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I've just bought a 220v welder to replace the Tinkertoy/piece of crap 110v welder that's been frustrating me for entirely too long when I've tried to use it. Naturally, the new welder's cord has a different (male) end on it than than the (female) 220v outlet in my garage. Since I'll need to make an adapter anyway, I've purchased 15' of cable which will allow me to reach the far end of my project car. (I don't remember the exact designation for the cable - 10/2?? 8/2?? whichever one it is, it's rated for 40A, & the welder only pulls 21A per the manual, so I think I should be OK...)
The question that I have is, how do I connect the female end (that corresponds to the ABC plug on the left of the photo) to the male plug end (123) on the right?? Part of me thinks that since it's AC, then I'll be OK as long as I connect the ground correctly - but I'm really not willing to risk my house & everything in it on an "assumption".
I've looked at a couple of NEMA plug configuration web pages, I if I'm understanding/interpreting this correctly, I have a NEMA 10-50 wall outlet (& the corresponding plug for the extension cord), and the welder uses a NEMA 6-50 - does that seem correct based on the photo below??
Can anyone tell me the correct way to connect these two?? Thanks in advance guys.
The socket you buy, and plug you have should both be labeled, line, line, ground.
Your welder only needs 2 wires for power, and a ground.
As long as you hook the ground pin to the same color wire on both ends, the other two don't matter.
I would change the house socket to fit your welder, probably a 50 amp, so you can plug in the welder without the extension. Wiring is simple, I don't think it matters if the black and white are crossed, but center terminal is always green. The extension cable wires should be as large or larger than the welder cable which is marked. It should probable be 6 or8.
Last edited by Redneckinjunear; 06-11-2019 at 02:59 PM.
Your receptacle on the right is a 50 amp dryer plug. This is probably a dedicated circuit. I would recommend replacing it with the proper receptacle. You can use an adapter as stated above but if this is dedicated to your welding cord you may as well do it right.
As long as your receptacle is as big or bigger than the breaker it is attached to it really doesn't matter which receptacle it is. I have a Miller dynasty and it will run on 120-480 volts single or three phase. I used a 4-50 nema receptacle as it can be used single or three phase and I've made adapters to use on most common 120 and 220 receptacles. If I were you I'd use whatever you already have and adapt the welder to it.
I spent some time looking into this when I added a dedicated outlet in my garage.
4 prong is required by code in my area on new installs or houses after a certain year. 14-50 4 pin 50 amp receptacle. Hint Hint, this accepts a 3 pin 30 amp plug just fine
If you want to make an extension cord that goes from "straight blade" to "angle blade" or vice versa, buy the ends you need for male. Receptacle, box, cover for female and the right size wire.
my concern has always been protecting the cable while its on the floor.
amazon has a 25 ft 50 amp extension cord for $50 made by VEVOR with many options for ends, not sure if they mix and match ends, pretty good price after you consider parts and time to assemble.
Just a side note not welder related. I made a short extension, 20 amp, using a heavy appliance cord to a box with a GFCI outlet (ever wire something up and just not sure, or working in an area that may have moisture, this offers breaker protection at point of use)
Also made a jumper box with same layout and a 20 amp dimmer switch before the GFCI (use it to power an old sump pump at varying speeds)
Don't mess with an extension cord... Just get a 120V 25' 10-3 extension cord from Lowes or wherever, cut the ends off, use it to rewire the power cable to your 240V welder, and add the proper end for your house. Cut to the proper length to allow your welder to go anywhere in the garage or into the driveway. Keep the cable looped on the welder and release more as needed for normal use. I modified my Lincoln welder over 10 years ago and it is still going strong... just a little dirty. I use the same cable for my mill as well as my air compressor.
06-10-2019, 01:52 PM
Making a 220v ext. cord for my welder 
