*Cheap* 10 ga. dropcord?

[Caver Dave]

Well, the breaker & wiring have been done for months (50A breaker/50A "welder" rect.) and the HH175 I bought from Andy is working flawlessly (thanks again to Andy for the great deal & awesome service *after* the sale)... unfortunately, the 5' pigtail on the welder won't allow it to be run anywhere but the "shop".

I need about 40'-50' to get it out the rollup door to weld on the trailer (no way to get the trailer in the door due to length & limited drive space). The pro welders on the Hobart forum say it will be fine up to 50' using a 10ga. cord and do it daily themselves. Many report finding them for $20-25, BUT...

My searches have only turned up several in the $50+ range (not counting the new plug/rect.) from various online & local vendors. Is this the bottom line or does somebody here have a source for less??

 

[braxton357]

Go to lowes and build one yourself. They have everything you need on the same isle.

:edit: When I wired my outlet up, I left 40ft of extra wire coming out of the wall and put the outlet on the end of it rather than mounted to the wall. It's like a permanent extension cord...but saved the need for me to buy another male and female end.

 

[Metto]

your welder is not going to run as good on a long extension cord unless you make it heavier guage. the amp draw will be too great for 10ga

 

[Ron]

your welder is not going to run as good on a long extension cord unless you make it heavier guage. the amp draw will be too great for 10ga

I agree.
I have not been to the pro welders board, and I do not doubt that there are anecdotal stories there, BUT... you need to see what the amp draw is your welder. The fact that it requires a 50A breaker tells you right there you need to be well above 10 gauge.
Im not at home with an ugly book handy, and its been years since I was tested but IIRC 6 GA is good for 60 A. Of course as distance increases so must gauge. For our shop stic welder we built a drop cord out of 6/3 SO cable. that yields very flexible and oil water resistant coating. cost was ~$100
you could do it with A lower grade res cable from a lowes or HD for half the coin, but your gonna have a very stiff non user friendly tool.

I wouldn't skimp on gauge here the results will be inconsistent arc strengths, potential welder damage or fire...

 

[upnover]

I had to go the cheap route with the stiffy from s'Lowes.
But, it works, just a hassle to coil up.
10ga is just not big enough. Rule to remember, be it AC(welder) or DC (Winch) the absolute worst thing you could do to either is starve it for power.
Small gauge will heat up with heavy load nuf said. Get the heavier stuff Dave

 

[braxton357]

The miller/hobart/etc. 175a migs are rated at <20a max. 10ga will be more than plenty at only 50ft. I personally used 8/3, but If/when I do it again for a dedicated mig cord, I'll use 10/3 for ease of use.


:edit: bigger isn't always better. If this were the wire to the outlet, I would say go 8/3 since it's a 50a breaker...but it's a dedicated welder drop cord. The heavier/stiffer it is, the more of a PITA and more expensive it is.

 

[shawn]

The miller/hobart/etc. 175a migs are rated at <20a max. 10ga will be more than plenty at only 50ft. I personally used 8/3, but If/when I do it again for a dedicated mig cord, I'll use 10/3 for ease of use.

Exactly. I made a 10/3 drop cord for my 175, tho it's only about 30' long. The only limiting factor is the duty cycle. If you look on the side of the box, you'll see it's only rated to draw 19-20A.

 

[Ron]

IF its drawing ~20A a 10 will work... 8 would be safer to 10g. is ok

My question, WTF would it require a 50A breaker if it draws ~20A

 

[braxton357]

It doesn't require a 50a breaker...he just used one. Maybe in the future he'll plug a massive air compressor or plasma cutter into the outlet... Though yeah, in general...match the breaker and wire to the appliance.

 

[Blkvoodoo]

your welder is not going to run as good on a long extension cord unless you make it heavier guage. the amp draw will be too great for 10ga

SHHHHH!!!!!

Don't tell my Plasma cutter, welder or Air compressor this, been running them this way for 5 years, works just fine.

