Can I put on a longer cord?

[handirifle]

I have a Campbell Huasfeld (sp?) Mig welder, 85 amp, not a heavy duty beast, but it's what I have. My new shop has two seperate, dedicated 20 amp circuits for the welder, in different locations in the shop, but I still find the need for further reach. My delima is that at times the 8' welding cables are too short, and if working on something of size, that can't be moved, the 6' power chord will not allow the unit to be where I need it.

As far as I can tell (haven't pulled the panel off to look) the power chord is 14ga wire. Can I put on a longer power chord and still get full power from the machine? Haven't looked to see, first what ga the power cord is (pretty sure 14 though), and second, if a 12ga will fit through the cabinet.

How long could I go with existing ga wire before it gets detrimental to power?

 

[tommu56]

If you have the 20 amp Receptacle (one T shaped slot) I would look for a 20 amp extension cord 12 guage minimum 10 gauge better

NEMA 5-20R

tom

 

[LD1]

I agree, why not just use a 10ga extension cord and be done.

 

[kencunningham]

I have a 135 amp mig welder that i used to weld up angle iron for a building frame. I ran that off of a 100 ft 10 gauge extension cord and it worked just fine.

 

[kennyd]

I replaced the 6' 12/2 cord on my Miller 210 with 25' of 10/2 SO cord and a new plug the day after I got it home.

 

[captaincrab55]

I have a 135 amp mig welder that i used to weld up angle iron for a building frame. I ran that off of a 100 ft 10 gauge extension cord and it worked just fine.

OK, but just don't leave a 100' cord rolled up when you only need a few feet of cord... Using a portion of a cord with a load wrapped around ferrous/magnetic type metal may create a problem too...

 

[captaincrab55]

I replaced the 6' 12/2 cord on my Miller 210 with 25' of 10/2 SO cord and a new plug the day after I got it home.

That will work Great for home use, but in commercial use OSHA Frowns on it.. I know of a welder sent in for warranty repair where the owner replaced the OEM cord to a longer one. Welder was repaired under warranty, but the cord was replace to the OEM cord length as a billed item...

 

[Craig Clayton]

When you buy the Cabtire ( extension cord ) the green bonding wire is not counted in the conductor count. For example 10/2 Aromered Cable ( BX ) for wiring a welding machine has a bare bonding conductor ( Ground ) to the receptacle. When you plug in the cord and it has 10/3 hard usage cabtire, so always include the green.
The reason they can it cabtire is because the first rubber covered cords used the same rubber as horse drawn carriage tires.
If the new cable is larger use an approved cord grip connector not a romex or bx connector.
Craig Clayton

 

[lostcause]

i'd opt for the extension cord method myself. not knowing how big your shop is, i'd wonder whether maybe a 20' cord would allow you to reach anywhere from one of the two receptacles. i'd go as short as possible. the other good thing with an extension cord is that since it's running on 120v you'll be able to use the cord for all kinds of things. i'd expect a short 12/3 cord would work fine.

 

[Chilly807]

It's interesting how much an extension cord will drop the circuit voltage under load. I have an electric powered woodsplitter that I wanted to run at the end of a 100 foot cord. 14/3 cord showed 110 v with no load, then dropped to 75 volts measured at the splitter with it stalled in rock maple. Also the motor didn't sound happy starting.

I switched to 12/3, voltage dropped to slightly over 100 volts under full load, no more groan on startup either. 10/3 would have been better yet, but much more expensive and heavier to boot.

Sean

 

[RobertBrown]

I replaced the 6' 12/2 cord on my Miller 210 with 25' of 10/2 SO cord and a new plug the day after I got it home.

I did the same thing with my Millermatic 200. No problems yet, 7 years later.
Don't by the SO cord at the HI center, you'll have to re-mortgage the house. be sure and get from an electric supply.

 

[handirifle]

OK thanks. Like I said, I THINK it's a 14ga cord now (factory). The unit is 110v. I do not need 100ft, all I need is 10-15ft, so I will step up to the next guage wire for the cord.

 

[BXpanded]

Wiring for welders is different than wiring for other uses due to the intermittent nature of welding. The manual for your welder should list the wire size needed. Codes almost always allow that wire size. The extension cord can be the same size wire as the supply wiring specified. Don't forget to include the length of the supply and the extension cord when determining the wire size. The power cord on the machine might be smaller wire than the required supply wiring due to its short length, so don't use that size as a reference.

Note: Electrical codes may differ depending on your location. No warranty expressed nor implied! Check with someone local that is familiar with welding machine set up.

 

[sandman2234]

Just to be sure, and to think about the future, how about dropping two wire sizes, to a 10 guage, because there are times when a 10 guage is a really good idea. I know it is a little bit more money, but not near as much as having to go back and buy it again if you find the voltage drop is unacceptable at some point in the future.
David from jax

 

[crazyal]

You can add another vote for an extension cord. I would just make my own though. I would put the welder anywhere you think you may use it and then measure how much cord would just get you by. You think it's 10 or 15 feet, so not much. I would add an extra 10', you never know when you'll decide you want to weld up a roll cage for a race car and you want the welder inside the chassis.

