Extension Cord for welder

patrick_g · Mar 10, 2012

pjbci said:
The cord on my welder is a 12/3. I have really long leads so I dont need an extension. But my question is, why would you need 6 ga wire for an extension cord when the welder has a 12 ga pigtail and the outlet is wired up with 10 ga from the breaker? Im not trying to be a smarty pants, I just want to understand it.

Because voltage drop is a function of both wire size and length. the cord on your welder is pretty short (they saved money in gauge and length) A long extension cord of 12 or even 10 gaq is a bad idea.

Pat

pjbci · Mar 10, 2012

That helps, thanks.

crazyal · Mar 10, 2012

I bought cable at Lowes. They sell 6 gauge cable by the foot as well as the plug and receptacle. I don't think it shows up on their website but it's on the 'wall of wire' that rotates. I think it was about $1.60 a foot.

Sublifer · Mar 10, 2012

crazyal said:
I bought cable at Lowes. They sell 6 gauge cable by the foot as well as the plug and receptacle. I don't think it shows up on their website but it's on the 'wall of wire' that rotates. I think it was about $1.60 a foot.

I'm about to head to the hardware store so I'll take a look.

Bigfoot62 · Mar 10, 2012

pjbci said:
The cord on my welder is a 12/3. I have really long leads so I dont need an extension. But my question is, why would you need 6 ga wire for an extension cord when the welder has a 12 ga pigtail and the outlet is wired up with 10 ga from the breaker? Im not trying to be a smarty pants, I just want to understand it.

That's a legit question.

The OP stated that he needed 50 amps. Yours is probably a 30 amp, if it's got a 10 ga supply wire.

Sublifer · Mar 10, 2012

Bigfoot62 said:
That's a legit question.

The OP stated that he needed 50 amps. Yours is probably a 30 amp, if it's got a 10 ga supply wire.

Okay, so 50 amps would be nice but in actuality I will rarely if ever use more than 2/3s the power on this welder.

Do you think 8 gauge would be okay? Seems very rare to find a welding extension, aside from custom made, that is bigger than 8 gauge...

Reg · Mar 10, 2012

So far I haven't seen ANY indication that you will be drawing anywhere near 50 amps, you indicated that the outlet in your garage is on a 50 amp breaker...
Well ...so what ?

If you have a 90 amp wire feed flux core HF "welder" or whatever you have, look up the input current spec and take things from there.

You can probably save a LOT if you just size the cord to the current you will actually DRAW.

Bigfoot62 · Mar 10, 2012

Sublifer said:
Okay, so 50 amps would be nice but in actuality I will rarely if ever use more than 2/3s the power on this welder.

Do you think 8 gauge would be okay? Seems very rare to find a welding extension, aside from custom made, that is bigger than 8 gauge...

8 ga is fine. Just put in a 40 amp breaker. You never want your breaker to have greater capacity than the cable. (fire hazard)

hodge · Mar 10, 2012

The local electrical supply houses wanted over $2 a foot for 8 guage wire, and almost $60 for the male and female plugs. After exploring my options, I wound up buying a 50 foot Yellowjacket 10/3 extension cord (after asking lots of questions and reading lots of posts on some welding forums) for $80, and I found Fourney 50 amp male and female plugs at Ace Hardware, for about $30 total. I have been using it for about 6 months now, and it has worked great with my Hobart 190 amp mig welder.
Northern Tools sells a 50 amp, 25 foot welding extension cord for $99.
Century Wire and Cable Right Angle Welding Extension Cord with Progrip Safety Handle — 25Ft., 50 Amp, Model# D13308025 | Welding Accessories | Northern Tool + Equipment

crazyal · Mar 10, 2012

patrick_g said:
Because voltage drop is a function of both wire size and length. the cord on your welder is pretty short (they saved money in gauge and length) A long extension cord of 12 or even 10 gaq is a bad idea.

Pat

It's also duty cycle. If the duty cycle is low it will allow time for the wire to cool down.