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Welding extension cord recommendations

DavidR8

DavidR8

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I'm in the market for a 240v extension cord for my 225A TIG machine. Doesn't have to be long, 25ft would do it.
Running off a 40A breaker so thinking 8ga is appropriate but I'm no expert.
What are folks using for welder extension cords?
 
You can actually derate the conductor sizes for welding machines depending on duty cycle

There was thread on this recently somewhere actually

8awg will work fine, it is overkill, and those commercially available "welder extension cords" are pretty unwieldy, more commonly (in industry, 400a modern machines) use 10awg for the extension cord, it's much nicer to deal with, lighter and cheaper


That being said, if you come across one of those "welder extension cords" for real cheap, no reason not to use that
 
A while back I was looking for another one to make a power cord for my welding cart, and found the Vevor ones to be the best bang for the buck. Then I lucked into finding one on market place for $40. My first one came with my mig, so now I have 2 8awg x 25', and near as I can tell they're both the same as the ones you get at TSC/Peavey mart. I also have about 40' of 8/3 romex that I used before I got those. Not ideal, but it works. Between those 3, and my long stick leads I could go weld the mailbox. At the neighbors place.
 
Doggggboy said:
Princess Auto. 25 or 50 foot. The fifty is on sale right now.
Click to expand...
I have the 25' one from propoint on my welder...no issues with it per say, but it's not a flexible cord by any stretch of the imagination. Unless you make your own cord with some SOOW, you'll pretty much be stuck with non-flexible ones, though because the tool (welder) isn't handheld like you might have for a normal tool on an extension cord, it's not really the end of the world.

Also, despite the ability to derate in code, there's no real reason to do this for the home DIYer.
 
I have two of those 8 awg princess auto style welder extension cords (25 & 50), and ~250ft of 10awg in 2 sections, I use the shorter 8 and just leave it hooked up, but it is a terrible cord, stiff, heavy, hard to hang back up on the wall. but it's not worth replacing.,

if I had no cords I would scour marketplace for some 10 or hit an electrical supplier for some, it's much nicer to deal with. 10/3 and 10/4 comes up used on Kijiji/marketplace somewhat regularly, either leftovers/extras from temp power boxes, or stolen from temp power boxes on jobsites, either way it tends to show up, it comes up in auction pretty regularly as well
 
I have a 25' and a 50' 8/3 that an electrician made up for me 25+ years ago. The 25 works fine, with no issues. I've never used the 50-footer but the 25 is always connected since both welder & plasma come std with such short cords. (at the business end of the cord I either have the welder or cutter plugged-in since i only have one 40 amp receptacle in the garage). My plasma needs max 220V 35A which is a bit more than the welder and way less than the 8/3 rating.
If anyone wants to buy or borrow the 50' cable - let me know. Borrow free, buy @ half of PA price - may need an adapter it.
 

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Maybe I'll hit up my local supplier and get some 10/3 and put one together.
 
Cabtire (So cable) is easy to find if you keep an eye out on marketplace/kijiji. Don't ask about new unless you're sitting down....10awg should be better, but still, it's not cheap. Cheaper to buy cords with molded ends.

I found some 17' 6/4 cabtire for $40 a couple weeks ago to make my power cord, but changed my tune when I got it home. It's a bit large...... The 8awg will be fine for my machines, as they're only fed via 40amp breaker anyway.
 
The reason pre-made stuff is hard to beat price wise is because it's not the same insulation/jacket, and often the conductors are not even the size they claim to be

The stuff you buy off the roll is often sjow or soow, basically rubber jacket, high strand count conductor, the stuff most cords are made from is a vinyl or polyethylene mix, stiff, thin, poor wear resistance, horrible in the cold, lower strand count and often undersized conductor

You can buy sjow cords premade...they are very expensive (relatively), and the jacket is much thinner than the bulk, so even then it's not the same

I go through a lot of extension cords, and always try to get at least sjow cords for winter use, this is something I have looked into and spent many of my dollaroonies on

I'm not saying don't buy the China 8awg, but do know there is a reason they are cheaper

I agree with @SomeGuy, the NEMA 6-50 plugs/ends out there aren't great, I much prefer twist locks, but home welders come with 6-50, and at 30$ a pop it's hard to justify switching things over
 
I have a 40amp stove receptacle in my workshop/garage and my welders have 50amp plugs . I had to make up a box at the welder end when I made my extension cord.
 
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