Most likely 12 gauge wire will be all you need but for a few extra bucks you can go with 10' gauge and have some overkill (not bad when it comes to e-cords). Depending on how your welder is made you may ave to take more than you want to apart to remove the cord. Secondly what ever strain relief CH used it's no doubt set up for the original size cord. Trying to modify it for longer (and larger) wire may cause damage.

 

[handirifle]

The only info on my welder is references to supply amperage. A 20amp circuit is the heaviest called for and the unit only supplies 85amps welding from a 20 amp circuit. I'd assume if there were more amps available from a 30 amp (10ga) circuit, they would have said so. I might step it up to a 12ga cord but I cannot see the need for a 10ga, not for this little welder. I understand that a 10ga ext cord would lessen resistance from the outlet to the power supply, but if the power cord is currently 14ga, then a 12ga replacement cord would do the same, to a lesser degree, but I doubt this welder (it or me) would notice a difference.

I already have a 100ft 12ga ext cord hanging around but do not want to have to keep dragging it all over, plus it's WAY too long for my needs. Even giving the extra 10ft fudge factor suggested, I think 25ft would be long enough.

If I want more I will step up to a 220v welder and a 40amp circuit. I have some #8 wire standing by just for this purpose.

All the dedicated circuits ARE 12ga wiring with a max run length of 45ft on the one and 30ft on the other. Both have 20amp outlets, and each circuit has one, 2 outlet receptical, on the entire 20 amp circuit. There is one, 2 outlet receptical to a 20 amp breaker.

As for cost, based on what I've seen around here an ext cord is cheaper than making up a power cord. If so, I'll get an ext cord and cut one end off and hardwire it in the unit.

 

[Willl]

OK, but just don't leave a 100' cord rolled up when you only need a few feet of cord... Using a portion of a cord with a load wrapped around ferrous/magnetic type metal may create a problem too...

Mr Crab, WTH ?

 

[Redneck in training]

I also vote for extension cord. I bought 60 ft of dryer (flat three wire) cable, plug and outlet and assembled the extension. Don't remember the gauge but I think it was 8.

 

[lostcause]

The only info on my welder is references to supply amperage. A 20amp circuit is the heaviest called for and the unit only supplies 85amps welding from a 20 amp circuit. I'd assume if there were more amps available from a 30 amp (10ga) circuit, they would have said so. I might step it up to a 12ga cord but I cannot see the need for a 10ga, not for this little welder. I understand that a 10ga ext cord would lessen resistance from the outlet to the power supply, but if the power cord is currently 14ga, then a 12ga replacement cord would do the same, to a lesser degree, but I doubt this welder (it or me) would notice a difference.

I already have a 100ft 12ga ext cord hanging around but do not want to have to keep dragging it all over, plus it's WAY too long for my needs. Even giving the extra 10ft fudge factor suggested, I think 25ft would be long enough.

If I want more I will step up to a 220v welder and a 40amp circuit. I have some #8 wire standing by just for this purpose.

All the dedicated circuits ARE 12ga wiring with a max run length of 45ft on the one and 30ft on the other. Both have 20amp outlets, and each circuit has one, 2 outlet receptical, on the entire 20 amp circuit. There is one, 2 outlet receptical to a 20 amp breaker.

As for cost, based on what I've seen around here an ext cord is cheaper than making up a power cord. If so, I'll get an ext cord and cut one end off and hardwire it in the unit.

i'd just keep it as an extension and not use it for the appliance cord. keeping it as an extension will allow you to use it for the welder and anything else you might want - most circular and miter saws are 15a now, so a #12 extension would be more than good when working with them too.

i agree with your thoughts on not going past #12 on the cord. if you have a 15'-25' cord attached to a 6' cord, you're not really into a length where you will see much for voltage drop. at 100' then you have a different story. i can't think of anything that will run on 120v that requires a 20a-30a circuit, so on a short cord a #10 probably isn't needed for anything but peace of mind.

 

[ecoslik]

I have a pair of Lincoln 140HD, 120v MIG units. I run them often on 100' 10ga extension cords. In fact, I have run them MANY times on 400'-600' of 10 ga extension cords. When we use this much extension cord, we use a 30amp circuit/breaker. Yes, there is some voltage drop (measured 108 volts at 600' on this 30 amp circuit while running the Lincoln on its high power setting with slow wire feed), but the cords and equipment do not get abnormally hot from the resistance since we are using high quality plugs and cords.

The Lincolns are rated to draw 2000 watts at full power which is 83% of a 20 amp circuit (watts/volts=amps) which is right at the limit of a 20 amp breaker before it trips since modern breakers (ex. Square D) fault/trip at about 80% of their rated capacity. For all of my work bench outlets, I switched to 25 AMP breakers so I can draw a full 20 amps before the breaker trips which is expecially important/helpful for the chop saw that is rated at 2400 watts under full load.