How to make an extention cord...

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all I have to say is two wrongs dont make a right...
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But are either of the things wrong?


I see a parallel between this thread and the HI threads where we pick on HIs for calling out violations that do not exist.

I have not noticed anyone list any actual NEC violations, everyone is just saying it's not right.
 
K8MHZ said:
I have a buddy that is a sheet metal worker. He made a 240V extension cord for his welders by pulling some leftover THHN through a garden hose.

He was very proud of his ingenuity. I, of course, was less than impressed....
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Was the garden hose still connected to the hose bib ? cause that would be impressive if it was. :roll:
 
Here is my less ghetto version.


10/3 Ridgid extension cord

Run to a 30Amp two pole breaker

Since the chassis of the welder is connected to the third pin, the cord is H1, H2, Equipment Ground. Lands on the ECG strip in the panel.

My welder is rated at 27amps max (like if you were welding a rail road track):wink:

weld1.jpg


weld2.jpg


weld3.jpg
 
Here is my less ghetto version.


10/3 Ridgid extension cord

Run to a 30Amp two pole breaker

Since the chassis of the welder is connected to the third pin, the cord is H1, H2, Equipment Ground. Lands on the ECG strip in the panel.

My welder is rated at 27amps max (like if you were welding a rail road track):wink:

weld1.jpg


weld2.jpg


weld3.jpg
 
K8MHZ said:
I have a buddy that is a sheet metal worker. He made a 240V extension cord for his welders by pulling some leftover THHN through a garden hose.

He was very proud of his ingenuity. I, of course, was less than impressed....
Click to expand...

Where have you been? That's one of those new water-cooled extension cords.
 
iwire said:
But are either of the things wrong?


I see a parallel between this thread and the HI threads where we pick on HIs for calling out violations that do not exist.

I have not noticed anyone list any actual NEC violations, everyone is just saying it's not right.
Click to expand...


Not having a box on the receptacle is a violation but I'm too lazy to look it up. That is dangerous.
The rest doesn't bother me, we had several welders hospitalized over the years working in our tunnels and touching the stinger while standing in water. The tunnels were always wet and welding the pipes was a full time job.
 
iwire said:
Now we get into the what ifs. :smile:

How is that different then this?

Outdoor_Extension_Cord.jpg


16 AWG cord with three 15 amp receptacles at the end, if I use it improperly it will be overloaded.
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I suppose you could plug it into a 20A outlet and plug a couple of 1500W heaters in it. Even so, it probably would not hurt anything if the cord was unrolled out on the floor. Hard for heat to build up that way.

OTOH, you could use #12 cord for the same purpose and if it was coiled up it might well melt the insulation eventually.
 
petersonra said:
I suppose you could plug it into a 20A outlet and plug a couple of 1500W heaters in it. Even so, it probably would not hurt anything if the cord was unrolled out on the floor. Hard for heat to build up that way.
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I'd be more concerned with the damage to the floor than the cord. 25 amps will warm up that #16 quite well.

The two heaters would act as current limiters for the cord, which would probably do most of the heat production.
 
LarryFine said:
I'd be more concerned with the damage to the floor than the cord. 25 amps will warm up that #16 quite well.

The two heaters would act as current limiters for the cord, which would probably do most of the heat production.
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it might mar the floor (depending on what the floor is made of), but it would probably not create a fire hazard unless it was coiled up on itself.

i have seen extension cords that are hot enough to be very uncomfortable to the touch, but nothing bad happened.
 
HawkEye_Pierce said:
th_weld3.jpg
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Why a 14-50R instead of a 14-30R if it can only support 30A?

By the same token I could argue that a 10/3 cordset terminated with 6-50R and 14-50P could lead to some fun in the future when an unknowing individual uses it to connect a 50A load.
 
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Dont know if you guys noticed I suggested cord caps in that thread. I changed out the cord on my welder to a 50A 'california' - like the ones used to feed job site spider boxes. (sans neutral un-necessary on the equipment) As I have suggested and done for welders on-site a few times because I was sick of seeing the jury-rigging. It's a clean and convieniant method... As that type of outlet is available on most job-sites.
 
Rampage_Rick said:
By the same token I could argue that a 10/3 cordset terminated with 6-50R and 14-50P could lead to some fun in the future when an unknowing individual uses it to connect a 50A load.
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Glad to see you have been following along. :grin: #12
 
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