Im almost certain there will be some TH-cam electrical inspector try and say this isn't to code, however, being an actual electrician I can 100% confirm this man has done his homework and everything is totally up to snuff. Awesome idea! I will definitely be doing the same in my garage!
Thanks. The only thing I should probably do is shield the slip ring wires going to the junction box. I just wrapped them with tape mainly so I could test their temps as they are the weak link.
@Shane Ducsharm I really hope you are not a licensed electrician, running 30+Amps through a low voltage chinisium slip ring.... you don't need to be an electrical inspector to spot troubles.
Great idea for sure, I do love having any long cords whether it’s air, electrical, etc. on some kind of retractable roll hanging from my ceiling whenever possible. Sure makes a cleaner set up and more convenient when you need to use it too! Hopefully one of those days I’ll have a need to add one of these too. But for now I still need more practice just weilding things for myself and a little Wielder all I can handle dealing with at this point. If I ever get good enough to do larger projects then this be a great addition to add to my shop too!
I have had a number of welding trucks and shop machines over the years and many had similar reels for extension cords , welding cables, and the like. The only possible problem I can foresee here is heat. That cord will heat up slightly when you are using it. The code is based on the cord being open to the air to help it cool. When it is on a reel, only the outer layer can cool. The inner layers will grow successively warmer as you go in towards the reel. Over time this warmth will cause the inner layers of cord insulation to deteriorate and fail. This rig will work fine as long as you take all the cord of the reel when you use it for any length of time.If possible, you might want to create some ventilation holes around the reel drum to allow some air circulation. I found this out the hard way when one of my welding cable reels burst into flame one day with heavy usage.
I always wanted my welder extension to be retraceable but as you mentioned they are really expensive, the other day I picked up 3 hose reels from a local recycling place for $50, use 1 as is for air and I wanted to use one of them for a 12awg extension cord & the other one for my welder cord but didn't know that I need the slip in piece, I didn't even finish watching the video I went on amazon to try to get the 40A but that's $53 & it comes from China, however on eBay there's one that is made for wind turbine rated for 90A for only $18, I ordered 2 of them to seal the deal. If any channel deserves the subscription this is the one & thank you for sharing your knowledge. Hope to see you with another great video.
Alot of keyboard electricians out there! I like the idea of using a slip ring. Nice execution. Folks need to understand the issue with wound welder ext cords is heat soak. So as stated, unwind the cord when using for a big project. It is super convenient to take only what you need to make a couple quick welds. Prolonged use will heat the cord up and make it curly Q when it is unwound. A little common sense goes a long way. Thanks for the great video!
I agree with Shane you definitely have it going on. I'm 66 and I do belive I could definitely learn alot from hanging out with you. Great project you did there. Course I don't believe there has been a video I don't learn something from. Again great video. Thanks for sharing them and keep them coming I look forward to your videos. Take care and be safe.
This is one of the best repurposing videos I have ever seen. I am new to this channel but this guy is real ! I have watched several videos that he has done and felt educated after each one. Ad that to the fact that he has a 65 FORD, Way Cool Guy ! Thank you Dude. Be Safe and Well
@@sixtyfiveford here in sht hole aus..a regulatory r trd, will cut the end, off your extension cord, if it has a kink, lay,s on ,over, any metal object, is not taged. is not suported above head height, not on ground, has bits of sheath nicked. has to have clear, ends, to see wires connected. allways has to have earth. all electrical equipment taged every 3 months.wearther used, or not, in your truck,. they send women round to inspect sites as,,'' you cant hit a woman''..
(for anybody that doesn't know) Basically with a slip ring it can spin for as long as a motor can, that's basically what's inside of a universal motor. It can spin as fast as a motor too if you support it properly. You can run parallels for a single appliance say you have a rolling mill feeder that need 600a 480v you could run 4 sets of 3 phase to keep your wire radius down but you have to individually protect each conductor with at minimum fuses. That's way beyond the scope of this video though 😂😂 your screw facing got my like 🤙
Your videos are so insightful and just plain awesome. Love how you make things practically and describe the perfect amount of detail so even dolts like me can follow. Thank you!
Made in the USA, Mercotac slip ring connectors will transfer up to 500 amps. NO that is not a typo. The one I purchased for a Christmas decoration Ferris Wheel will transfer 50 amps. The best thing about these is they use mercury as the slip ring contacts. THUS, there is NEVER any wear on the rings. I am extremely happy with the one I purchased. Easy to mount, easier to use. Thanks for the videos.
My friend I thought you were insane when you said you were going to build it. You really did a great job on this. I've never even thought about something like that and I sure in the hell would not have known how to build it. Great job
One more thing that uses slip rings is the famous rotated tornado sirens you know the ones that’s got a rotator. The motor at the top has to have a stable connection and we’re slip rings come in
What I ended up doing was making two extension cords. One is 50 feet long the other one is 15 feet long. Most of the times I only need the 15 foot one. That I don't have to roll the heavy 50 foot cord up.
That's exactly what I've been doing. I have a 20', 50' and 100'. The 20' is adequate most of the time but it drives me crazy when I need another 5-10' and the 50' has to come out.
I got a job many years ago at shop, I brought my welder, and was too poor to buy a good extension cord, so I went to flea market, and bought a 12 gauge cord, then used it to move around my welder, which was a Lincoln AC/DC tombstone welder, cord was 30' and it worked great, didnt get warm, unless running several rods at top end of welders range, and most of the time welder was in middle of range, I welded hundreds of trailers, never had issues, still own the cord, its stored in my attic, but I picked up longer & heavier cords I use around home, like 85' of 10 gauge, or 135' of 8 gauge. never needed to hook both together. but yeah those are heavy. but I may need to bring my old 12 gauge cord down.
