How Long Can I Make My Leads??

Dan,

30 feet shouldn't be a problem unless you have a very small, 110 volt wimp arc welder. At work, I've seen sub contractors with 150+ foot long leads on their welders. And they are welding 3/8" thick steam pipes. Keep the wire size as big as possible and you should be all right.

 

Yeh,

You won't have to worry about having enough with that one. COOL! Should be nice not having to have to drag that big beast around. Just grab the leads and go!!!!

 

Miller has an information page that shows a nomogram (chart) used for computing weld cable sizes.
http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/Paralleling.pdf
The article is about paralleling arc welders, but the chart applies to single welders also. The chart recommends keeping voltage loss to 4 volts or less. The first thing you need to determine is how many amps (max) you'll be welding at. Then it's just a matter of figuring the TOTAL length cable you'll be using. That's from the machine to the electrode and back to the machine. The cable size will be determined by the voltage loss allowed. The chart recommends using the next cable size up for A/C welders. I figured welding at 150 amps with a total cable length of 100' and a voltage drop of 3.5 volts, the cable will need to be #1. Of course, a cheaper solution would be to make an extension cord for the welder, but then you'd have to make the welder portable. I guess it comes down to convenience vs cost. With the cost of quality cable as it is, I chose the extension cord.

 

Ya got a point there Dan. A runaway welder wouldn't be a good thing, as Martha would say! R) BTW - Good quality #1 cable goes for about $1.50 ft. around here. If i were you, I'd get 100' and use 40' for the ground and 60' for the stinger, but then I wouldn't be paying for it, either.

 

I have 60 ft leads on my ancient lincon a/c buzz box and welded my kiln together (30hrs welding) and it was fine. I only paid $30 for the welder and cables so you can get an idea how much of a piece of crap the welder is. You should be fine with a good welder.

 

I am a state certified welder and obviously weld for a living and I can tell you that with 2ga you could easily go 75 feet. People buy these big welders and think that you will actually need the 250amps that they are rated for. Honestly, I weld structual 3/4 haunches on and never run hotter than 95amps. All about good heat, proper penetration, and a steady good weld. Kinda got off subject there. With the cables, if you do go larger you can still make the last 10-15ft a smaller Gauge ("Rat Tail" makes it easier to monuver and work with) becouse the first 50ft was large enough not to drop any amps. Good luck Zach

 

You can make a rat tail with a Tweco Cable connector or a cable splice.
http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/w...anner_text=/va=banner_image=.html?id=fnMLu38N I have 30' of 1/0 cable on my stick welder with 5' of 2gauge on the end. The connectors are good for the ground side too. I have a standard ground clamp and a set of cheap vice grips that have rat tails on them that i can plug into the ground cable.