welding supplies II

[Mark @ Everlast]

I'm waiting for Shield Arc to have a garage sale.:drool: He's got enough equipment to supply a small army so I'm sure he'd have what ever I wanted. It would even come with professional instruction on how to use it. I'd let him keep his first AC/DC welder though because it's obvious it has a lot of sentimental value to him.

Let a man get a little age on him, and they circle like vultures....lol.

 

[Arc weld]

I'm not holding my breath that the garage sale will be any time soon.:drink:

 

[Shield Arc]

Let a man get a little age on him, and they circle like vultures....lol.

Ain't it the truth! You should have seen what they did to my company pickup when I retired:shocked:. I always carried a lot of tools in the 3-tool boxes in the bed.

 

[newbury]

If we could get back to where to buy supplies. And please remember this is for the "hobbyist" or occasional welder who's not taking it off his taxes but spending (in my case) $$ I would rather be spending on tractors.

For example I don't have the knowledge to discern quality 240V plugs and connectors from cr@p. I realize "price" is often a discerning feature.

Since nobody has reported on a multiplug kit I'll have to wire it my self. So I start looking for something simple a Nema 10-50 plug. I find them priced from about $10@ at Home Depot to $102@ Fastenal. Is the quality of the $102 one 10 times the quality of the $10?

What about helmets? For the "hobby" welder/occasional user is the top of line Lincoln worth 5 times the price of an HF unit?

I was surprised to NOT find a recent thread on the better sources and supplies to get. SA frequently mentions one type of rod being better than another. But these gems of knowledge are scattered like rubies in North Carolina.

 

[Arc weld]

I'm not sure what plugs you are looking for. As far as a helmet, I think I can help. Auto darkening helmets that use a battery back up and have adjustable shade and sensitivity adjustments/grind mode are worth the extra money. If you shop around you can find them quite reasonable and not much more money than the solar only helmets. In fact you can buy a good auto dark helmet for about the same price as just a solar auto lens insert. Find a supplier who is a member of the IWDC and look for a Weldmark branded helmet. They are reportedly made in the same factory as Miller and designed by the same person. Don't take this as gospel, just what I was told. The standard view helmet is around $100 but they have a new digital one that just came out with a larger viewing area that is around $200-$225. I'm not sure about the new one but the standard view helmet uses AAA batteries you can buy anywhere. I think it's about the best deal for a helmet I've seen. I think they have a 3 year warranty as well and we've only had 2 come back in several years.

Wow! I just looked on the net and see them for $75 for a black one and $84.95 for flames. Very good deal in my opinion. I see a place called Welding Outfitter has the flame helmet for $79!

 

[newbury]

I'm not sure what plugs you are looking for.

In my potential welding places I have old dryer outlets (NEMA 10-30) old range/oven outlets (NEMA 10-50) and the newer series 14 outlets (30, 40, 60). All that I'd like to get to work with my 6-50 plug. In the past I've bought some plugs at a hardware store and they had the cheapest darn screws ever and were a pain to assemble. So I was looking for info on some good plugs/outlets.

I was hoping some online company sold a REASONABLY priced kit with all the correct plugs and a 6-50 outlet, sort of like a "master pack". Maybe you could start putting such a pack together and sell them (with the appropriate legalese ). I found one "kit" that was designed for the hardwood floor refinishers that took care of several plug formats but it was about $400 and only went up to 30 amps.

As far as a helmet, I think I can help. Auto darkening helmets that use a battery back up and have adjustable shade and sensitivity adjustments/grind mode are worth the extra money. If you shop around you can find them quite reasonable and not much more money than the solar only helmets. In fact you can buy a good auto dark helmet for about the same price as just a solar auto lens insert. Find a supplier who is a member of the IWDC and look for a Weldmark branded helmet. They are reportedly made in the same factory as Miller and designed by the same person. Don't take this as gospel, just what I was told. The standard view helmet is around $100 but they have a new digital one that just came out with a larger viewing area that is around $200-$225. I'm not sure about the new one but the standard view helmet uses AAA batteries you can buy anywhere. I think it's about the best deal for a helmet I've seen. I think they have a 3 year warranty as well and we've only had 2 come back in several years.