They have power reels for RV applications with 50 amp wires. You can probably buy one of those and fit your own ends to them. I've even seen these reels have power retract.
Great idea Bud!! I just cut my 120 ft cord in half last week, it was 12ga!! Not so much for the weight but it's also just a pain in the balls to wrap up!!☺
The cord I used was over 100'. I'm happy to cut it down as it was just too much to deal with at that length. Now I have 50' on the spool and 50' I can manage easier.
I use a normal 120v 12ga extension cord for my welder. I made adapters that convert one end into a 5-20 plug (which goes into my shop receptacle) and the other into a dryer outlet for the welder. It basically makes a 240v extension cord. Anyway, nice work! That's a handy thing to have.
Very cool. I would do the same and with occasional hand to cord heat temp checks, never give it a second thought. 12awg will easily handle 50amps up to about 25feet with a 20% duty cycle. But I don't think I have even needed to turn my stick welder up to full output, so I'm only pulling 20-30amps ever.
@@sixtyfiveford I actually made two different adapters. One converts a standard 120v plug into a 240/120v 5-20 plug (the kind with one prong sideways). On the other end is the female version of that adapter, but I also made another one that converts from a 5-20 to a dryer style outlet. My plasma cutter takes a 5-20, my welder uses a dryer outlet, so I can do both with the same extension cord just by switching adapters on one end. Anyway, yeah, it works great and I've never noticed anything heating up. My welder can't do a 100% duty cycle and actual on time is fairly small anyway, so like you said, no need for big fat expensive wire.
I did same thing because I have a Jeep P/U with a utility box on it. but I purchased a reel from Harbor Freight. actually two of them one for air and one electrical cord. but they don't automatically reelup because I figured. being as there wasn't anything at end of the cord/hose that would dig into the ground or get caught on anything. I just crank them back into the reels by hand with hand crank. and they were cheap about twenty dallors each which is always a factor. then mounted them at the back of the utility box so they swing out for use. it allows me to have a gas powered welder, a gas powered air compressor, and a generator on the truck. and get to areas that I couldn't get close to with the truck.
Fun project I need an extension cord for my welder. The biggest holdup is the expensive wire. If I ever get ahold of an affordable cord I might have to build one. Thanks for sharing 👍
Hey, don’t know what’s going on with TH-cam, it never showed up in my subscriptions , found video on TH-cam home page. As for China and electric cords and wires, as a Asst. State Fire Marshal we found that China meets UL codes for exterior width diameter for all wiring but they reduce the size of wire down inside the casing. That why you have over heating of extension cords and any kind of lighting, which always causes fires at xmas time because people leave lights on for ever. Anytime in need wires and cords always go to City Electric contractor supply and make my own. Always enjoy, keep them coming
I know what you mean. They really cheap out on wiring and I don't like any wires from China. If they're not aluminum they're copper coated in aluminum just to save a fraction of a penny. My main cord is SOOW USA made 8/4.
Pull about 6 ft of slack out and let it lock. Then back feed slack by hand leaving wheel stationary. Loop slack back on wheel. You have know added spring tension. Need more do it again have one that has to much do same in reverse. Hug advantage of single bracket reels. Takes like 2 minutes maybe. Great vid btw.
Air reel from Harbor Freight was my solution to the weld leads also, I just leave the plug ends loose at side opposite the rotating mount side during the reel/unreel. If I get tired of that I guess I'll have to build some suitable sliprings.
I do have an extension cord like what you showed in the beginning, BUT I need it as such, Extension. I need more of a holder, so I can plug it in, go out @ 25 feet and plug in a welder.
Very neat. I’m actually doing the door LEDs from your video on that. Just waiting for HF to put a salt on the 5500 lumen fixtures. I also put the reel on a smart switch and put an old Echo Dot on the ceiling
That really looks great Sir got an extra reel that air hose fitting was damaged new fitting is way too much from coxreel so making it electrical is a great answer I’ll just need one of those slip rings thanks brother
Heeler-isms. Ginger will be bouncing up and getting the 220 for you. Might better keep the breaker off. The only 220 here on a chord is for the pump to generator on a DPDT to disconnect from line voltage. It stays wound up on the generator, ready to go. Glad you're set and GBWYall!
Just fyi, I have the Harbor Freight Titanium 175. I made a 6ft extension cord (220v) using 10ga wire. The welder will only weld for about 1.5seconds then cuts out. I remove the extention cord, and it welds perfectly fine.
If there was enough "room" on the clock spring you could always clock it a few Revolutions tighter and it would help with the retracting aspect. Not too much tho or you won't be able to unwind fully and could break the spring all together . But like you said , inexpensive hoss reel
80# that's all? Try 3 phase SO cord. We have 150' long cables for our welder. 480VAC 30A is what we want for our welder at work but we use 8/4 SOOW cable to power them. It effect the welder when we have that long of cable. Love your idea!
Before you added the wire to the reel, I think you could have wound the reel a few more turns to get more pre-load on the spring. I've had to do it before even with just the hose. I can't remember how much more it can be wound before the spring is maxed out tho.
I gave it two more wraps last night. You need to use it for a while to let the clock spring settle in but I may be able to get away with doing another one or two wraps.
Blue tape can't disguise that harbor freight hose reel. :) You can probably give it an extra wind to make that last 6 feet retract easier. the instruction book says how but basically pull it out one turn then manually feed the cord around the reel (you'll have to take your end off again).
