Welder extension cord

[blazinjake]

So I've got a Lincoln 180 amp 220 volt welder that I need to be about 10 to 15 foot closer to my truck to be able to weld with...

what's the best/cheapest way to accomplish this? extension cord? if so what size? if not, what are my options??? Thanks

[leprechaun1874]

You can get extension cords for welders. But they are $$, you can also make your own cheaper. Use some wire the same size or bigger (numerically smaller) and put the ends on it. Custom length cable.

[Mathius]

Yeah, my buddy made a 50 or 100ft 220v cable. I forget how long it actually is. Heavy as sin, but does the job. If you use several welders it's handy because you can swap the end for different plug types instead of worrying about what outlet you have in your actual wall plug.

And it's perfectly safe. They run 220v cords to spider boxes on jobsites all day long for temporary power on construction jobs. There's one in on my floor @ work that's been pissing me off for 8 months because it's a PITA to get my tool cart over it.

Mathius

[Bigtruckdrivah]

I just made one yesterday for the exact same welder you have. I used 6/3 wire(with ground but you dont need the copper ground), a "stand alone" female welder plug that matches the Lincoln on one end. I used a dryer plug in on the other, I dont know what kind of plug your power source is but just one that fits the plug and your good. I used it yesterday with no problems, I only made it 25ft because thats all I need and didnt want to loose too much power with a long ass cord. Also, make sure your breakers are big enough to handle the load of a welder.


Are you the fella that was asking which welder to buy in a thread here? If so looks like you made a good choice.

[Bigtruckdrivah]

Oh, and that wire isnt cheap. Something like 2.80 a foot! So if you could snap some from a construction site I would

[Mathius]

There's a handy chart here: https://weldingsupply.securesites.co...F:OR:304-1170R

Most people use 1/0 wire for a 220v machine because you need a thicker wire over longer distances and also because they only want to have to buy wire once so they get one rated for the max their machine can do.

But at 180amps, you have one of the smaller 220v machines on the market, so 1/0 is probably overkill for your application unless you're going to run a 100 foot cable or something. Another thing to consider is sometimes you get a better deal if you buy more wire, so see if maybe by bumping up to a thicker gauge if you can't buy more for the same price of the thinner stuff, or even for less money.

Mathius

[Bigtruckdrivah]

I could have saved .30 a foot if I bought atleast 500ft. hahaha

[blazinjake]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bigtruckdrivah

I just made one yesterday for the exact same welder you have. I used 6/3 wire(with ground but you dont need the copper ground), a "stand alone" female welder plug that matches the Lincoln on one end. I used a dryer plug in on the other, I dont know what kind of plug your power source is but just one that fits the plug and your good. I used it yesterday with no problems, I only made it 25ft because thats all I need and didnt want to loose too much power with a long ass cord. Also, make sure your breakers are big enough to handle the load of a welder.


Are you the fella that was asking which welder to buy in a thread here? If so looks like you made a good choice.

yea i did have a thread up, then I found this one from a military guy that is gone over seas and has no use for it there, i think his ma was hard up... but either way I think I've come out ahead... I'm only going to need about 10 or 15 ft. of cord but... i may go ahead and do 25 ft so that I'm not having to do this again if I decide to do another project that I can't get that close to my dryer (btw my dryer plug in is what I'll be using and the landlord told me that he built this house and he built the dryer plug specifically for his lincoln 220c 225 amp welder so I should be good to go... can't wait!!)

[Bigtruckdrivah]

Then you should be good with 6/3 wire, its pretty damn thick. How mych you pay for that lincoln anyway?

[blazinjake]

$100

[jwillie000]

look on ebay for wire. i got a roll of 8 and made one hell of a unsafe cord for 50 bucks .

[98layinframe]

i have a 8' extension cord thats 8/3, and a 20' cord thats 4/3

[Bigtruckdrivah]

Quote: Originally Posted by blazinjake

$100

damn, is it in good shape? I thought I got a good deal when I bought mine from homo depot for 600 because the box was a little effed up.



ebay wire? Guess the brand dont matter as long as its thick enough. I almost went with 8/3 wire but its was only a few cents cheaper than the 6/3 and Id rather not worry about burning my house down.

