All about welder extension cords (viewer request)
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- In this episode we tackle extension cords so you dont waste money
0:00:00 Intro and overview
0:03:03 Basics of cords and what to look for
0:12:20 Conclusion
#welding #welders #howtoweldforbeginners #tigwelding #migwelding #stickwelding
For clarification: if you’re running a 200 amp class inverter welder you can use a #8 wire extension cord. They tend to not pull over 35 amps on 240v. National electrical code says #8 is rated to 40amps so you are in the clear. If you have a 220+ amp welder or a 200+ amp transformer welder and plan on maxing it out, you will likely pull over 40 amps and should be using a #6 wire.
To make matters more confusing the 30 and 50 amp welder outlets look identical. National electrical code says you can run 8ga on a 50amp outlet for a welder circuit, because of the duty cycle. That’s fine, until you put a 250+ amp welder on it and have to deal with voltage loss on the 8ga wire due to resistance. The smartest way to go is 6ga wiring on a 50 amp breaker if you plan on running a bigger welder. If all you have is a 200amp inverter #8 on a 30 will be fine. I know this is confusing but the simple way to look at it is being slightly oversized is better than under if you have a bigger welder and expect to use it 😀
As a retired electrician everything you said is spot on. Very good. The 8 gauge is good for 40 amperes.
Thanks 😀.
GREAT INFORMATION !!!
Thank you for taking the time before your workday to make and post this video !!!
Thank you for putting this out there. Solid information.
You’re welcome 😀
8 ga = 40 amps. I use the same extension for my ESAB 205 and ThermalArc 40 amp. No problem with the cable. I’ve had it for 6 years. I made a box it plugs into with two 50 amp outlets so I can have both the welder and plasma connected. The box is mounted on my welder cart. No one uses the equipment but me, so no chance of both used at once. I prefer very tight connections. It’s tough to remove, but not as hard as you’ve experienced.
If you drop it you're getting more than a tickle, that's to funny. Really appreciate the little humor thrown in there and of course the educational content. Thank you.
No problem 😀. In person I tend to joke far more and can be a bit ridiculous at times. I end up not including a lot of that along with the out takes because I want to help people, and I was afraid of being black listed per sey lol. I have a bunch of random videos coming out over the next few weeks (like replacing a toilet) where I am far more humorous because it’s hard not to find humor in such situations 😅.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Well, it's much appreciated. And I can relate to the being a little ridiculous at times. As I've gotten older it's gotten more fun being that way. Anywho, the humor just adds a little more appeal to the videos and at least for me my attention span can waiver at times and the humor definitely helps with staying engaged. Again, thank you and look forward to your upcoming content.
I have the same heavy blue extension cord from Amazon and it was MFer to unplug the welder from it! I cut the end off and used a 4” metal work box with 1” knockouts, an aluminum “Chinese finger lock” strain relief from McMaster Carr, and a 6-50 outlet and cover plate. Super duty and easy to grip when unplugging. I have pics I can share.
Yeah, one of my welders unplugged ok, but everything else is literally impossible lol. I have never had a outlet that tight. Send me a pic to weldingoldschool@gmail,com. I will have to rebuild mine sooner than later lol.
This was this video I've been looking for. I bought a 50ft primeweld extension cord and I'm pretty happy, 6ga and the insulation isn't stiff when cold about $200 after the first time customer discount.
A good cord is expensive which sucks, but being able to rely on it is worth it. Every cheap cord I have ever bought has let me down. Case In point that cheap green cord I have to fix because the end popped off the cord lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I have no idea what the long term durability will be like but my initial impression is very good. It smells like china though.
Previously noted, “Tuny cheapo Stick Welder” has a number, but we’re not sure how accurate that is: I bought a $20 amp-clamp, as you suggested, Thank You! 💜👍 Very interesting to meter a few things around the house. It arrived just after a storm knocked out the electricity for a day, so I’d kinda been thinking, “How much power does ____ need?” while running the generator. 😅
Awesome. ITs great how a simple amp clamp can help understand so many things around you. You really get a lot better idea of how much power things consume. You also realize how power hungry many things are lol. I know I didn't realize how power hungry welders were until I tried to weld with a 140amp mig welder on a generator that was far too small lol. I take for granted having power from a power company lol.