Wow! I just looked on the net and see them for $75 for a black one and $84.95 for flames. Very good deal in my opinion.

C'mon - give a guy a link!
Thanks for the info on the helmet that is REALLY helpful. Can I get them with cheaters?

And why does everyone like flames for extra $$? Must be a young crowd.

 

[dragoneggs]

If we could get back to where to buy supplies. And please remember this is for the "hobbyist" or occasional welder who's not taking it off his taxes but spending (in my case) $$ I would rather be spending on tractors.

For example I don't have the knowledge to discern quality 240V plugs and connectors from cr@p. I realize "price" is often a discerning feature.

Since nobody has reported on a multiplug kit I'll have to wire it my self. So I start looking for something simple a Nema 10-50 plug. I find them priced from about $10@ at Home Depot to $102@ Fastenal. Is the quality of the $102 one 10 times the quality of the $10?

What about helmets? For the "hobby" welder/occasional user is the top of line Lincoln worth 5 times the price of an HF unit?

I was surprised to NOT find a recent thread on the better sources and supplies to get. SA frequently mentions one type of rod being better than another. But these gems of knowledge are scattered like rubies in North Carolina.

newbury, great post... yes a source for an assortment of 240v plug/receptacles would be awesome! On the helmets I returned my HF helmet which was crap (dang near blinded me) and bought a plain black Miller helmet with no bells/whistles or whatever the expensive ones include for about $100 at my LWS. It seems to be just great for me.

 

[Arc weld]

I don't know how to add a link but just google Weldmark helmets. I believe they have clips for installing a cheater lens. The kits for converting plugs might not be readily available because of safety issues. Running a 50 amp machine off 30 or 40 amp capacity wiring could cause a lot of problems.

 

[Furu]

I was trying to figure out if this line of the thread is a search for plugs of different NEMA standards or a search for a kit that would allow a near infinite combination of adapters for all the 240 volt NEMA plugs.

As was stated in a previous post the plugs in many/most cases are rated at different amps thus the different configurations to insure that folks do not improperly plug a 240 appliance into the wrong rated line/receptacle. In addition, there was a code change several years back where 240 plugs had to have a ground and common for house appliances accessible receptacles. (just go buy a new dryer and they will ask you when your house was built so they can configure the dryer with the correct power cord.) You will not find (IMO) a combo kit that will allow you to switch compatibility from a 30 to 40 to 50 amp receptacles and 50 amp with common to 50 amp w/o common, for liability as well as safety reasons.

If the search is for the plug/receptacles then I find the Leviton brand is quite easily available in many places. Try HD, Lowes or your local hardware store. They are easy to install. If you want to make an 18-24 inch pigtail buy some 6 or 8 gauge wire, the desired plug and receptacle and a box and make your own. Normally 50 amps require 6 gauge wire. There is a code allowance for a welder but this is only a pigtail so plan accordingly. Do not go smaller gauge than 8 gauge. You can do it for about $25 total. For some reason plugs are a good bit more expensive than receptacles. The first time or two that I visited SA we had to remove my plug off my welder cord and put a different one on, so I made a pigtail adapter to avoid it and now I have a 50 amp rated pigtail that can be used to convert and avoid the plug swap.

Many of the Leviton plugs even are capable of dual ratings by how you insert the prongs.
For example Leviton makes one plug that is a 30/50 amp dual power plug 14-30P/14-50P.

If I have misunderstood the parameters of the search then ignore what I have posted.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I don't know how to add a link but just google Weldmark helmets. I believe they have clips for installing a cheater lens. The kits for converting plugs might not be readily available because of safety issues. Running a 50 amp machine off 30 or 40 amp capacity wiring could cause a lot of problems.

Weldmark 9-13 Variable Shade Auto Darkening Helmet

Here it is.

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