It's blue tape brand. It's so cheaply made I didn't want to endorse it. I have their higher end Red Diablo that I thought was cheap, but they were out of those when I went in. It first look they look to be made the exact same but this yellow one has a few more corners cut to save a few cents. I t should hold up fine, but if not I'll beef it up. But I did give it 2 extra winds last night. The cord is also so heavy it takes a second for the reel to pick up momentum, then it seems to do fine. I thought I would get an extra air hose. Nope, the hose was so cheap that came with this one. The rubber was so soft and uncured it stuck to other parts of the hose when reeled up and ripped holes in itself when unwinding. So the brand new hose has around 5 holes in it and I've never aired it up. I'm taking just the hose back to HF today to see if they'll give me a new hose.
Do the main coils of the extension cord heat up at all after welding? I'm not talking about the spinner component, but the actual coiled extension cord itself. If you were using this for something other than welding, something with a high current draw for sustained periods of time, I'd be concerned about the extension cord melting together and shorting. You can search for "melted coiled extension cord" if you want to see some fun pictures! Awesome project!
No heat at all with my test runs. I was actually trying to heat it up. There's just so much down time with welding it'll never be a concern. Any cord reel though should be unwound to allow cooling during heavy use though. In the unlikely scenario that I want to run a portable stove in my garage I would be limited to a 30amp 100% duty cycle of the slip ring.
@@sixtyfiveford looks like you finally did just that. Once we upgrade the dryer in our home, I might duplicate what you did! Love the explanation about the duty cycle...always wondered why the old Lincoln welders had a 50 amp breaker but only specified 10ga wire. The more you know!
Even if it runs on 14ga wire... the farther you go the more voltage drop you get, so it starts screwing with your settings... You want to check charts and see what guage wire you need for the length and current draw. You can test it... Plug in to wall, weld, then plug into a 50' cord, then a 100' cord, without messing with your settings and you will see a difference... especially on your lower welding settings like you use for sheet metal. And as a hobbyist, I have run my welder building things where the welder shut off after welding non stop because it got too hot and I had to wait for it to cool down.
I would never power a welder with 14awg over any distance. If that's how it came across that was not my intention. A 120v 20amp welder does well on a 12awg cord up to around 100' max. A 240v 50amp welder would do 12awg up to around 25feet.
@@sixtyfiveford I mentioned 14ga because I think you said (without rewatching the video) one of your welders or one you owned, only had 14 ga wire in the welder cord. And some people not familiar with how electricity works, might get the wrong idea. Or for that matter, know that there are charts to calculate the wire size for the amps and length you are trying to get to.
@@kiddiescripterkiller The problem is that 99% of all the charts you see are wrong. They are for household 100% duty cycle appliances. Out of twenty 240v 50 amp welders I've owned all but 2 had 14awg wire. The other two had 12awg and they could have been aluminum wire. You can get away with so much when you have a welder with a duty cycle of 20 to 30% at max output. On 10awg You can run them 100 ft without any issue but every single chart out there will tell you you cannot because they are based on NEC code for 100% duty cycle
@@sixtyfiveford True... But if you aren't sure of what you are doing, it is better to be safe than sorry... That is why the charts are rated that way. Or if you use the cord for something other than a welder. Like for example, if you decided to use your welder extension cord to feed power to your neighbors house during an emergency. Been there done that... His generator quit working, I didn't have the parts to fix it for him, so I fed him 220 off my generator. That is why the charts are setup like that. Granted the charts even at that point, are oversized, but they are calculated so you don't overheat the cable and cause a fire. That is why the charts take in to account the wire size / length / type / insulation / ambient temperature, if is or isn't in a conduit, the size / type of the conduit, recommended junction box sizes, etc...
Oh btw, another reason a lot of electricians are a bit skeptical to welders on normal domestic circuits is that they are usually Class A (or whatever it is over there) that doesn't have enough back EMF and noise shielding (mostly because it can't properly remove all noise effectively) for any delicate equipment, so if you're a bit unlucky it might take out your TV or amplifier. Had a friend getting his expensive tube amp wrecked by a TIG welder (the HF start is very noisy), but arching when welding with MIG and stick can also create quite a bit of noise. I'm running mine through an isolation transformer, but there's still a bit of noise from it.
Oh Boy! I have a lot of sensitive electronics. Maybe I don't want to weld at my house... 🙄🤔 My welders are all linear transformer type, not switch mode inverter type. Wouldn't the transformers in the welders isolate the noise? What about a heavy duty buck converter using a toroid and tons of capacitance?
@@waltschannel7465 Transformers isolate noise quite well, the meatier the better. The problem is with switch mode, it has quite spiky high frequency noise, and the self adapting nature (and ability to modify the output current rapidly) makes it return quite a bit of noise to the grid. Just adding large caps will (unintuitively) actually just make it worse, it has to be a properly designed filter, which is expensive and therefore often skimped on. Just having a huge 1:1 transformer in between will get rid of most of the noise. Some info on designing PSU caps: th-cam.com/video/qosClvn9GqU/w-d-xo.html
Hey bud, I like your style, its refreshing to noy be the only fixer left. Anyway, I tried to go through your store link. It may need a little tune up. None of the things in this video are listed. I am trying trying to help support you, even if you are a Ford guy. Loved the dash repair and dryer to heater videos! Keep it up!
Thanks. I appreciate the support. Generally I put individual links to products and don't put them into the main store. That's just because there are so many items with all the videos I do it would be hard to find.
I actually put 50 ft of wire on the 50 ft hose reel so the exact same. The clock spring needs to be pulled out a couple times just to so it settles. But then I will do a couple extra winds and it'll work way better.