[blazinjake]

yes its in great shape, its a little dirty and greasy looking from storage but otherwise no dents, bad scratches, or flaws that I've noticed.. and even better it'll weld!!! so I think i've really lucked up on this one...
and btw.. my luck apparently hasn't run out yet... my landlord learned what i'm up to in his garage and offered me his extension cord to have... wtf?!?! who does that these days??? but thanks for everyone's input!

[dragginbalz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mathius

There's a handy chart here: https://weldingsupply.securesites.co...F:OR:304-1170R

Most people use 1/0 wire for a 220v machine because you need a thicker wire over longer distances and also because they only want to have to buy wire once so they get one rated for the max their machine can do.

But at 180amps, you have one of the smaller 220v machines on the market, so 1/0 is probably overkill for your application unless you're going to run a 100 foot cable or something. Another thing to consider is sometimes you get a better deal if you buy more wire, so see if maybe by bumping up to a thicker gauge if you can't buy more for the same price of the thinner stuff, or even for less money.

Mathius

What you are talking about is lead extensions (stick welder).


Could you imaging how heavy or expensive 3-50' pcs of 1/0 would be??? Not to mention, where the heck will you be able to find a plug that would accept 1/0 cable.

[98layinframe]

my Lincoln 175 only came with a 12 gauge 6' long cord.. so running my 8' long 8 gauge extension cord is plenty of an upgrade. ALso like dragginbalz said, pretty much any 50 amp welding plug wont except any thing over a 6 gauge wire wont fit into the plug.

[Mathius]

Quote: Originally Posted by dragginbalz

What you are talking about is lead extensions (stick welder).


Could you imaging how heavy or expensive 3-50' pcs of 1/0 would be??? Not to mention, where the heck will you be able to find a plug that would accept 1/0 cable.

No, I'm not talking about leads, I'm talking about the extension cord. And yes, I know exactly how heavy it is, because my buddy built one. And like I said... they use them all the time on construction jobs. They run them to a spider box so we can have temporary power. If you want, I'll take a few cell pics, but I'm off the job site this week, so it would not be until the week after.

Mathius

[jherrell]

I went to an electrical supply company and bought 50 foot of flexible 1/0 3 strand wire that comes in a thick black rubber insulator. The cord is about an inch or inch and a half around.

I bought the plug ends and a square bow to install the plug that the welder plugs into... it works great. I also changed the plug end on my plasma so it can be moved anywhere also.

cost about 75 to do everything

[dragginbalz]

No picture needed. You are talking about a job site, not a small MIG welder. I am not saying they don't have there use, but to make a comment such as " most people with 220V welders use 1/0" is hardly accurate.

Let's try this another way.

A 180A output 220V MIG welder needs what? 30 amps input from the wall? A Millermatic 252 (way larger than what he has) would draw 42 amps at 230V at rated output. So lets call it 60 amps max (based on the information in the owner's manual). Minimum conductor size is 8 and maximum number of feet is 96. Without consulting a chart I would think 6/3 would be plenty safe for the maximum length of 96'.

How many feet, with a 50 amp draw, do you need to justify a 1/0, 3 conductor cord? 500'?

I know there is no such thing as too big, usually for wire, but jesus, that is WAYYYY over kill!

Just my thoughts.

[max1million]

For output extension you need much heavier wire then supply extension. My 90amp output 110volt welder draws less then 20 amp on supply side (12gauge extension/20amp circuit). I'd estimate it would be about 180amp out for 220volt/20amp supply side, and 360amp out for 220volt/40amp. All single phase. It's better to check your machine. Long runs (without up sizing) means you loose output and actually draw less current the supply side.

My wire size chart more conservative (continuous amp with rubber insulation)
12gauge-20amp
10gauge-25amp
8gauge-35amp
6gauge-50amp
4gauge-70amp

[Mathius]

Quote: Originally Posted by dragginbalz

No picture needed. You are talking about a job site, not a small MIG welder. I am not saying they don't have there use, but to make a comment such as " most people with 220V welders use 1/0" is hardly accurate.

Let's try this another way.

A 180A output 220V MIG welder needs what? 30 amps input from the wall? A Millermatic 252 (way larger than what he has) would draw 42 amps at 230V at rated output. So lets call it 60 amps max (based on the information in the owner's manual). Minimum conductor size is 8 and maximum number of feet is 96. Without consulting a chart I would think 6/3 would be plenty safe for the maximum length of 96'.

