Upgrading MIG gun and cable

OutbackL130 · Dec 31, 2013

I have a Lincoln Weld Pak 180 MIG welder from Home Depot. I need a longer gun and cable assembly for it that is at least 20' long. Any suggestions on what would work?

Mark @ Everlast · Dec 31, 2013

Check with a Profax dealer. It's a great company and offers reasonable prices and good quality aftermarket products. I'm not sure that wire drive is strong enough to feed the wire that long.

Shield Arc · Dec 31, 2013

Whoa! 20-feet!:shocked: I'm not sure they make a regular Mig gun that long. I think you're looking at a push pull gun, which I don't think will work on that welder. This is a question for Arc Weld, and yomax4.

yomax4 · Dec 31, 2013

You can put a 25' gun on there but you will need to run .045 wire.:laughing:

grsthegreat · Dec 31, 2013

it would be wayyy cheaper to make an extension cord for the welder. This unit only requires 240 volt, 20 amps. So at minimum a #12 extension cord woukld work. Personally id use a 50 foot 10/3 SO rated cord.

jwmorris · Dec 31, 2013

The only feeder I have that is 20' is a Cobra push/pull. The little Lincoln's are small enough, if you use them in a shop, a scissor style mount would be a better idea. That would get you 20' or more swing/extension and keep the same feed cable you already have.

jwmorris · Dec 31, 2013

Put it on a gantry rig and you could reach any part of the building.

Either of them will also keep stuff off the floor and be less work to put up.

OutbackL130 · Dec 31, 2013

I use a 25' drop cord about 1" thick to move the machine around the shop when needed. For 95% of welding being done on my welding table I would like to keep the welder organized out of the way against the wall and the gun still be able to reach all the way around my welding table. The gun assembly on there now is really short maybe 8 or 10ft. I set up a new welding area and where the welding table is now the welder cart will be in the way.

I would be happy with a 15ft feed cable if that's more practical.

I like the idea of a gantry rig but its more involved than I want to get into right now.

Shield Arc · Dec 31, 2013

I really like the 15-feet long guns. Only trouble I ever had was when I built this lumber rack. I used my Linde VI-206 with .023 wire, I had to keep the gun as straight as possible at all times.

jwmorris · Dec 31, 2013

One other thought, I keep one of the little Lincoln's around just because they can get into places where you can't get with a larger Tweco or Cobra and still a lot quicker that a TIG, if they fit. If I had to swap everything around every time I needed it, it would be all but useless of quick was the plan.

grsthegreat · Dec 31, 2013

you know, i have a similar unit. I keep it on a rolling cart and just move it around as needed

jwmorris · Dec 31, 2013

In this photo you can see the size difference between one of my Lincoln guns and one of the 15' Tweco guns. Worth noting one is rated for hundreds more amps than the other too.

I too keep it on a cart, it's under the plasma on the sectional aluminum cart. I made it so I can lift them apart so I could load either into the truck if I needed to and not to have to haul both and put up in the shop takes up less space.

Arc weld · Jan 1, 2014

A 25' gun usually has to be special ordered. Off the shelf guns are usually 15' max. A 25' gun would be worth over half the cost of your welder. You're better off with an extension cord for the welder. MUCH cheaper.

BukitCase · Jan 1, 2014

Not sure about Lincolns, but I had a mm211 for about 6 months, wanted a longer gun than the 10 foot that came with it - miller told me the drive wasn't built to push a 15 foot gun, that the drive would likely burn out early and that the warranty would be void if I did it. I was working on a brush bucket for my backhoe at the time, it's 8' x 6' x 2' deep, space was limited around it, and a 10 foot gun wasn't working. I'd bought the spoolmate 100 with the unit, which has a 12 foot cable - got by with that, but when I found a mm252 with dual running gear, 30A spool gun, dual running gear and 2 large bottles for a good price, I went for it.

The 252 has a heftier drive and comes with a 15 foot gun. That's the longest standard gun I've seen, you can get about any length SPOOL gun you want since it's not trying to push wire thru the whole cable - the 30A spool gun is named that because it's 30 feet long.

I think that if you're happy with everything else on your mig, you might be better off just doing some sort of jib crane hanger for the mig, centered to give you the most reach -

Of course a spool gun is another option, they're not JUST for aluminum - the downside of that is wire COST - price a 1 lb. spool of S6 wire, multiply that by 11, then check the price for an 8", 11 lb. spool - (I'm assuming your mig won't take 12" spools, not familiar with it)

Just some things to think about... Steve

CNC Dan · Jan 5, 2014

BukitCase said:
Of course a spool gun is another option, they're not JUST for aluminum - the downside of that is wire COST - price a 1 lb. spool of S6 wire, multiply that by 11, then check the price for an 8", 11 lb. spool - (I'm assuming your mig won't take 12" spools, not familiar with it)

Save the empty small spool and wind some wire onto it from a large spool. Using a drill to spin the spool will make quick work of it.

Arc weld · Jan 5, 2014

I don't think a drill would wind the wire consistently enough for proper feeding. You could end up wasting a lot of wire. If it's a bench top type machine, it shouldn't be too hard to put close enough to the work. The low end spool guns aren't the greatest but still more expensive than an extension cord for the welder.

CNC Dan · Jan 5, 2014

Arc weld said:
I don't think a drill would wind the wire consistently enough for proper feeding. You could end up wasting a lot of wire.

It might be a waste of wire. But if I ever get a spoolgun machine, I would have to try it.
And I agree, moving the welder arround the work is likly the best solution.

BukitCase · Jan 5, 2014

Dan, I've considered "rewinding", but Arcweld's comments are exactly why that idea hasn't made the "top ten" on my list of things to try yet (that, and the 15' gun is doing all I need at the moment.)

When I see new spools of wire (all sizes) with perfectly laid turns of wire on them, it makes me wanna either find a level-wind system or just not do it. Maybe some day... Steve

Also, since I'd only be using the spool gun for tacking/light sheet metal, the cost shouldn't be too bad.