@@sixtyfiveford oh wow thats a good set up then,looked like alot less than 50', you buy the cords premade online or did you find a spool of wire for cheap? in canada was cheaper for me to buy the cord than just order the wire alone
@@AndrewBrowner Yeah I salvaged 135 ft from a boat dock last year. But in the past when I've needed heavy guage extension cords I would buy the old Lincoln stick welders. The people would include the cords for no cost and then I would just resell the welder and have $200-300 worth of free cord.
I would add brush and licker into the spool if this was used other than cleanish shop. Say work truck environment on the jobsite get licker so cable wont pull in all the mud and dirt to spool. Could use same thing for air hose as well.
I was wondering the same. I’d like to make one of these as I don’t mind getting dirty, sweating and wearing myself out when building something, but having to roll up that cord just pisses me off for some reason.
My house isn't wired for a welder, and I am using (newbie) a Harbor Freight 60-125, I've been looking for a cheap extension cord, and really only need a 10 footer. Can I get away with using a 12-14 gauge? Nice job.
That would be dangerous, and likely more expensive than buying heavier gauge cable. Don't skimp with this equipment! Actually, I hope you will get an electrician to run proper wiring and an adequate outlet at the point you want to set up your welding station. Meantime, bring the work to the welder, and cobble up good protection around it whenever you strike an arc.
cool project! i think i like the reel retracting a little slower... my air hose screams back in and sure as sh*t there will me a little shard of metal stuck to it and it will slice my hand as it retreats to its wall cave
i was wondering.... welding with the wire coiled up like that, wouldn't it like create a magnetic field (like an induction heater or something) and melt the wire? i have no experience in electrical work.... just asking out of curiosity
No, I bought a brand new hose reel for this project and thought I would get an extra hose. Nope, the hose was so cheap that came with this one. The rubber was so soft and uncured it stuck to other parts of the hose when reeled up and ripped holes in itself. So the brand new hose has around 5 holes in it and I've never aired it up. I'm taking just the hose back to HF today to see if they'll give me a new one.
Yes and no. Crimping is better in high vibration situations where the length of the cord can't be supported. Crimping gives up a perfect connection though and can cause heat build up at the crimp joints. Soldering will have no heat build up at the wire joints under heavy duty applications like I'm using it for. Crimping would be fine in household wiring where the wires are so overrated that they're not pushed to the limits of their gauge.
Welders/plasma cutters have a intermittent duty cycle so you can use thinner wire than is commonly used for household 220v circuits. Generally you will wire in a 50 amp welder outlet with what's called a Nema 6-50r(virtually all welders come with this plug pre-installed). You would also use a 50amp breaker. You could run 10/3 for up to around 50ft and it'll handle a 220v 50amp welder with a duty cycle up to 40%-50%(most diy welders are only 10- 20% duty cycle on max). Now this will be an intermittent duty cycle outlet only and can't run things like a stove or charge an electric vehicle etc. If you want to do those, (those are 100% duty cycle) the 50 amp outlet is limited to only around 30amps. You would want to step up to 6 gauge wire to handle 50amps continuous/non-stop. In wiring it's all about controlling the heat / temperature of the wire. A duty cycle allows the wire to cool down and not get overly hot and why we can get away with lot thinner wire with welders. Where as something like a stove you'll turn on and it'll run for an hour two hours straight and the wire will never get a chance to cool down so you need oversized wire. I mentioned this because everywhere you read will tell you you need 6 gauge wire for 50 amp circuit. but this doesn't take into account welders which are their own category in electrical code.
I found that the springs on the cheap-o hose reels are crap and weaken up with repeated use. Assuming it's because they are not proper spring steel or not properly heat treated. An issue with running higher currents through smaller gauge wiring is voltage drop due to resistivity. Short runs are likely not a problem but it really adds up over long runs and that will affect your welder, plasma cutter, etc. Cool hack nonetheless!
Thank you man! I've been trying to think what the slip ring thing is called. I just have a male end at the end and just plug and unplug each time I roll out
If you hang around a water pump company - or show up where they're changing a pump, you can get the wire that goes into the well. If the well is deep enough, you could wind up with 100' or 12/3 and some really impervious waterproof heavy sheathing on it too! ☼ The wire normally is suspended in the well, all the way down to the pump and by code, they always put new wire in - so they have to throw it out and not many people want to clean it to get 12ga copper out of all that covering! ☼ THIS is what I make my heavy duty extension cords from - 12/3 - and it's gonna carry my welders with no problems. ☼ A 6-pack of something cold would go a long way to getting the wire they throw away too..... for free ...... just sayin' .....
Im almost certain there will be some TH-cam electrical inspector try and say this isn't to code, however, being an actual electrician I can 100% confirm this man has done his homework and everything is totally up to snuff. Awesome idea! I will definitely be doing the same in my garage!
Thanks. The only thing I should probably do is shield the slip ring wires going to the junction box. I just wrapped them with tape mainly so I could test their temps as they are the weak link.
@Shane Ducsharm I really hope you are not a licensed electrician, running 30+Amps through a low voltage chinisium slip ring.... you don't need to be an electrical inspector to spot troubles.
Great idea for sure, I do love having any long cords whether it’s air, electrical, etc. on some kind of retractable roll hanging from my ceiling whenever possible. Sure makes a cleaner set up and more convenient when you need to use it too! Hopefully one of those days I’ll have a need to add one of these too. But for now I still need more practice just weilding things for myself and a little Wielder all I can handle dealing with at this point. If I ever get good enough to do larger projects then this be a great addition to add to my shop too!