Glad you had some time before work! It cleared up a few things. Thanks
No problem 😀. The key take away is get one built well and a bit longer than you think you need. Coming up 1 foot short sucks 😅
Interesting subject/video. For years, I've used bigger Millers (stick, tig, & mig) in my shop, using a 25ft 240v (50a breaker) connection. Using a long extension cord recently became of greater interest, after purchasing an ArcCaptain MIG200 (which I would highly recommend so far), mostly because of the lightweight/portability/multiprocess abilities. The initial reviews on YT (see @NBSWelding) showed the machine with a 120v male plug, with a female 120v/male 240v adapter. I watched another review where "On Fire Welding" was complaining about how dangerous he thought it was......they needed to change that (the plug orientation). Unfortunately, the safety nazis won, & I received a machine that had been changed to a male 240v male, with a 240v female/120v male adapter. While bad things could happen for a dunce not paying attention (plugging a 120v tool into an extension cord carrying 240v); the initial design would have been a lot handier for portability and using away from the shop.
I certainly have the ability to make an adapter for an extension cord..... it's just frustrating that it was a change made for liability, over functionality.
That adapter you talk of is very common with many Amazon special welders. My 99$ stick welder has the same setup where the machine has a 120 plug on it natively. I understand why per code the adapter could raise some eyebrows. Miller/Hobart got around this issue by using their proprietary MVP plug, and some other welders use a swap able input cord/plug so you don’t have to fumble with adapters. I always seem to forget the adapter so I can see why having a native 120 cord on it would be beneficial lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg… 😂 so, I paid around Canadian$70, for similar unit with 120 plug … they saved money by not even including the “unsafe” looking adaptor. 😅 Liability problem solved. *poof* like magic! 🤣
@@xanatax1844 Haha thats one way to solve the issue 😂.
I prefer the 240 built in. Having a 120 plug is janky. Sometimes we should opt for the slight inconvenience.
I usually make them to my own needs. For 50 amp circuits, SEOOW 6/4 wire is my choice for making 25-50ft 240v extension cords. Its black rubber jacket is nice and flexible and 6/4 means you have a neutral in there so you can use it for generator duty or welder duty with the right end. Hubble or Leviton twist locks wired up depending on the configuration needed. Perfect setup for backup generator duty.
Great idea and it’s definitely what I will be doing in the future since my cord isn’t long enough for my needs. I regret not doing that from the start but late is better than never lol.
I have this also but with 8/4 and when my power got shut off I just switched the end killed my main and plugged it into the generator. Back fed the whole house! (Not that this is recommended...)
Wow, it’s as if you are reading my mind. I just installed 240 receptacle in my garage a few months ago and want to move further away from the outlet so I can use my homemade extraction fan to blow the smoke out my door. A homemade extension cord would be quite helpful.
In your situation a home made cord will definitely get you setup. Just remember to make it a tad bit longer than you actually need it, or you will somehow come up short at some point lol.
I made mine I couldn't get/afford 6 but I did get a 50' run of SOOW 8/4 and a proper twist lock female end. The other end is wired to a duplex 30 amp (if I remember correctly) breaker. For my money real extension cords plug into the box! It cost about 100 complete but that was 3 years ago. Actually maybe I have a duplex 40 amp breaker I think the 30 was on my 10/4 cable but was tripping and pissing me off... Lol
Yeah #6 gets pricy. #8 will work fine for most, just watch it if you try to run a big 250amp welder on it 😅. I wish I went with a 50’ cord, my 25’ is always about 5-6 foot too short lol.
