2008 December | Bantam Tech Welding

Welder Cord

Posted in Uncategorized by admin on December 31, 2008

Welder Cord

220 volt extension cord?

I need a 25 foot extension cord for my arc welder. The outlet is 50 amps and in my garage. There are some things I need to weld that I can only get to my driveway and not close to the outlet. What gauge wire should I use to make the extension cord?

Several factors come into play. What kind of wire was used to run from the main panel to your 50A garage outlet? The better answer is copper. What guage is that wire? Likely to be 6 guage for a 50amp ciruit.

The next big question is how long is the wire between your garage outlet from your main panel? Are they on opposite ends of the house? Hopefully the answer is about 75 feet less.

I'm guessing that there is nothing else on that circuit... if there is, you'll do better to turn it off --- at least temporarily while working with the extension cord.

What you want to avoid the voltage drop that might occur from the complete run... that is, how far (including the 25 feet into your driveway) is it all the way to your main panel?

Assume the total run is 100 feet or less, then you can use the ARC welder without noticable voltage drop (i.e. dimming) by using 6 guage wire for the whole trip including the extension cord.

If the existing wiring is 8 guage, and your ARC welder only needs 40amps, replace the breaker with a 40amp, and you can get away with 8 guage for the entire run.

If the run is longer than 100 feet, you should use the next thicker guage.

Good luck.