tig weld ground

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just wondering.  i have an old Airco 250 amp tig welder..   i have a 15' lead , but only a 4' ground on it.  i would like to extend the ground.  i realize i dont want to go smaller on wire for ground (of course) .   but if i replace the ground wire to be 15' or so ..  should i stay with the same size wire? or go to a heavier gauge ground do to making it longer .    only reason i asked, i was concerned about maybe having too thick of a gauge ground and effecting the welds.  would that be possible? thanks
Reply:Originally Posted by JonDjust wondering.  i have an old Airco 250 amp tig welder..   i have a 15' lead , but only a 4' ground on it.  i would like to extend the ground.  i realize i dont want to go smaller on wire for ground (of course) .   but if i replace the ground wire to be 15' or so ..  should i stay with the same size wire? or go to a heavier gauge ground do to making it longer .    only reason i asked, i was concerned about maybe having too thick of a gauge ground and effecting the welds.  would that be possible? thanks
Reply:Why not make up a whole new ground cable. not that expensive, cable,lug, and use your clamp.
Reply:In a pinch I have used jumper cables for extensions on my ground cable.....lolI also have had problems with the clamp getting hot and changed to a clamp that has better contact to the table/part its not the ground cable......  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:There's a well known chart in almost all welder manuals that will show the size wire you will need for max amps and the length of te cable.  If you goto the Miller site, any of their downloadable manuals has it.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:I know in commercial wiring the cable length doesn't affect the amp rating until you reach lengths far, far further than you would ever consider for a ground cable.  IIRC, it was over 1000'.TL;DR: For what you are doing you don't need up upsize for length.
Reply:thanks for all the replies/help.