Thanks for that Video! When it comes to voltage-drop by long or poor wiring, the PFC of the newer weldinmachines can also start to fight you because it draws more amperage the more the voltage drops. Maybe it is worse for us in
Germany because we have higher voltage in standard (230v 1-phase and 400V 3-phase) and according to this thinner wire and weaker breakers (commonly 16A or just 10A in households - depending designation of the circuit). Weld 7cm continuously then run 200m to fix the breaker... 😂 At one certain point i Was tired of running and wearing and redid the whole wiring to my garage...
You brought up a great point I didn’t even think of. The modern machines will try to output the setpoint power with voltage loss, which will cause even more amperage draw. A older transformer machine would just loose output due to voltage loss.
It was always interesting to me how different countries do power. In this country we do 120 single phase and 240 single phase, the 120 is basically just tapped off the transformer at a different point to reduce the voltage. 3 phase virtually doesn’t exist to a residence, but you can get it to a business. That has any number of voltages depending on what you need. Sounds like you made the right decision on changing the wiring, that had to be annoying to keep resetting the breaker lol.
Oh yes, it was a pain in the... 😂. I ended up digging trenches and dragging over 60kg wires through the ground... To obtain 400V 3-phase 32A to my garageworkshop - that was never planned as a Workshop but as life goes my planned Workshop had to be sceduled due to lag of affordable construction materials in europe since 2022.
There is a other downside for the inverters, especially the cheap ones. They are said to be able to induce DC as well as high frequency AC back into the powerline. This can blindfold the common RCD in your house. There are "special" (and special pricy) types of RCD that can detect this kind of fault current. I did not know this before.
@@sebastianleicht. How bad have materials gone up there? They are still depressingly high here, but somewhat starting to go down. Sounds like you setup your shop right, even though it wasn’t planned to go that route. Interesting thoughts on the inverters, I definitely need to read more up on them since there is so much I don’t know. I do know I wish we had 3phase available, we end up doing 240v 200amp services to bigger garages in a residence. That’s a lot of power but being single phase you still can’t run any bigger industrial wood or metal working tools without a phase converter or vfd ☹️.
Prices almost doubled here, but started to slightly fall since summer. I was not aware that 3-phase is not common everywhere😳. But I grew up on a little farm and we had 3-phase 64 Amp which I considered to be standard. When I build my house I had to learn that for normal single houses 3-phase 32A are standard. So I have to wisely think about power consumption when using hungry machines. Worst thing would be to rudely interrupt my wife from cooking by tripping the breaker😂.
I use only 10 and 12 gauge extension cords 12 ga for grinders and chop saw the 10ga I run my little inverter 160amp welder from the 240v outlet that one I built solely for the welder 100ft long I also carry 150ft of store bought of 10ga cords a 50ft and a 100ft after see your video I'm now thinking on getting a 100ft of 8ga built for the inverter welder I use it if I need to go beyond the 60ft of leads on my Lincoln Ranger on my truck might be expensive but better safe than sorry thanks for the information
8 ga will handle far more current than 10. What I find is that the wire itself doesn't fail at higher amp draw, the ends of the wire where they go into the terminal fail. Kind of like the 12ga vs 10 ga for a welder extension on 120v. The 10ga cord will last far longer in real world use because the plug ends of the 12ga will melt/fail while the wire is still good. For best longevity and the lowest voltage loss a slightly bigger cable is the way to go. It sucks because they are so expensive, but that green 12ga cord with the end falling off is a 12ga that likely go a bit to hot more than a few times. If it was a 10ga it would still be fine.
Primeweld sells great heavy duty extensions.
You’re the second one to suggest them, they seem much better built than the one I bought. If I ever upgrade I will definitely look at them.
I've been looking for something like your green pig-tail that you use with your generator, but for a 220 dryer outlet. I think it's the same problem - 4 wire connection with neutral to a three wire welder plug.
So I have a 4 pin (2 hot, 1 ground, 1 neutral) male end to female 50r (2 hots 1 ground) adapter. I bought it and keep it with my traveling welding box in the off chance I have access to a 4 pin oven or dryer outlet and my generator isn’t working. Before I had my generator I actually used the adapter and my 240 extension cord to weld in the kitchen of a rental house on a off road trip 😅. Very handy thing to have when you need it.
