Any suggestions on an affordable option to extension cord for 50amp 25' extension cord?
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Any suggestions on an affordable option to extension cord for 50amp 25' extension cord?
I would say the cheepest would be to go to lowes or somewhere and buy 25 feet of wire like is ran to your plug and a couple plugs. Also northern has a welding cord I believe
Well you picked the wrong decade to buy one of those, You could build your own from Home depot parts and a dryer pug, use a Steel box and steel cover on the female end; I will be switching over to this soon. I used a rubber booted plug 10 years ago and now the rubber that covers the lugs has started to crack and I have to unplug it from the wall first because I am nervous to hold on to it to swap out plugs. I recently saw a guy selling a 100' spool of either 10/3 or 8/3 on Craig's list for $90, that was a good deal but I didn't need it. good luck...!
Rather than using a steel box on the end, you can get a plastic one that has the female end in it.We used a cord that was wired into the box and had one of these plastic housings on the end.
I use plastic ends but for a good one ya pay quite a bit for them.
This 25 foot one is on ebay now for $75 delivered. It is not a great deal, but it would work.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MIG-TIG-PLAS...item5647bd501a
http://www.brweldingsupplies.com/ima...CORD%20MED.jpg
If you really want to see some overkill, read this document from the US Forest Service webpage:
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/acad/e...sicdesigns.pdf
i fell asleep after 3 pages
pages 1 and 7 mention welders
Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Never really thought of Lowes and Home depot and buy the cable to make my own. Probably a little more cost effective. I will look into this as the $75 option on ebay is a bit steep, however an option nonetheless.
Thanks again everyone.
Do you really need a 50a. cord? What are you running?
[QUOTE=Buggy Chief;20857]Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Never really thought of Lowes and Home depot and buy the cable to make my own. Probably a little more cost effective. I will look into this as the $75 option on ebay is a bit steep, however an option nonetheless.
Thanks again everyone.[/QUOTE
By the time you buy the cable adn ends, you'll probably have that in it for a not as nice cord.
PP 205. Need 40amp; seems everything is rated either 30amp and 50amp.
Looking at the specs, you could get away with a 30a. cord except for the max. starting. I don't know about you, but I pretty much never use my stuff at max. Starting is a momentary surge, you won't cook a cord with it.
I've owned this same cord for about four months and I like it. Both ends light up to indicate power.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe from NY
That one doesn't look like a bad deal. I just bought a 50' 10/3, with the wrong ends, for almost a hundred.
Thanks...found it on Cyberweld $72 w/ free shipping.
Thats a good price for 8/3 cable with the price of copper I bought a 50 foot 8/3 off ebay for $120 There is no way you could build one for that price.:)
I needed a 220v extension cord and bought this http://www.ebay.com/itm/310364506402#ht_3437wt_1140 I purchased the 6-50R & P ends at Home Depot and made a 25' cord. I then made a 6 foot pigtail to adapt to 110v receptacle. I still have about 65' for a longer 220v extension if/when I need it. The wire is not very flexible in 20 degree F temps, but it was well priced and good quality. Decent seller.
If it's not going to be put through the ringer, you could try just romex 8ga. Probably the cheapest non-aluminum route. plus, you can form it around obstacles and it will somewhat stay put.
Or double up some 12 or 14 ga romex with a 4" ziptie every foot.Quote:
Originally Posted by hooda
You could get by with romex or 10/3 cord but I try to buy the best my wallet will allow and buy it once. If I could afford Snap-on tools thats what I would buy but can't so get by with craftsman but I sure as hell don't buy crap tools that you use once and throw away. Don't cheap out on something that will kill you or burn your shop down. Just my 2 cents worth:D
thanks cudda...My thoughts too.
8/2 Romex is stranded, it's pretty flexible.
I've purchased "short" lengths of SO cord from this site before: http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/heavyduty-so.aspx?page=2
I say "short", since most places that sell SO usually have a 200' or 500' minimum. This place will sell 50' or 60' minimums. SO is a rubberized, stranded conductor extension cord that is waterproof and very flexible, yet some what expensive. It's way better than NM/UF options you have at the warehouse stores.
Mike
Man thats top of the line but ouch it is a little pricey for me like snap-on vs craftsman. I misread price for some reason I had a brain fart $1.75 is good price what was shipping cost web site says minimum order 100' ?
That 8/3 is less than the 10/3 extension I bought, per foot.
edit: I just ordered 75', I'll return the fancy ext. cord I was just about to cut the ends off of. Thanks.
