Hello,
I inherited a welder and the cabling's insulation is in poor repair. I'm asking for advice. I'll list some ideas I've had below.
Please note that I'm a student, so I'm looking for a more cost effective solution that will last.
1.Idea: Replace the whole thing.
1.Drawbacks: The new stick welding cables are AWG4 and mine are AWG2. I'd imagine that getting smaller cables is not the best idea in the world for a 225A 20% duty cycle welder, especially considering that AWG4 cables are rated at 95 Amps at best ( https://www.cerrowire.com/products/resources/tables-calculators/ampacity-charts/ ).
2.Idea: Make your own (Identical) cables.
2.Drawbacks: Expensive. I'd also need to figure out what the thing is that they crimped the wire onto that plugs into the welder.
3.Idea: Place rubber hose (Like this (it can be had for less money): https://www.homedepot.com/p/TekTube...lack-Ultra-Flexible-Pipe-2202012050/303455232 ) over the cracking insulation. Maybe slide a little (rubber like) glue into the length along with it.
3.Drawbacks: Would PVC be a good choice here? What about water resistance? Would it make the heat resistance worse due to the additional thermal resistance?
4.Idea: Replace the insulation. (Coolest idea yet!)
4.Notes: There are plenty of videos online showing real life Indians making their own wire using PVC pellets. I could "Mc Gyver something" to do this. Here are the types and their meanings:
THWN-2 Thermoplastic Heat and Water resistant Nylon-coated wire
XHHW-2 XLPE ((X)cross-Linked PolyEthylene) High Heat-resistant Water-resistant
USE-2/RHW Rubber Heat resistant Water resistant
4.Drawbacks: The types of insulation I'd want to use I can't find pellets for. I don't even know if the PVC pellets sold online are the ones with plasticizers.
What do you think?
Thanks!
I inherited a welder and the cabling's insulation is in poor repair. I'm asking for advice. I'll list some ideas I've had below.
Please note that I'm a student, so I'm looking for a more cost effective solution that will last.
1.Idea: Replace the whole thing.
1.Drawbacks: The new stick welding cables are AWG4 and mine are AWG2. I'd imagine that getting smaller cables is not the best idea in the world for a 225A 20% duty cycle welder, especially considering that AWG4 cables are rated at 95 Amps at best ( https://www.cerrowire.com/products/resources/tables-calculators/ampacity-charts/ ).
2.Idea: Make your own (Identical) cables.
2.Drawbacks: Expensive. I'd also need to figure out what the thing is that they crimped the wire onto that plugs into the welder.
3.Idea: Place rubber hose (Like this (it can be had for less money): https://www.homedepot.com/p/TekTube...lack-Ultra-Flexible-Pipe-2202012050/303455232 ) over the cracking insulation. Maybe slide a little (rubber like) glue into the length along with it.
3.Drawbacks: Would PVC be a good choice here? What about water resistance? Would it make the heat resistance worse due to the additional thermal resistance?
4.Idea: Replace the insulation. (Coolest idea yet!)
4.Notes: There are plenty of videos online showing real life Indians making their own wire using PVC pellets. I could "Mc Gyver something" to do this. Here are the types and their meanings:
THWN-2 Thermoplastic Heat and Water resistant Nylon-coated wire
XHHW-2 XLPE ((X)cross-Linked PolyEthylene) High Heat-resistant Water-resistant
USE-2/RHW Rubber Heat resistant Water resistant
4.Drawbacks: The types of insulation I'd want to use I can't find pellets for. I don't even know if the PVC pellets sold online are the ones with plasticizers.
What do you think?
Thanks!