I need to get a twist lock converter for the 220v machine on its way
Twist locks can be a pain to find. Make sure you get one for single phase, and not 120v. Many of them look identical and it’s easy to grab a wrong one, I did lol.
Had an 10Awg 1ft to a 8awg 30ft to another 10awg 1ft from a dryer outlet rated at 30amps but my 110 harbor freight flux woudnt run but runs if welder goes straight to a 20amp outlet
A 10g extension cord will do nothing for the 20amp circuit with 12g wire to the outlet.
Secondly, with the original comment that you’re responding to: I have that same welder that the commenter mentioned. I replaced the welder leads with 20’ 2g wire, a nice brass grounding clamp, and 250Amp stinger. It works great and gives me a little extra working length with no voltage drop.
The issue with a 12 ga cord comes down to the fact many welders on 120 volt pull 30-35 amps in my testing. 12 ga cords get hot and will fail prematurely if you run even a 140a MiG welder on them consistently. The ends in specific tend to get hot where is the wire itself not so much. The 10ga cord I have has better/beefier plug ends and does not get hot when welding with it like my 12ga. From a power perspective a 50 or 100’ 12ga cord will have more voltage loss added to the circuit, especially as it heats up from the resistance. Obviously the 12ga circuit wire is the weak link in the system, but the extension cord is something you can control and to get the best longevity 10ga is the way to go.
I am going thru this right now. My 8awg cord was popping the breaker, with nothing plug into the cord. Nothing appears to be wrong with the cord, even after stripping off the protected cover, everything looks good. I have a Century AC230 Buzz Box welder, that I use a lot, and it seemed to me that the amperage setting was requiring higher and higher current to strike and weld. I imagine, the cord was dying a slow death til finally it would not, could not even be plugged into the wall. I've had to order a 6awg wire of 25' (vs the 40' failure) and hope this will be the final answer to getting back to welding.
BTW, in my diagnosis of what the F is going on, I replaced both terminals end, to have the exact same problem. I'm still scratching my head as to what can be wrong with wire with no break or visual burn or other obvious failure. And of course, with no load on the wire all ohm readings show continuity the entire length and from plug blade to blade all are open readings.
So the ac230 pulls a fair amount of amps. To put it in perspective the input line sees 28-30a of a load at 90amp output lol. 8ga would probably be on the low end depending on amperage you run it at. Going to #6 should definitely solve that, so good call on that. My guess is the #8 probably just got heated up too much and eventually shorted two wires out. You should be up and welding properly with the new cord 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Thanks. My welder has never run at full setting (180A I have used), but my plasma cutter has been set to its max at 50amps. That probably caused the start of the decline. That and it was an inexpensive cord from Amazon. It did work for 2 years. Oh, well, Live and Learn...
Hey greg i have a question regarding the L-14-30 plug, you were saying its uncommon to see them in a home/residential environment, well i have one in my kitchen its an old dedicated range circuit and its unused, i run my welder in the backyard off of our dedicated washer and dryer curcuit that has a 25 amp breaker and thats fine if i want to weld in the back but if i need to do anything in the driveway, id need like an 8-3 175 foot extension and thats like $300 minimum just for the cable, i was wondering if it would be okay to use one of those generator splitters to run 110 off of the 220 plug and use a 40 foot 10-3 extension from there.
