More extension cords!!!

[Canuck]

Question for all you electrical experts or anybody that knows. Have 50 foot cord that is 8/4 wire that I want to run my 180sd from. Am I going to have a loss in performance with this?
Thanks KB

[cope]

Re: More extension cords!!!

Originally posted by Canuck
Question for all you electrical experts or anybody that knows. Have 50 foot cord that is 8/4 wire that I want to run my 180sd from. Am I going to have a loss in performance with this?
Thanks KB

I don't know what the 180 pulls at the top end, but you should be OK. Look in the manual; there should be a reccomended length/wire size chart somewhere.

[dcsound]

According to the NEC charts, you should be OK with 8/4 cable if it is of a heavy duty stranded type such as SO, SOW, SE, or SEOW and in free air (not installed in walls). If you were installing a permanent (in the wall) plug for it, #6 would be required. Don't use Romex (plastic insulated solid house wire) for a portable extension.

Some helpful voltage drop and cable size calculators are available at the link below. Remember as the input voltage drops, the welder will draw more current. A simple rule of thumb is that if the extension gets unacceptably warm during use, it's time for a larger cable. Duty cycle and the amount of welding current that you are using will factor in as well. Since most single phase 220V welders have a connection for the two hot AC legs (Black & Red or 2 Blacks) and the ground (Green), if you use 8/4 or 6/4 wire, the neutral (white) will not be connected. I have in some cases changed the plugs on equipment so that everything uses the 4 prong 50A plug instead of the threeso I only need one variety of extension, but this is something that is application specific and should be taken up with a qualified electrician.


http://www.ifigure.com/engineer/electric/electric.htm

[Sberry]

With that cord that machine wont even know there is a cord on it. A 10/3 would be a lot lighter, but since you have it,, fine. And if anyone is interested the derating factors for welding machines can be found in Art 630.11 I believe.

[Canuck]

Thanks for the help everybody I will let you know how it works because I have to do some jobs in the drive way.