How many feet, with a 50 amp draw, do you need to justify a 1/0, 3 conductor cord? 500'?

I know there is no such thing as too big, usually for wire, but jesus, that is WAYYYY over kill!

Just my thoughts.

If I'm gonna spend the money to buy a 220v welder, I'm not gonna buy a dinky 180 amp. That's about the smallest 220v welder you can get. I'm gonna get a welder that's adequate to my future needs so I don't have to spend the money twice. Welders last more or less forever if you take care of them.

And if you want to make a big deal out of my usage of the phrase "most people". MOST people don't run an extension cord for their 220v welders. They have their garage wired for 220v. A real world welder is gonna have an engine driven welder. If they DO need an extension cord, they're gonna run heavy shit, because again.. they're going to use something they can max out their machine and they're gonna buy a machine that they can do more or less anything with because you can't make money if you can't do the job because your welder isn't big enough, or won't run the process you need, etc. etc.

It's obvious to me you've never been on a job where you've had to run 200 feet of cord and had to try and weld with a 110v welder because that's what your company supplied you with. If I'm gonna set myself up for home use, I'm gonna do it right the first time so I don't have too much amperage lost in the cord.

Mathius

[dragginbalz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mathius

If I'm gonna spend the money to buy a 220v welder, I'm not gonna buy a dinky 180 amp. That's about the smallest 220v welder you can get. I'm gonna get a welder that's adequate to my future needs so I don't have to spend the money twice. Welders last more or less forever if you take care of them.

And if you want to make a big deal out of my usage of the phrase "most people". MOST people don't run an extension cord for their 220v welders. They have their garage wired for 220v. A real world welder is gonna have an engine driven welder. If they DO need an extension cord, they're gonna run heavy shit, because again.. they're going to use something they can max out their machine and they're gonna buy a machine that they can do more or less anything with because you can't make money if you can't do the job because your welder isn't big enough, or won't run the process you need, etc. etc.

It's obvious to me you've never been on a job where you've had to run 200 feet of cord and had to try and weld with a 110v welder because that's what your company supplied you with. If I'm gonna set myself up for home use, I'm gonna do it right the first time so I don't have too much amperage lost in the cord.

Mathius

Not everything is about you. This guy had a question, NOT you.

Your answer is pertaining to a real world job site and engine driven generator welders and not his question about running a small extension cord to a 180 a welder. I cannot see how any of this is even relevant.

I am sorry that your company is too cheap to purchase the right equipment for the job. I can almost guarantee you with the money they wasted by making a 1/0 extension cord for 200 feet to run a 110V welder, they could have purchased the correct machine for the job.

What you are talking about has absolutely no bearing on the conversation or question at hand. At this point I am going to excuse myself from this conversation. I do look forward to reading your reply though since you seem to be taking great offense to this topic.

[98layinframe]

^ exactly. Considering pretty much any 180 amp welder wont pull over a 30 amp load, he will be perfectly fine building a 15' extension cord out of 6/3 wire.

[Mathius]

Quote: Originally Posted by dragginbalz

What you are talking about has absolutely no bearing on the conversation or question at hand. At this point I am going to excuse myself from this conversation. I do look forward to reading your reply though since you seem to be taking great offense to this topic.

Actually it has a lot of bearing. The point I was making is that if he's gonna bother with an extension cord he should build one right the first time so he doesn't have to make a bigger one later.

Mathius

[jherrell]

I checked my 50 foot cord last night, it is 3 wire 6AWG wire. I also run my plasma off of it, so it had to be heavy enough to handle both the welder and the plasma

[Tim89]

Sorry for posting a month later but I was looking for a extension cord and found one at my local welding shop. I paid 1.72 a sqft and got 30ft of it. The welding shop said that 8/3 is plenty good for my lincoln weld pak 175hd. Im starting to weld so ive put it up to D with welding for about a min straight with no cutting off or the cord getting hot.

[ka_jd7and1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim89

I paid 1.72 a sqft and got 30ft of it.

They measure wire in square feet now?

Cool you found something that worked.

[Tim89]

sorry ive been looking for home owners insurance and have put that so many times it stuck. I paid around 65-70 cant remember exactly for 35ft

Man i ****3d up twice. Its 1.72 a Ft and i got 35ft not 30

[beandip]

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