extension cords

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I was helping a friend welding up a project for him.  We were using a powermig 140c with .035 fluxcore.  This was my first time with fluxcore but my mig welds look good and are sound.  The porosity drove me nuts.  Started at the recommended settings, cleaned everything with an angle grinder, made sure I had a good ground.  I started to think that the porosity was just something you had to live with using fluxcore.  Well, as I spent some time thinking about the problem, I remembered someone here talking about adverse effects of using an extension cord on a welder.  The extension cord was a must because of location, so I took over my 10 gauge 100 footer.  Didn't touch the settings on the machine and presto, like magic, good looking clean (except for flux) welds.  Just passing this on. Reading about it here (probably a lot of months ago) led me to the solution to my problem.Rene
Reply:Good post. Thats one of the things a lot of guys forget about those little 110v machines. Since they are already faiely underpowered for what many are trying to do with them, line drop can cause some signifigant issues. Long lite gauge cords can affect their performance signifigantly...No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Good point, I learned many years ago on a 110v machine that an extension cord causes cold welds and almost no penetration.  Of course i learned this the hard way when the welds broke...
Reply:If a extention cord,  even if its the proper gauge ,  creats line drop severe enough to screw with weld output power.      whats to stop line drop created by hard lines in a home or garage?Ive had this rolling around in my head for a while.Realgear 140 MIGMore DeWalt tools that I prolly needDIY 160 amp 40 OCV MOT Stick Welder
Reply:Proper gauge will cause very minimal drop. That was his point. By switching to the 10 gauge cord, power available to the welder increased.
Reply:i just got ahold of 100' of 4 conductor 8 awg!!  shouldnt be any line issues with that beastRealgear 140 MIGMore DeWalt tools that I prolly needDIY 160 amp 40 OCV MOT Stick Welder
Reply:same rules apply to connections: frayed cable, broken clamps, dirty & loose fittings will cause flow restriction
Reply:Originally Posted by metalpooli just got ahold of 100' of 4 conductor 8 awg!!  shouldnt be any line issues with that beast
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWOther than the hernia you'll get draging it around! Oh even though it's a bit late, you probably could have gotten away with 3 conductor unless you are planning to use this to pull both 110v and 220v like some do for an aux outlet on a cart.
Reply:Another thing is, you should never use extension cords while they're coiled-up. Possible fire hazard.Don't let that iron in your lungs, turn to lead in your @$$!!!!
Reply:I had a travel trailer on a deer lease some years ago and I need to hook up the elec.  I had a 100 ft roll of 12 ga 3 conductor romex but I only needed about 10 ft.  Since it was a temporary connection, I decided to use the entire roll and just add a plug to one end and a socket to the other....even left most of the roll in the box it came in.After running the AC in the trailer for a while I checked the "extension cord" and it was hot as hell.  I realized using the entire roll was a bad idea so I decided to unroll and cut off only what I needed.  Problem was that the insulation had melted turning the romex into a big lump...total waste.Miller 211 w/ spool gunMiller Dynasty 200DXLongevity 60i IGBT plasmaO/A w/ crappy chinese torch/gaugesSouth Bend 10K latheGrizzly 4029 10x54 millGrizzly 7x12 hor bandsawangle grnders, bench grnder, bench belt sndr7.5 hp 80gal cmprsor
Reply:Just a data point.  My V150S manual claims it can be run on 200' of 12 gauge extension.  I have used up to 150' with no problems on 220v.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:update, just un-coiled the find and discovered shes actualy 100'no more line drop on the dock yipee!!Realgear 140 MIGMore DeWalt tools that I prolly needDIY 160 amp 40 OCV MOT Stick Welder
Reply:Originally Posted by metalpooli just got ahold of 100' of 4 conductor 8 awg!!  shouldnt be any line issues with that beast