@Lehich his welders don't draw 30 amps though if they have 14guage power wires
I have had a number of welding trucks and shop machines over the years and many had similar reels for extension cords , welding cables, and the like. The only possible problem I can foresee here is heat. That cord will heat up slightly when you are using it. The code is based on the cord being open to the air to help it cool. When it is on a reel, only the outer layer can cool. The inner layers will grow successively warmer as you go in towards the reel. Over time this warmth will cause the inner layers of cord insulation to deteriorate and fail. This rig will work fine as long as you take all the cord of the reel when you use it for any length of time.If possible, you might want to create some ventilation holes around the reel drum to allow some air circulation. I found this out the hard way when one of my welding cable reels burst into flame one day with heavy usage.
I always wanted my welder extension to be retraceable but as you mentioned they are really expensive, the other day I picked up 3 hose reels from a local recycling place for $50, use 1 as is for air and I wanted to use one of them for a 12awg extension cord & the other one for my welder cord but didn't know that I need the slip in piece, I didn't even finish watching the video I went on amazon to try to get the 40A but that's $53 & it comes from China, however on eBay there's one that is made for wind turbine rated for 90A for only $18, I ordered 2 of them to seal the deal.
If any channel deserves the subscription this is the one & thank you for sharing your knowledge. Hope to see you with another great video.
Alot of keyboard electricians out there! I like the idea of using a slip ring. Nice execution. Folks need to understand the issue with wound welder ext cords is heat soak. So as stated, unwind the cord when using for a big project. It is super convenient to take only what you need to make a couple quick welds. Prolonged use will heat the cord up and make it curly Q when it is unwound. A little common sense goes a long way. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks Ryan. That's the problem they need to make items these days for complete idiots that have no common sense.
The more I watch your videos on 65Ford, the more I appreciate the depth & width of your knowledge & skills in the mechanical arts. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Thanks, I'm glad you like them.
I agree with Shane you definitely have it going on. I'm 66 and I do belive I could definitely learn alot from hanging out with you. Great project you did there. Course I don't believe there has been a video I don't learn something from. Again great video. Thanks for sharing them and keep them coming I look forward to your videos. Take care and be safe.
Hey Thanks. Very kind of you to say.
This is one of the best repurposing videos I have ever seen.
I am new to this channel but this guy is real !
I have watched several videos that he has done and felt educated after each one.
Ad that to the fact that he has a 65 FORD, Way Cool Guy !
Thank you Dude.
Be Safe and Well
I didn’t know I needed one, but now this is going on the project list. Awesome job.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
@@sixtyfiveford here in sht hole aus..a regulatory r trd, will cut the end, off your extension cord, if it has a kink, lay,s on ,over, any metal object, is not taged. is not suported above head height, not on ground, has bits of sheath nicked. has to have clear, ends, to see wires connected. allways has to have earth. all electrical equipment taged every 3 months.wearther used, or not, in your truck,. they send women round to inspect sites as,,'' you cant hit a woman''..
(for anybody that doesn't know) Basically with a slip ring it can spin for as long as a motor can, that's basically what's inside of a universal motor. It can spin as fast as a motor too if you support it properly. You can run parallels for a single appliance say you have a rolling mill feeder that need 600a 480v you could run 4 sets of 3 phase to keep your wire radius down but you have to individually protect each conductor with at minimum fuses. That's way beyond the scope of this video though 😂😂 your screw facing got my like 🤙
Hey Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Your videos are so insightful and just plain awesome. Love how you make things practically and describe the perfect amount of detail so even dolts like me can follow. Thank you!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
I like the idea of redundancy in the slip ring. This is the most likely point of failure. Nice work!
That was my thought. I wouldn't buy a 6 conductor over a 3 though for this purpose but it worked out fine.
Made in the USA, Mercotac slip ring connectors will transfer up to 500 amps. NO that is not a typo. The one I purchased for a Christmas decoration Ferris Wheel will transfer 50 amps. The best thing about these is they use mercury as the slip ring contacts. THUS, there is NEVER any wear on the rings. I am extremely happy with the one I purchased. Easy to mount, easier to use.
Thanks for the videos.
Got a link to the 50amp one?
I did look at their slip rings. They are not cheap and the only one over 30 amps was over $1000 if I recall.
My friend I thought you were insane when you said you were going to build it. You really did a great job on this. I've never even thought about something like that and I sure in the hell would not have known how to build it. Great job
Belt-and-suspenders. Definitely the way to go with high voltage/amperage. Thumbs up!
Thanks Mac
Dude you are a genius! Everything you build yourself looks almost factory and it’s always super well done!
Thanks 👍
The KING of DIY has once again spoken!
Thanks Atimatik!
Used them for extension cord and remote cable for my welder, $100.00 MAX works great! YOU DA MAN!!
One more thing that uses slip rings is the famous rotated tornado sirens you know the ones that’s got a rotator. The motor at the top has to have a stable connection and we’re slip rings come in
What I ended up doing was making two extension cords. One is 50 feet long the other one is 15 feet long. Most of the times I only need the 15 foot one. That I don't have to roll the heavy 50 foot cord up.
That's exactly what I've been doing. I have a 20', 50' and 100'. The 20' is adequate most of the time but it drives me crazy when I need another 5-10' and the 50' has to come out.
I got a job many years ago at shop, I brought my welder, and was too poor to buy a good extension cord, so I went to flea market, and bought a 12 gauge cord, then used it to move around my welder, which was a Lincoln AC/DC tombstone welder, cord was 30' and it worked great, didnt get warm, unless running several rods at top end of welders range, and most of the time welder was in middle of range, I welded hundreds of trailers, never had issues, still own the cord, its stored in my attic, but I picked up longer & heavier cords I use around home, like 85' of 10 gauge, or 135' of 8 gauge. never needed to hook both together. but yeah those are heavy. but I may need to bring my old 12 gauge cord down.
They have power reels for RV applications with 50 amp wires. You can probably buy one of those and fit your own ends to them. I've even seen these reels have power retract.
