-A...ryZ67042QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[PAToyota]

That cord looks good and not too bad of a price. For all the information they listed, it would have been nice to say what plug ends it has... I can't see the blades clearly enough to tell you if they are 6-50s or not... Might want to send them a question first.

Actually, that looks like the local GTS store - they say Central Pennsylvania...

 

[DIGGER_DAVE]

Select extension cord of 14AWG for up to 50ft or 12AWG for 50ft up to 200ft. (I need to make a 60ft extension cord for what i need so i guess 12AWG is what i need, i dont know what that means)

AWG (plus the number) stands for the gauge of the wire. The SMALLER the number; the GREATER (wire is bigger) the load capacity. (never have figured out why they do it that way)

The LONGER the extention cord, the greater the LOSS in the length.

So .. if your going to use LARGE power tools on the end of a 60 FOOT extention cord; the larger the gauge (SMALLER NUMBER) of the wire is needed. 12AWG wire would be the MINIMUM gauge to use.

If you ARE going to place a BIG load on the extention cord; MAYBE consider 10AWG.

 

[tylerdurben]

The link to the ebay iteam i posted is: HEAVY DUTY 50' 8/3 EXTENSION CORD, does that mean that it is 8 guage? The guy selling it replied that it will fit my application 6-50R & P so i guess its a go.

thanks for all your help.

and digger dave thanks for that clarification.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Yes, 8/3 is #8 wire, good for what you want to do, and three wires. you don't say if it is with a ground or not, which would be expressed 8/3 w/grd. You don't need a neutral, wire, so if the cable does not have a ground, you could take the white wire and remark it green with a marker and use it as the ground.

HOWEVER....... NEC will tell you that the ground conductor must be marked with a continous green or green/yellow stripe marking. Thus you cannot legally remark a wire of any other color to a ground. This is up to you, of course.

Charles

 

[tylerdurben]

Yes, 8/3 is #8 wire, good for what you want to do, and three wires. you don't say if it is with a ground or not, which would be expressed 8/3 w/grd. You don't need a neutral, wire, so if the cable does not have a ground, you could take the white wire and remark it green with a marker and use it as the ground.

HOWEVER....... NEC will tell you that the ground conductor must be marked with a continous green or green/yellow stripe marking. Thus you cannot legally remark a wire of any other color to a ground. This is up to you, of course.

Charles

ok i always thought neutral and ground were the same thing?

well, so long as it has the 3 prong 6-50P & R and it is #8 wire i cant go wrong, whatever the colors inside may be. thanks, im going to go buy it now.

 

[DIGGER_DAVE]

well, so long as it has the 3 prong 6-50P & R and it is #8 wire i cant go wrong, whatever the colors inside may be. thanks, im going to go buy it now.

Better take a forklift; a 50 foot long, #8 cable is HEAVY!!

 

[tylerdurben]

Better take a forklift; a 50 foot long, #8 cable is HEAVY!!

got my extension cord last week and it said on the box that it weighs 25 lbs.

I already used it this past weekend and everything seems to work ok. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Pops]

Well, that was an interesting read. I think I will replace my solid cord with an 8 or 6 - but I think I will follow some of the above and just make my own.
This is really good info.


J.

 

[tylerdurben]

Well, that was an interesting read. I think I will replace my solid cord with an 8 or 6 - but I think I will follow some of the above and just make my own.
This is really good info.


J.

glad it helped, i know it helped me a lot. Even though i opt to just buy the already made one, i still learned a lot in the process.

Yaril

 

[Ironcrow]

I used 100 feet of 6/4. It may be heavy, but at least it was expensive With 4 conductors, I made a subpanel on a wooden pedestal. Now I can plug the welder in with its NEMA 6-50, and have a 120V receptacle for my grinder and metal chop saw...each with appropriate breaker. The pedestal has a hose reel hanger for the extension cord.

Between the cord and the subpanel the whole thing is pretty heavy. I've got an old hand truck sitting around and I was going to move the whole mess over to that so I'll have wheels.