2ga welding cable vs 2ga battery cable

admin

I need a new set of arc welding leads, nothing too long maybe 25ft.Is there adifference between welding cable and battery cable? I'm under 200amps with this machine.Last edited by Aric; 08-01-2006 at 11:01 AM.
Reply:If they are the same gauge, I don't think there is any differnce in the wire, except for maybe the way it's braided...some jumper cable wire uses really thin strands to make it really flexible.  My welding cables use thicker stands, so they are not as flexible.  One thing that could be pretty different is the coating.  I imagine most welding cable has pretty thick, fairly heat/spark resistant coatings, whereas jumper cables may not require that.With all that said, I know of lots of folks who have used heavy jumper cables to do off-road welding and never had any problems.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I use audio cable.  It uses finer strands of wire to acheive the same guage.  Though the coating is not as flexible.  Especially when it gets cold.  The stuff gets heavy when you got to stretch it out at 200 feet. I would assume for like guages the coating is the major difference between battery cable and welding cable.  If you are debating then go with welding cable if you are going to use it for daily welding work.
Reply:When you say battery cable, are you talking about jumper cables or cable designed for permanent installation in your car between the battery and starter?  The latter is very stiff because it has much larger strands because it doesn't need to be flexible.The other issue is the insulation.  Welding cable has a dual-purpose insulation and jacket that protects against constant abrasion.  Cables designed for permanent installations are insulated, but they are not intended to serve the dual purpose of protection against constant abrasion.
Reply:Big difference in Welding cable vs Battery cable.  1) The actual surface area of wire of Welding cable vs Battery Cable is much much greater for the welding cable.  More surface area = less resistance = better voltage = more amprage = happier welders2) I don't know what type of Welder you have, but most the time Battery cable is designed for DC currents (higher heat vs AC current) whereas Welding cable (if the power cord from the outlet) is AC current which is actually less heat.  3) Also what type of amprage are you pulling so that you need 2 ga?  Pretty thick crap.
Reply:Originally Posted by LockdownBig difference in Welding cable vs Battery cable.  1) The actual surface area of wire of Welding cable vs Battery Cable is much much greater for the welding cable.  More surface area = less resistance = better voltage = more amprage = happier welders2) I don't know what type of Welder you have, but most the time Battery cable is designed for DC currents (higher heat vs AC current) whereas Welding cable (if the power cord from the outlet) is AC current which is actually less heat.  3) Also what type of amprage are you pulling so that you need 2 ga?  Pretty thick crap.
Reply:Lockdown, I think you are confusing surface area with cross-sectional area of conductors.  At DC and line frequencies, cable resistance is purely and simply a matter of total cross-sectional area of copper (as well as the specific alloy of the copper), independent of the number of strands making up the cable.  As MAC702 says, the reason for a large number of very small strands in welding cable is for maximum flexibility, which is also related to avoidance of fatigue-induced breakage at connectors.At very high frequencies (which may include HF arc starting frequencies) a phenomenon sneaks into the situation called "skin effect," in which the electron flow is repelled from the center of the conductor strand and clusters along the outer surface of the individual strand.  In this situation, the center region of the strand does not carry as much current as the skin, resulting in a higher effective resistance of the strand.  This phenomenon arises at very high radio frequencies and has no bearing on welding cable performance.Another phenomenon that might come into effect is heat dissipation ability of different cable types.  This could get pretty complex to analyze as a heat transfer calculation and I have no idea what the result would be regarding the performance of various cable types.  Simplistically, a larger cable O.D. results in larger surface area for transfer of heat to the air, possibly giving an advantage ot welding cable.  On the other hand, thicker insulation would impede heat transfer from the copper to the air.  An additional factor would be the thermal conductivity of the insulation material.  My personal bias would be to trust the welding cable manufacturers to properly balance out all these factors.Perhaps if people are considering alternatives to welding cable for economy they could consider using cheaper cable for semi-fixed, long runs that are not dragged around, walked on, driven across, subjected to sparks, spatter, and ozone, etc., as is most welding cable, then use shorter stingers of welding cable on the working end of the long, protected, run. Additionally, there is no difference in heating of the cable between AC and DC current of a given RMS (Root Mean Square)amperage.  RMS amperage is always implied in statements of AC current unless otherwise noted for some very unusual reason.  The RMS value of DC current is the same as the average or the "DC current." awrightLast edited by awright; 08-01-2006 at 02:24 PM.
Reply:i've used jumper cables "clamp to clamp" when the ground was not long enough...no biggie.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I too have used jumper cables for the grd. in my tig  work --and have used them in a quick fix on arc as the stinger ---but wouldn t do it every day .. the as the ground  it  works
Reply:Originally Posted by awrightLockdown, I think you are confusing surface area with cross-sectional area of conductors.  At DC and line frequencies, cable resistance is purely and simply a matter of total cross-sectional area of copper (as well as the specific alloy of the copper), independent of the number of strands making up the cable.  As MAC702 says, the reason for a large number of very small strands in welding cable is for maximum flexibility, which is also related to avoidance of fatigue-induced breakage at connectors.
Reply:I wasn't thinking jumper cable wire. something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-GAU...QQcmdZViewItemThis stuff too stiff? It is for the miller Bluestar DC engine drive. Mostly as a second set of leads, because over the weekend the welder ended up in one truck and the leads in another Last edited by Aric; 08-01-2006 at 07:51 PM.
