Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Extension cord for welder?

What type of extension cord would I need to power a Lincoln 225 ac/dc tombstone? Need about 100ft.

Small shop about 100ft from the breaker panel. 80+ of which is across a concrete parking slab.
Don’t think I’m interested in trying to run a 230 line to it.

My thought is put a 230 outlet next to the panel and use the cord to power the welder in the shop on the occasion I use it, which won’t be that often.

It goes by the amp draw of the machine. I am pretty sure that one has a 50-amp requirement, so you are going to need an extension cord made up of at least #6-gauge wire for that run. Seldom does the welder actually draw that many amps, but you have some voltage drop for a run that long so don't skimp.
Honestly, the wire itself is the expensive part, so making up a 100-foot extension cord or installing a 50-amp receptacle 100 ft away.... there's just not a lot of price difference. All that said, if you have to go across a paved parking lot for the shortest run..... then make up the cord.

Buy longer leads.

One with 10ga stranded conductors.

The parking pad is what’s keeping me from running an outlet out there. It’d be twice as long to go around.

Hanco, leads require larger wire, don’t they? Lower voltage from the machine? Seems cheaper to run smaller wire for power.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwi...able-Power-SJOOW-Cord-55812599/204633009

Or 6/3?

I see numbers all over the place from 4 to 10ga on web searches.

We use water pump wire.

When my Pops ran his welder with small gauge extension cord years back, it would trip the breakers. Got a heavy gauge cord and troubles disappeared.

Wire cost is a one time expense- - - -voltage drop and poor performance is forever. Buy the heavy wire for the extension cord. The extension cord for my welder is 8 AWG stranded wire 50 feet long. I can reach anywhere in the shop, plus 40 feet out the door on one end. I also have 40 feet of #0 stinger and ground leads on the machine.

Yep thats what we used in the plant when needed. Never needed 100 ft.

50 amp RV extension cord. They are about $110 per 30 ft on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Extension-Heavy-Female-Standard/dp/B08GH7B179/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=3NPWGVCQIRJW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ih_xfrZEjiLjYz2PxO_aKERClzzUH1VQd6zEjmLHeN9CLE4uCaCcrUkeM7kENl1CsZgt52CMUrmiVzHABoflCdlqYCnSwwXIyADzPeqlXKU6z96CbKbslmBBcptJ7A1VPtu0M1yubK6q6jANZ079iMtxJWyK_Ugv4DUsQQu0iMoO9sMH35lSzQC3UlsNTZRaXZmhK9qgpIb7CEbSHCjKpA.JjLKgMvmAISKPSACt7aMv6BCZleAPnmDr3K_04vpFws&dib_tag=se&keywords=50+amp+rv+extension+cord&qid=1708553425&sprefix=50+amp+rv%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-8

I have two 50 footers at work. It takes both to reach to the front of the hangar. I think we bought them off Amazon. 6ga.
I have one at the house that's 1/0 i can barely carry it. 6 is smallest i would go to minimize voltage loss

Probably quickest and easiest.

But if you need four of them to reach, you are getting pretty close to the cost of running overhead

Welding extension cords are easy to source. RV cords would have the wrong plugs in them. I think you need NEMA 6-50P plug ends

I have one one outside of well house for one RV, one on North side of garage for a second RV, one on inside of garage for a welder, and one in the utilty room for the dryer.



100 foot 50 amp RV cord-----$432



If your welder does not have a matching pigtail, pigtails are available at Home Depot and take about five minutes to swap out.

Or for about $20 you can buy an adapter.

When we first moved here and had to build corals for the horses i made one with number 4 overhead wire.

It worked without a problem for years till the wire was repurposed.

Changed out the plug with a 50 amp plug both on welder and barn.

No need to make it harder than one needs to.

Yes, many ways to skin this cat on a homeowner's permit.

#10 won't carry enough power for that size of welder - especially that far away.

#10 won't carry enough power for that size of welder - especially that far away.
Another concern is - I've seen traffic short out extension cords, especially on hard surfaces, MANY times on job sites.

Thanks all- Lots of cord for sale on the webs, but damn it’s pricey!

Sent a message to Lincoln to confirm cord size.

The instructions that came with your welder will tell you what gauge and the maximum length you should use. Don't forget to add the distance from the receptacle to the breaker panel.

A cheaper option maybe?

Look on Fakebook Marketplace or Craigslist for some 2/2/2 UF and buy the plugs.

Something like this.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/256295270848834

I would have never thought to look on marketplace for Romex as I just recently started looking at that site, but there it was. Must be a million miles of it on there. Maybe not the correct size or amount within a decent distance, but worth a look.


Madmooner, the welder should have a sticker on it or a nomenclature plate indicating the amp/volt requirements of the unit. Then you can look up the required wire size.

We got a 240 feed to a piece of plywood with a splitter box and a smattering of outlets.

I ran the2 20 line from my house breaker box, underground to the garage and put a another 100 amp panel in the garage. I can turn my electricity off at the pole, so I tied into the input of the house panel .IIRC I used #4 wire, 4 conductor direct bury, but put it in conduit.

I think most welders come with instructions to add stinger wire, not an extension to the welder.

This is the answer.

If it's not often needed why not get a portable Gen?

There's a great idea. With a 50 amp gen set, you could power much of your house in an emergency. Keep the lights on, the freezer and refer cold. If you control usage well and rotate distribution, you could even make hot water.

I used 6-3 SOJ cord to make a cord for mine. I wanted it to be flexible so that it was easy to roll up. A piece of 4-3 overhead service cable might be cheaper. I've done that before.

Might be an excuse to buy a nice gasoline welder!