Glad it helped. I had to go about 100ft from my electrical service to my garage where I run my welder. When I looked at the labor and cost of trenching for conduit, 6/4 for the run, sub-panels, etc, I acually found that it was cheaper to buy 110ft of 4/4 and build a spider box. As an added benefit, I was able to make the cordset compatible with my generator, so the whole setup is portable (if you can call 100ft of 4/4 SOOW "portable"). The SO cord is way heavy, but plenty flexibile, so it works well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake98
Cheers
Mike
What does your name refer to Mike? I have more 'hood time' piloting than welding, but sadly not enough of either.
Yeah, same here. I was about half way to my instrument rating when I gave it up a few years ago. It got to be just too expensive ... however, I have a habit of trading one expensive hobby for another ;) .
Cheers
Mike
There was a big discussion on welding web about making an extension chord; there was a thread that was a how to. I doubt you will beat $75.00 for a chord. I paid $35.00is for my chord because the checkout lady at home depot did not understand the difference between 30' and 30 quantity. She thought the guy wrote down the wrong number after all there was only one piece of wire! After arguing with her and telling her she was wrong... I paid and walked out the door.
Me too. I seem to trade expensive hobbies as well. Owned a Bonanza V-35B and really miss her....however, Not the annuals, maint., etc... Was really fun, but can be a PIA with Maint. and takes the fun out of it.
Earlier (on page 2) I gave a link to an ebay purchase I made of 100' of 10/3 extension cord for 69.99 shipped. Can't beat it at 70cents a foot, and now that I have heat in my shop, it is very flexible. Romex is not to code or recommended for extension cord, but only for in-wall attachment. I cut off the 15amp plug/receptacle from the extension cord and added proper ends for the first 25' one I made. I have plenty left for 'growth'. In my breaker panel I have 6/3 from the 50amp breaker to the wall-mounted welder 6-50R receptacle. Overkill for now, but who knows, I might want an old Lincoln tombstone someday, which requires 50amps. My current welder has max input amps of 32amps. Due to a 60% duty cycle of my current machine, and that extension cords can take duty cycle into consideration versus continuously loaded wiring, 10/3 is more than capable.
Attachment 4662Attachment 4661
Without wishing to hijack, I learned to weld in A&P mechanic school and got my license at 19. Got most of the flying ratings in my 20s and flew charter, corporate, instructed, in nice machines up to Beech 18s airmail and cargo at night/instruments in the midwest. Personally loved the old planes and last one was a '46 aeronca champ. Loved flying seaplanes, and gliders. Later went into engineering work on F-16, B-2, turbine engines, and more. Anyone who has been there, knows that flying is in the blood and the heart, and will be forever.
The one issue you may have with 10/3 over a 100' cord is voltage drop. The calculator says that this should be about 12 volts, which could leave you as low as 228V if your utility is at 240V. Just something to keep in mind if you have any problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by KSmith
Cheers
Mike
Four pilots on one thread, very cool, being that we're something like 1 in 400,000 last time I heard.
My 8/3 arrived today. Not too heavy, 75'.
You guys realize we're all gonna be expected to build our own bush planes now, right? I'll start a new thread: My Top 10 Excuses... 10. I cut up all the neighborhood kids' bicycles and...
You gotta be more careful with your metaphores these days :P That's a nice bunch of experience, I'm jealous.. I've got about 350hrs. private, complex, maybe 2/3 thru ifr (I like to think). I did my primary at CDW, stopped for about 7 yrs., then picked it up again at FWN? (sussex) Been stopped for about 10 yrs. now, if funds permit.. will do it again.Quote:
Originally Posted by KSmith
Awesome...
Amen...It's in the blood. I have about 300 hours with 250 in High Performance Complex. Never got the old IFR, but I must say that I am impressed with you guys getting an A&P rating. Quiet honestly, that is how you make money in aviation:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake98
How about some pics of that beauty!Quote:
Originally Posted by Buggy Chief
Ok. How do you post pics here?
It's best to upload the pics straight fom your computer so they appear as a thumbnail... like this... just mouse over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buggy Chief
Attachment 4663
I'm especially jealous of the sea plane experience. I've always dreamed of flying an Albatross some day (i.e. before the few that are left end up in a museum).
Jake, you should check out X-Plane ... it's a cheap but decent way to practice IFR procedures. Also, google VATSIM. It's way over the top, but also kind of cool.
Cheers
Mike