Rolling up welding leads and inductance?

admin

Making a new cart for my welder and accessories. It's a cart for the Pheonix 456. So I have I believe a 15' MIG gun, and 25' - 30' of lead and ground for stick welding, as well as a 25' TIG torch. I'd like to make spools I can use to roll all the cables up for rapid unrolling without making a huge cluster. The MIG gun will obviously be completely unrolled prior to using and will be a relatively large diameter to prevent kinking, but the stick leads I may like to only unroll 10' or so, and the ground will only be unrolled enough to reach the work piece. I saw somewhere they don't make retractable 220v extensions cords because of the inductance (I believe that's the electrical terminology?) the coil creates. So is this something I should be worried about the ground or stick lead creating?John 3:16(2) Miller Pheonix 456(2) Millermertic 252Dynasty 210DXHobart 210MVPDoringer D350 SA Cold SawScotchman 350LT Cold SawWebb 10x50 MillWebb 15x40 LatheGeka Bendicrop Ironworker
Reply:Normally it is no problem for stick welding.  In an extreme case of several hundred feet of cable the extra resistance does have a slight effect.  The coiling of long leads when using pulse can have an effect however that is with wire feed welding which is not your question.  Inductance effects will only happen with the current rapidly changing as when using AC  or pulse. Coiling 220v leads likely has more to do with heat buildup.
Reply:Interesting video I took on this subject line. See post #10.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ighlight=dance"Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:You may find a difference between the situation where most of the cable is coiled and when laid out.  But it may help.  Some welders have an inductance control to changethe value of the inductance built in to the welder.  More inductance generally makes for a smoother arc. Test it out by coiling up your leads on the ground and welding this way vs stretched out.  I doubt if it will make enough difference to notice but it could.millermatic 130XPharbour freight 180 amp mig with added caps.hobart stickmate ac/dcpowerarc 200
Reply:That's a cool video, Stick-man. So the concern is almost entirely due to heat buildup? WeldingHomer, my welder has inductance control, but I don't think that would have anything to do with the inductance created by coiled leads.John 3:16(2) Miller Pheonix 456(2) Millermertic 252Dynasty 210DXHobart 210MVPDoringer D350 SA Cold SawScotchman 350LT Cold SawWebb 10x50 MillWebb 15x40 LatheGeka Bendicrop Ironworker
Reply:Some welders have a problem with the inductance of coiled leads. I doubt that 30' of lead would cause a problem but like weldinghomer says, easy to test.JohnA few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:Look at pipeline trucks....beginning of the video.They only spool out what they need to reach the pipe.Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:Only problem I seem to have with rolled up leads is that any thing metal in the general area will become magnetized.  Mostly inductance becomes a problem when higher voltage wires are run in the same raceway as lower voltage wire that run to plc circuits the induced voltage can cause funny things to happen, even blowing out transistors.  Not a big deal with welders as they are designed for this.....Measure with a micrometre, mark with chalk,  cut with a torch.Never force anything...just get a bigger hammer.RoyOld Airco buzz box approx 1974Lincoln mig pack 15Lincoln 175 square wave1954 9" south bend lathe
Reply:When I was in school (25+ years ago) we had to learn that stuff and made magnetic things in the lab using coils.     That would be Faraday's law of induction :    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday...w_of_inductionRoy in MN
Reply:Inductance tends to be a desirable thing in welding current. No worries. The 456 is one bad machine, love that thing. The magnetic forces created by 30ft of lead can be intense when wrapped up around steel. Do not leave your cell phone near your cart, lost one that way with that machine. I'm not sure if it was the magnetism or it was inducing a current in it, but it never came on again.Constant Current Weldor.
Reply:Inductors, coils, reactors or chokes. Whatever you want to call them, they are the simplest but least understood device used for electricity in my opinion. They are basically a piece of wire wound up like a spring. With AC welding, you should have no problem because the field is constantly collapsing. DC welding is different and some weldors here have mentioned anomaly's. From my point of view and experiance with coils, they are similar but opposite to a capacitor. If the magnetic field does not collapse and is stored like in a cap, it can bite. Some may say this is impossible but again, if the field does not collapse; it will hold a charge.Econodron, my two cents. Make your spools as large as possible and exceptable for your use.