Yes they do make exactly what I made here but it'll cost you about $1, 000-$2,000.
Made a similar one using a garden hose spool on wheels and the mechanism off an old vacuum for the spinning part for my 50ft. Extension cord.
Just regular extensions cord
Awesome!
Great idea Bud!! I just cut my 120 ft cord in half last week, it was 12ga!! Not so much for the weight but it's also just a pain in the balls to wrap up!!☺
The cord I used was over 100'. I'm happy to cut it down as it was just too much to deal with at that length. Now I have 50' on the spool and 50' I can manage easier.
Check out how essential craftsman handles his extension cords
I have been planning to do something like that when my shop gets finished. Nice to see someone else take the time to show it. Saves me some time. 👍
Hey Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
We have 3 phase 400v here, if I do it I’ll use the same gauge as the welder wire as well. Great idea, never even thought about it
You never cease to amaze me with your brilliant mind. Awesome job sir!
We need a garage/work shop tour!
I did one last year, but stuff has changed since then.
I use a normal 120v 12ga extension cord for my welder. I made adapters that convert one end into a 5-20 plug (which goes into my shop receptacle) and the other into a dryer outlet for the welder. It basically makes a 240v extension cord.
Anyway, nice work! That's a handy thing to have.
Very cool. I would do the same and with occasional hand to cord heat temp checks, never give it a second thought. 12awg will easily handle 50amps up to about 25feet with a 20% duty cycle. But I don't think I have even needed to turn my stick welder up to full output, so I'm only pulling 20-30amps ever.
@@sixtyfiveford I actually made two different adapters. One converts a standard 120v plug into a 240/120v 5-20 plug (the kind with one prong sideways). On the other end is the female version of that adapter, but I also made another one that converts from a 5-20 to a dryer style outlet. My plasma cutter takes a 5-20, my welder uses a dryer outlet, so I can do both with the same extension cord just by switching adapters on one end. Anyway, yeah, it works great and I've never noticed anything heating up. My welder can't do a 100% duty cycle and actual on time is fairly small anyway, so like you said, no need for big fat expensive wire.
I did same thing because I have a Jeep P/U with a utility box on it. but I purchased a reel from Harbor Freight. actually two of them one for air and one electrical cord. but they don't automatically reelup because I figured. being as there wasn't anything at end of the cord/hose that would dig into the ground or get caught on anything. I just crank them back into the reels by hand with hand crank. and they were cheap about twenty dallors each which is always a factor. then mounted them at the back of the utility box so they swing out for use. it allows me to have a gas powered welder, a gas powered air compressor, and a generator on the truck. and get to areas that I couldn't get close to with the truck.
Awesome
Fun project I need an extension cord for my welder. The biggest holdup is the expensive wire. If I ever get ahold of an affordable cord I might have to build one. Thanks for sharing 👍
I know what you mean. Wire costs are ridiculous.
Hey, don’t know what’s going on with TH-cam, it never showed up in my subscriptions , found video on TH-cam home page. As for China and electric cords and wires, as a Asst. State Fire Marshal we found that China meets UL codes for exterior width diameter for all wiring but they reduce the size of wire down inside the casing. That why you have over heating of extension cords and any kind of lighting, which always causes fires at xmas time because people leave lights on for ever. Anytime in need wires and cords always go to City Electric contractor supply and make my own. Always enjoy, keep them coming
I know what you mean. They really cheap out on wiring and I don't like any wires from China. If they're not aluminum they're copper coated in aluminum just to save a fraction of a penny. My main cord is SOOW USA made 8/4.
Love the idea, but coiled extension leads need to be fully unwound before drawing high amps.
Yes, that's standard practice with any extension cord.
Electromagnet!
@@wafflezoot Nope. 240v is two 120v phases that are perfectly opposite and cancel each other out.
Same phase just tapped with a neutral in the middle to make it 120
@@SavageCrackerXPF Nope. 180 degrees out of phase. That's why the neutral only carries the difference between the two
Sure wish you were my next door neighbor. Love your videos!
Thanks Josh
Pull about 6 ft of slack out and let it lock. Then back feed slack by hand leaving wheel stationary. Loop slack back on wheel. You have know added spring tension. Need more do it again have one that has to much do same in reverse. Hug advantage of single bracket reels. Takes like 2 minutes maybe. Great vid btw.
Awesome. I'm SOOOO tired of dragging my heavy duty extension cord around. I'm building one of these starting right now!
This thing has been amazing. It is so nice not to have a huge cord to drag everywhere.
Keen! A plus is that it can be stored high and away... Thanks, amigo!
Thanks Paul.
Air reel from Harbor Freight was my solution to the weld leads also, I just leave the plug ends loose at side opposite the rotating mount side during the reel/unreel.
If I get tired of that I guess I'll have to build some suitable sliprings.
Another excellent job. Well done and we'll demonstrated!
Thanks Orvile
I do have an extension cord like what you showed in the beginning, BUT I need it as such, Extension. I need more of a holder, so I can plug it in, go out @ 25 feet and plug in a welder.
Very neat. I’m actually doing the door LEDs from your video on that. Just waiting for HF to put a salt on the 5500 lumen fixtures. I also put the reel on a smart switch and put an old Echo Dot on the ceiling
That really looks great Sir got an extra reel that air hose fitting was damaged new fitting is way too much from coxreel so making it electrical is a great answer I’ll just need one of those slip rings thanks brother
A Cox reel is built as 100x better than this cheap thing I used.
@@sixtyfiveford yeah it is a great reel yours works
Going easy with it , it should do well . I appreciate your time and effort . Thanks for shearing knowledge . Bless ya'll from hooterville , n.c.