Reply:AC Wire? DC Wire?I'm an industrial electrician who works on AC variable frequency drives and DC variable speed drives. Up to 1000 (Thousand) horspower. Every day.You guys are losing me with the AC wire and DC wire?Patrick
Reply:AC wire v. DC wire?  Is there some difference in the copper alloy that I don't know about?  RMS value has EVERYTHING to do with this.  And the point is that this is ALL WAY OUT OF THE SCOPE of the OP.And yet you want to say that surface area is the same as cross-sectional area in your mind.  I must be missing something you're trying to say.And since the OP is asking about welding leads, not AC power leads to the machine, why did you bring it up in the first place?Last edited by MAC702; 08-01-2006 at 08:49 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by AricI wasn't thinking jumper cable wire. something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-GAU...QQcmdZViewItemThis stuff too stiff? It is for the miller Bluestar DC engine drive. Mostly as a second set of leads, because over the weekend the welder ended up in one truck and the leads in another
Reply:Not being a welder expert, I would like to know the open circuit voltage that blue star is capable of.The wire in that E-Bay listing says it is rated for 50 volts or less. This would be a function of the insulation it has on it. In other words, the insulation on this wire might not be up to the voltages this welding machine can produce.This would make all the rest of this discussion a moot point.Although, I still want to know the difference between "AC wire" and "DC wire"OH, and by the way, since this is an engine driven welding machine, it does NOT have an AC power cord, which makes that whole discussion  moot also!Patrick
Reply:Excellent point.  I don't find the OCV listed in the specs sheet for the current production, but it COULD be as high as 70 - 80V.  I'll check the manual.There is no difference in (in fact there is no such thing as) AC or DC wire.  If you are measuring the peak values of AC amperage, it will be higher.  Which means a 480A DC load has the same heat in the wire as a 600A AC load, and can use the same wire.  Except we measure RMS values of AC amperage anyway, so that brings us right back to the same 480A, regardless of polarity.  My best quick attempt at a nutshell.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702Excellent point.  I don't find the OCV listed in the specs sheet for the current production, but it COULD be as high as 70 - 80V.  I'll check the manual.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702The manual for a Bluestar 185 DX shows the OCV to be between 62 and 76V, depending on the settings.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702There is no difference in (in fact there is no such thing as) AC or DC wire.  If you are measuring the peak values of AC amperage, it will be higher.  Which means a 480A DC load has the same heat in the wire as a 600A AC load, and can use the same wire.  Except we measure RMS values of AC amperage anyway, so that brings us right back to the same 480A, regardless of polarity.  My best quick attempt at a nutshell.
Reply:For what welding leads go through over a span of time, I wouldn't mess with anything less than standard 300/600 volt insulation. They get trampled on, molten splatter, drug across sharp shavings, wrapped around hot steel, left in the sun and all kinds of use and abuse. Start off with minimal insulation and it won't be long before your bringing worms to the top every time you run a bead just because of leakage.
Reply:Wow !Some of you guys really put a lot of intelligent thought into this cable discussion. I must say I'm impressed with the research and amount of knowledge put forth in your answers.But I think perhaps ya should have just told him battery cables were made for batteries and welding cable was made for welding. Special made for a special purpose.Sorry dude ... I personally understand Welding cable is pretty expensive stuff!But it's the best thing for welding. It has been properly designed and manufactured for the welding industry.Use Welding cable for welding... Battery cables for BatteriesDon't be cheap this is not a good place to save money!  Sorry if I hurt your feelings I don't mean to, just telling it as I see it.Washman
Reply:Well all this talk about current and voltages is well and good but one thing that I've not seen mentioned here is the Quality of JUMPER cables.     You can buy good ones if you know where to dhop or you can buy junk.     Honestly all the welder needs is a low impedance path to the work piece, some JUMPER cables can't even provide that for motor starting much less anything else.    Interestingly the chepa cable oftne don't evne mention the gage of the wire, nor the make u of the rest of the components.As to other battery cables that you might buy at an electrical supply house in bulk, electrically they will perform just like the same gage welding cables.     What they won't do is perform mechanically like a set of welding cables unless you are real careful about insulation specifcation.     There is also the issue of mechanical flexibility of the actual conductors and the temper of those conductors.You can get flexible cables or stiff cables.     The cables flexibilty is the result fo the combination of the flexibility inherent in the conductors and the inslutation.    Alll of this varies with temperature..   What it all boils down to is that you get what you pay for.     The cable manufactures go to the trouble of making  welding cables for a good reason.     Lets face it the market for weldign cables isn't that huge, there has to be a pay off for the manufacture to go about making special products like welding cables.    Dave
Reply:For a fisheman that may be reason enough to call it a day and scopp up those worms.Thanks for the humor SandyDave Originally Posted by Sandy Start off with minimal insulation and it won't be long before your bringing worms to the top every time you run a bead just because of leakage.
Reply:thanks eveyone.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702And since the OP is asking about welding leads, not AC power leads to the machine, why did you bring it up in the first place?Aric,     Is this what you are looking for?  Good Price.http://cgi.ebay.com/25-ft-1-Guage-Bl...QQcmdZViewItem
Reply:Originally Posted by LockdownSORRY READ THE ABOVE QUESTION WRONG.  Please don't throw rocks at the box I live in... I was wrong apologize.