Bought some new #4 welding lead

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I picked up 25 ft of 4 gauge welding lead yesterday.I dont do alot of stick welding so thats what fit the budget, but man that #4 is thin!! On the package it claims @ 25 feet its good for 150AMPs so I guess its sufficient. On a  positive note its light and easy to roll up. Anybody else using this gauge cable?Esab Multimaster 260Esab Caddy160IEsab 161 STLESAB powercut 650Esab 220i tigLincoln Precision Tig 225Lincoln IdealArc 250INE SKYLINE 1500Klutch 140iMEASURE TWICE IS FOR MORONS
Reply:I use it all the time actually....I use it to tie up my welding leads its stronger then rope and matches the color. In all seriousness yeah i bought some a year ago, was gonna make a jump cable out of it from the table to the work piece but i bought 3500 ' of 2/0 excelene and the #4 is still in a roll still in the package, might as well try it and see if it gets to hot for ya i am guessing it will if your doing much with it.I forgot how to change this.
Reply:you are right Jim about it being light and easy to roll up. once you get that 25' rolled up you can just stick it in your back pocket so your hands are free to handle the bigger stuff. just be sure to cool it off first.i have a couple of 10' whips made out of #4 and #2 for use on my heavier leads when i am in really cramped places. sometimes the heavy stuff just doesn't bend enough in tight spots. my little hobart lx235 came with short #4 leads and i pulled the cover and swapped the leads for #2 stubs that stick out 1' in the front with tweco connectors for adding longer leads. i used the leads i took off to make jumper cables to throw in my nieces pickup.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:For heavier work I have a 300A stinger on 25' of 1/0 but I use a 15' whip of #4 with a Lenco 200A holder for the lighter stuff- much lighter, more flexible, and easier to manipulate.   Good for continuous duty with 1/8" rods and intermittently with 5/32", but then stick welding is by nature intermittent  and it never gets hot in real-world use, at least not for me.JohnA few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:#4 welding lead is what the the factory installs on Hobart Stickmates.  It is adequate for its intended prupose.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:I put this together just for some production work I do. I needed it to be as light as possible to take it easy on my shoulder. I run 1/8" 7018, non stop, one right after the other, as fast as I can, to make 1200 welds on rebar. It's a 200A stinger and 10' of #4 lead. It gets very slightly warm when I'm using it like that."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:Thanks for the good info guys, being 1/8 is the max I use and im never @150amps usually 90 to around 120 Ill keep it..Now Im thinking about going with the lighter #4 on the stinger now for the flexibility and ease to roll up and put away .. My precision 225 also has #4 on the ground but it is only about 12ftEsab Multimaster 260Esab Caddy160IEsab 161 STLESAB powercut 650Esab 220i tigLincoln Precision Tig 225Lincoln IdealArc 250INE SKYLINE 1500Klutch 140iMEASURE TWICE IS FOR MORONS