Wicked! Am looking to build two reels for my welding rig. One for remote and one for 110. A used reel for remote is 1600.00 Canadian !You the man!!!!
Heeler-isms. Ginger will be bouncing up and getting the 220 for you. Might better keep the breaker off. The only 220 here on a chord is for the pump to generator on a DPDT to disconnect from line voltage. It stays wound up on the generator, ready to go. Glad you're set and GBWYall!
Train her to bring me the cord end.
@@sixtyfiveford That'll work! BETTER, even!
Just fyi, I have the Harbor Freight Titanium 175. I made a 6ft extension cord (220v) using 10ga wire. The welder will only weld for about 1.5seconds then cuts out.
I remove the extention cord, and it welds perfectly fine.
Interesting. It is likely polarity sensitive and your Hot/Neutral are swapped.
Nice build , I hope to get a plasma cutter some day , thanks TANK
They definitely have a fun factor about them.
Another slick trick. Thanks Moe.
If there was enough "room" on the clock spring you could always clock it a few Revolutions tighter and it would help with the retracting aspect. Not too much tho or you won't be able to unwind fully and could break the spring all together . But like you said , inexpensive hoss reel
80# that's all? Try 3 phase SO cord. We have 150' long cables for our welder. 480VAC 30A is what we want for our welder at work but we use 8/4 SOOW cable to power them. It effect the welder when we have that long of cable. Love your idea!
I have a 6/4 SOOW 150' cord I never bring out because of weight. I can't imagine how much weight I have there.
Before you added the wire to the reel, I think you could have wound the reel a few more turns to get more pre-load on the spring. I've had to do it before even with just the hose. I can't remember how much more it can be wound before the spring is maxed out tho.
I gave it two more wraps last night. You need to use it for a while to let the clock spring settle in but I may be able to get away with doing another one or two wraps.
great idea, just wish you had a bolt together design for those of us that don't have a welder
Outstanding, what an excellent way to create a retractable extension cord :-)
Blue tape can't disguise that harbor freight hose reel. :) You can probably give it an extra wind to make that last 6 feet retract easier. the instruction book says how but basically pull it out one turn then manually feed the cord around the reel (you'll have to take your end off again).
It's blue tape brand. It's so cheaply made I didn't want to endorse it. I have their higher end Red Diablo that I thought was cheap, but they were out of those when I went in. It first look they look to be made the exact same but this yellow one has a few more corners cut to save a few cents. I t should hold up fine, but if not I'll beef it up. But I did give it 2 extra winds last night. The cord is also so heavy it takes a second for the reel to pick up momentum, then it seems to do fine. I thought I would get an extra air hose. Nope, the hose was so cheap that came with this one. The rubber was so soft and uncured it stuck to other parts of the hose when reeled up and ripped holes in itself when unwinding. So the brand new hose has around 5 holes in it and I've never aired it up. I'm taking just the hose back to HF today to see if they'll give me a new hose.
@@sixtyfiveford the hose must be hit or miss on these then, I have 2 of them and they work great (couldn't resist $60 coupon).
Do the main coils of the extension cord heat up at all after welding? I'm not talking about the spinner component, but the actual coiled extension cord itself. If you were using this for something other than welding, something with a high current draw for sustained periods of time, I'd be concerned about the extension cord melting together and shorting. You can search for "melted coiled extension cord" if you want to see some fun pictures! Awesome project!
No heat at all with my test runs. I was actually trying to heat it up. There's just so much down time with welding it'll never be a concern. Any cord reel though should be unwound to allow cooling during heavy use though. In the unlikely scenario that I want to run a portable stove in my garage I would be limited to a 30amp 100% duty cycle of the slip ring.
@@sixtyfiveford looks like you finally did just that. Once we upgrade the dryer in our home, I might duplicate what you did! Love the explanation about the duty cycle...always wondered why the old Lincoln welders had a 50 amp breaker but only specified 10ga wire. The more you know!
Even if it runs on 14ga wire... the farther you go the more voltage drop you get, so it starts screwing with your settings... You want to check charts and see what guage wire you need for the length and current draw. You can test it... Plug in to wall, weld, then plug into a 50' cord, then a 100' cord, without messing with your settings and you will see a difference... especially on your lower welding settings like you use for sheet metal.
And as a hobbyist, I have run my welder building things where the welder shut off after welding non stop because it got too hot and I had to wait for it to cool down.
I would never power a welder with 14awg over any distance. If that's how it came across that was not my intention. A 120v 20amp welder does well on a 12awg cord up to around 100' max. A 240v 50amp welder would do 12awg up to around 25feet.
@@sixtyfiveford I mentioned 14ga because I think you said (without rewatching the video) one of your welders or one you owned, only had 14 ga wire in the welder cord. And some people not familiar with how electricity works, might get the wrong idea. Or for that matter, know that there are charts to calculate the wire size for the amps and length you are trying to get to.
@@kiddiescripterkiller The problem is that 99% of all the charts you see are wrong. They are for household 100% duty cycle appliances. Out of twenty 240v 50 amp welders I've owned all but 2 had 14awg wire. The other two had 12awg and they could have been aluminum wire. You can get away with so much when you have a welder with a duty cycle of 20 to 30% at max output. On 10awg You can run them 100 ft without any issue but every single chart out there will tell you you cannot because they are based on NEC code for 100% duty cycle
@@sixtyfiveford True... But if you aren't sure of what you are doing, it is better to be safe than sorry... That is why the charts are rated that way.
Or if you use the cord for something other than a welder. Like for example, if you decided to use your welder extension cord to feed power to your neighbors house during an emergency. Been there done that... His generator quit working, I didn't have the parts to fix it for him, so I fed him 220 off my generator.