10-4 housed wire is your best bet, (double ground/neutral) THIS IS NOT ROMEX this is the same wire used for concerts and festival eventstotal diam 3/4" or so.

My shed is wired "temporarilly" this way till I either move or can afford to build a garage. Twist lock plugs on either end grounded panel in the shed with breakers.

There is a very noticable differance running my welder on a 12ga extension cord VS this 10ga set up. Welder doesn't like the 12ga at all.

Kevin

 

[rockcity]

But remember, do it right the first time, cause if its not quite up to par, and the house burns down, then good luck getting insurance to pay for it

IIRC, I think I use a 8-3 wire for my 225/125 buzzbox on a 60amp breaker

 

[shawn]

IF its drawing ~20A a 10 will work... 8 would be safer to 10g. is ok

My question, WTF would it require a 50A breaker if it draws ~20A

It doesn't. The maximum recommended fuse size is 30A, 25A if it's a slow-blow. Consult p.17 of your owner's manual.

 

[braxton357]

But remember, do it right the first time, cause if its not quite up to par, and the house burns down, then good luck getting insurance to pay for it

Indeed. Switch your 50a out for a 30, then run some 10ga wire. That way if your welder shorts out it will blow the breaker before it or your wire catch on fire.

 

[Ron]

It doesn't. The maximum recommended fuse size is 30A, 25A if it's a slow-blow. Consult p.17 of your owner's manual.

I have no owners manual.
I have no mig
All I have is a Lincoln 220/225A buzz box
Just trying to understand the logic electrically.

 

[shawn]

I have no owners manual.
I have no mig
All I have is a Lincoln 220/225A buzz box
Just trying to understand the logic electrically.

Well, it's going to vary with the box. Yours might recommend a 40A breaker, for all I know. The manufacturers usually put that NEMA 6-50 on the lead so that it'll plug into a standard 50A circuit, but to be "proper", you should swap out the breaker at the panel to the maximum size recommended for that particular welder.

You could run it for years on a 50A breaker and 6ga main wire, and never have a problem. But if something went bad in the box, it could heat up the (relatively small) lead line on the welder or melt internal parts, catch fire, etc, before ever drawing the +50A that the breaker would need to pop.

In the case of this particular welder, Miller/Hobart says it should have a 30A breaker max, and 14ga wire (hots and ground) minimum. A 10ga drop cord can handle 30A, which should be more than enough. An 8ga cord would be fine as well... but it's not really necessary, unless you want to spend the extra cash, or plan to use it with a larger welder later on.

 

[Caver Dave]

Thanks for 'xplaining it to the gallery Shawn! (have you been to the house?, cause you hit it all on the nose!)

FWIW, I *have* 6AWG run from the panel to the 50A recpt. (about 18" total length) and because NC code says I may not have more than 1 wire/breaker lug, I jumped out of the 50A recpt. with 10AWG to another 20A(?) recpt. for my compressor.

While obviously the solid conductor "romex" wiring from Lowes would be the "least expensive", I concur with others that it's a royal PITA to store/coil/work with.. hence my questions regarding a "drop cord" (i.e., stranded conductor)...

 

[braxton357]

I don't think you're going to find 10/3 SO wire for less than $1.50ft anywhere, plus $10 an end for receptacles. You'll be well over $50 for sure.

 

[shawn]

I jumped out of the 50A recpt. with 10AWG to another 20A(?) recpt. for my compressor.

Errr... that's not a good idea. You should keep the wire the same gauge throughout the circuit, regardless of which type of receptacle you're putting on the line, or what size breaker you're using.

 

[Caver Dave]

Errr... that's not a good idea. You should keep the wire the same gauge throughout the circuit, regardless of which type of receptacle you're putting on the line, or what size breaker you're using.

Would have loved to, but there was no way the puny recpt. was gonna accept the 6awg... it had screw terminals like 110V/15A recpt/switch... not yoke type lugs like the 50A...