Dumb Question on Welding Leads

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Hey guys...So, Im in the process of building a cart for my Stickmate and new Hypertherm 45 (alright its built, now Im just waiting for the **** rain to stop so I can paint it), but now I need longer leads for the thing.It has some pretty skinny leads on it already, 15' for the stinger, and 10' for the ground clamp.With 25', I can reach almost anywhere in my barn. So, I wanna splice together the two original leads and add another 25' from ebay on there as the other lead. ($90 shipped for 25' of 1/0 lead and a new Jackson Stinger sounds hard to beat).These things are super skinny, Im told they're #4, but they work for me. I welded for like 7 straight hours with that thing cranked all the way up with some 5/32" 7018s in may and damn near killed the thing and they were pretty warm then, but they generally work for my purposes. I know having a heavy stinger lead and a wimpy ground lead will look really funny, but Im cheap so I dont care as long as it works My question is, how do you safely spice the things together?? Im guessing you just inter-twine the ends and wrap with like a roll and a half of electrical tape. I know this is kind of a dumb question, but Im sure you guys would know and Id hate to not ask and do it wrong, haha. Thanks in advance [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:tweco disconects about 15-17 apiece,, but MUCH better than clamps and tapeidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:Lanse, I always use Tweco connectors. Shop around for the best price! http://www.toolfetch.com/cable-conne...425-1100.shtmlDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Get the quick connects like a lot of us use on engine driven welders. less than $20 for a set and you can extend the leads as needed. Also, both cables need to be the same size. otherwise you are just wasting money on the bigger cables.The smallest ones will be the weak link in your system. The big ones can only carry as much current as the smaller ones will allow so you will in turn gain nothing by having one lead bigger than the other. You see this alot with people trying to put in large stereo systems that run huge positive leads then use a piece of 12 gauge wire for the ground.
Reply:you can use a smaller gauge lead (10-15 ft) on the stinger end ,so its not soooo heavyBUT ya don't want to use smaller to biggeridealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:use the quick disconnects. If you refuse to do that, you should solder the pieces together.Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:Originally Posted by prop-doctoryou can use a smaller gauge lead (10-15 ft) on the stinger end ,so its not soooo heavyBUT ya don't want to use smaller to bigger
Reply:quikconnectors are nice if you want some flexibility.if you just wanta splice, tweco sells a simple connector thats a bit cheaper. this is my 1ought  cable connecting to a 2ought thats my stinger lead..i dont take it apart so i didnt get the quikconnect Attached ImagesLast edited by weldbead; 09-08-2011 at 06:50 PM.
Reply:Assassin,  if you want to i guess you can do thatjust when i was an electrican, i  was told (an taught) that small to big will heat up at the point of connection ...(example 12 ga to 10 ga it will heat up there)  but thats been like 35 years ago in the OLD DAYSidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:Originally Posted by prop-doctorAssassin,  if you want to i guess you can do thatjust when i was an electrican, i  was told (an taught) that small to big will heat up at the point of connection ...(example 12 ga to 10 ga it will heat up there)  but thats been like 35 years ago in the OLD DAYS
Reply:i'm thinking there will be resistance at any conection /spliceisn't there more resistance in thicker gauge? but it will handle more amps/volts but this would be an other threadidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:I run 2/0 out to my #1 stinger and never noticed heat at the Tweco.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Alright, Some Tweco connectors I shall get. Thanks guys, you just saved me a lot of electrical tape. Have a nice night everyone [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:what i did on my LX was remove the cover and replace the #4 leads and attached short #2 pigtails thru the front with tweco connectors. you can reuse the clamps that hold the #4 leads in the front panel. if you are only going to have a total of 50' total for stinger and ground just replace the short leads with 2- 25 #2 leads. or if you want to go cheap get 25' #2 for the stinger and splice your #4 leads using a splice connection for ground. the 25' #4 ground is plenty big enough to handle the max your LX will put out. think about it 30' of #4 is the total circuit length now and it handles it and you will be shortening that weak length to 25'.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:If you keep ignoring the duty cycle your transformer will burn and you wont need a longer cable.You wont like the xtra weight of the 1/0 cable.No advantage to heavy cable if you feed it with a lighter  one.To simplify suppose you have a 1/2 water line and add a 1 inch pipe. the small pipe decides the flow rate.