Ok so I do have some thoughts on that. So if your thought is to split a L-14-30 outlet to where you use only the neutral and a single of the hots, and then run a extension cord to the welder out front, that technically would work. You must verify that you have 120v and not 220 or you will have a very unsafe situation. There is risk involved with this, the main one being that you could pull more power from the breaker than what you would normally be able to on say a 20 amp circuit. If you were to do something like use a #12 or #14 extension cord, you could melt it before the breaker trips. If you use a #10 cord you would be in good shape since that can carry the rated power for that breaker. I would double check that the wire on that circuit is 10ga and the breaker is indeed a 30 amp rating. I would also verify some idiot didn't wire multiple things to that same breaker. Also, it's not the smartest idea to do this, but in a pinch it would work. Just be smart about it and if you dont understand something it's wise not to do it. Also, I am talking in theory and not telling you what you should do, you're on your own with what you do with the info lol 😀.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I definitely dont want something dumb to happen so ill check the wiring at the breaker panel and behind the socket before i decide to do anything, this isnt really something that many people have to do or deal with so i figured i could ask you and i appreciate the feedback, i did look it up on google to try to spare you the time, but that was inconclusive because most of the information was for generators. Thank you for all the effort youve put in to try to teach us and empart your wisdom, i know i really appreciate it. Maybe you should set up a P.O box in the future, i can guarantee you got fans that would like a way to give back to you.
@@Initial_Gopnik in the future I may setup some sort of PO Box. The truth is I am most interested in helping people no strings attached. I do it for the joy of helping people and doing it for money sours it for me. The best reward and thanks a person can give me is to invest the time into bettering their skills, that is the payback & thanks I want 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Well ill definitely make sure to better my skills with all ive learned and will continue to learn, and i understand that its not for the money, i watched many of your motivational videos, maybe turn it into a challenge, you could do a subscriber weld art competition once a year, and whoever wins, you display their art somewhere in the shop until the next one, that could motivate more of those that are involved with this channel to improve their skills as well, anyways just food for thought, keep up the great work.
Great idea, I will definitely do something like that 😀. I am glad to hear you will keep bettering your skills too. That's why I make the videos and spend the time on everything is to help/motivate people to better themselves. Keep it up 👌
So if you have the 4 prong with the 4 wires how do you wire it to the 3 prong female ? What do you do with the 4th wire?
So a normal oven outlet (you did ask about an oven outlet correct?) has a ground pin, 2 hots, and a neutral. A welder runs on 240v so it doesn’t need the neutral wire. If you buy a 4 prong to 3 prong welding adapter it simply has no wire that goes to the neutral wire of the oven outlet socket (despite having 4 prongs). The critical things to verify is that the oven outlets neutral wire is not hooked up to the welder, it’s simply omitted. The breaker will still trip just fine if you overload the circuit, and it’s still safe provided you utilize the ground wire. You must use a cord rated for the outlet rating, which is typically either 30 or 50amps (so 6 or 8ga extension cord).
@@makingmistakeswithgreg yes I bought a 50amp 6 gauge 4 prong male ( with the 4 wires like for an oven ) to go into my generator which accepts the 4 prong. I also bought the crappy 3 prong female box like you have in the video. So when I wire the female 3 prong female to the 4 wires what do I do with the extra wire ?
I got a 120 Lincoln and looking to plug it into the house it runes minimum 30 amps anyone know of an extension cord to run it and where to buy rather not weld in the living room
If it runs on 120v you’re best off running it on a 12 or 10ga wire extension cord. Best place to get them is Amazon or your local big box store like Home Depot. If it requires 240 normally a #8 cord is fine for a extension if the machine is pulling 30 amps.
For me I make all my cords cuz my shop means more to me then buying a junk cord and burn down my shop. Rule of thumb all ways going over kill
I agree. You need to rely on stuff and overbuilt is better then being let down lol.
I don't understand why an extension cord has to be heavier duty than the cord thats on the welder. My welder cord is 14-16 gauge.
The main reason cords are oversized is length. A 100’ extension cord will have decent voltage loss. Upsizing the wire has less voltage loss. I also hate to say it, but many devices have undersized power cords on the assumption of intermittent use. It’s pretty common for a welder to load a wire with 25-30a of current on a 20a outlet. Something like a toaster won’t care if the voltage drops, but a welder might run poorly if the voltage drops 5-10v. I generally use 10ga on cords over 25ft and 12 under 25.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Gotcha. That makes sense.
@@makingmistakeswithgregI found a good 25 ft. 10 gauge extension cord. Thanks for the help.