That is why the charts are setup like that. Granted the charts even at that point, are oversized, but they are calculated so you don't overheat the cable and cause a fire.
That is why the charts take in to account the wire size / length / type / insulation / ambient temperature, if is or isn't in a conduit, the size / type of the conduit, recommended junction box sizes, etc...
I just did this with a manual garden hose reel. Might have to do this idea I didn't know about the slip ring
Awesome. Garden hose reel is far better than hand manipulating these cords.
Another great video, I always look forward to seeing new videos from you on what you are building in the garage.
Awesome, thank you!
Oh btw, another reason a lot of electricians are a bit skeptical to welders on normal domestic circuits is that they are usually Class A (or whatever it is over there) that doesn't have enough back EMF and noise shielding (mostly because it can't properly remove all noise effectively) for any delicate equipment, so if you're a bit unlucky it might take out your TV or amplifier. Had a friend getting his expensive tube amp wrecked by a TIG welder (the HF start is very noisy), but arching when welding with MIG and stick can also create quite a bit of noise.
I'm running mine through an isolation transformer, but there's still a bit of noise from it.
Very true. Well said.
Oh Boy! I have a lot of sensitive electronics. Maybe I don't want to weld at my house... 🙄🤔 My welders are all linear transformer type, not switch mode inverter type. Wouldn't the transformers in the welders isolate the noise? What about a heavy duty buck converter using a toroid and tons of capacitance?
@@waltschannel7465 Transformers isolate noise quite well, the meatier the better.
The problem is with switch mode, it has quite spiky high frequency noise, and the self adapting nature (and ability to modify the output current rapidly) makes it return quite a bit of noise to the grid. Just adding large caps will (unintuitively) actually just make it worse, it has to be a properly designed filter, which is expensive and therefore often skimped on. Just having a huge 1:1 transformer in between will get rid of most of the noise.
Some info on designing PSU caps:
th-cam.com/video/qosClvn9GqU/w-d-xo.html
You're too cool man. Respect.
This is a great idea. Have any idea how I can do this with a regular extension cord?
Generally it's cheaper to buy a premade one for a regular 16,14 or 12awg extension cord.
Hey bud, I like your style, its refreshing to noy be the only fixer left. Anyway, I tried to go through your store link. It may need a little tune up. None of the things in this video are listed. I am trying trying to help support you, even if you are a Ford guy. Loved the dash repair and dryer to heater videos! Keep it up!
Thanks. I appreciate the support. Generally I put individual links to products and don't put them into the main store. That's just because there are so many items with all the videos I do it would be hard to find.
There are spools like this that are meant to be used for water hoses. They have a stronger spring so should have more pull and be a bit more robust.
Very true. I need to run it in and out a few dozen times to settle the clock spring. Then I can easily tighten it.
Do you think it would be possible to build a stick welding lead real set with this? Maybe attach the lead to all the wires?
Thanks for the tip, love the dog such a sweerheart. As always be safe. Peace.🇺🇸
Hey Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
since you have half the length of wire vs the air hose that was on there you could crank that clock spring up a half dozen turns so it winds in better
I actually put 50 ft of wire on the 50 ft hose reel so the exact same. The clock spring needs to be pulled out a couple times just to so it settles. But then I will do a couple extra winds and it'll work way better.
@@sixtyfiveford oh wow thats a good set up then,looked like alot less than 50', you buy the cords premade online or did you find a spool of wire for cheap?
in canada was cheaper for me to buy the cord than just order the wire alone
@@AndrewBrowner Yeah I salvaged 135 ft from a boat dock last year. But in the past when I've needed heavy guage extension cords I would buy the old Lincoln stick welders. The people would include the cords for no cost and then I would just resell the welder and have $200-300 worth of free cord.
Another great tip!!! Thanks brother.
Thanks Mike
I would add brush and licker into the spool if this was used other than cleanish shop. Say work truck environment on the jobsite get licker so cable wont pull in all the mud and dirt to spool. Could use same thing for air hose as well.
What a super idea idea!
Glad you think so!
I would be curious how this holds up the bearing and spring are not designed for that much weight but is a neat idea to build one on a budget
Thanks for the problem solving ideas, this is one that I can use.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Could you have wound the spring a little tighter? It looks like there were quite a few more turns available.
Yes I added two extra winds last night.
I was wondering the same. I’d like to make one of these as I don’t mind getting dirty, sweating and wearing myself out when building something, but having to roll up that cord just pisses me off for some reason.
My house isn't wired for a welder, and I am using (newbie) a Harbor Freight 60-125, I've been looking for a cheap extension cord, and really only need a 10 footer. Can I get away with using a 12-14 gauge?
Nice job.
That would be dangerous, and likely more expensive than buying heavier gauge cable. Don't skimp with this equipment! Actually, I hope you will get an electrician to run proper wiring and an adequate outlet at the point you want to set up your welding station. Meantime, bring the work to the welder, and cobble up good protection around it whenever you strike an arc.
That's the 120 volt welder isn't it? 12awg extension cord up to 50 foot will be more than adequate. 14awg you could get away with maybe 15 foot.
Nice build 🇺🇸
Thanks Mike
cool project! i think i like the reel retracting a little slower... my air hose screams back in and sure as sh*t there will me a little shard of metal stuck to it and it will slice my hand as it retreats to its wall cave
I've used it quite a bit now and the slower speed has been nice. I know if I let go of my air hose it would likely cause some damage.
that's a convenience! Nice.
I think I'll get use out of it.
Another great build! And I love your dog, my dog just gets in the way in videos😂
Hey Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Genius!! Great idea.
i was wondering.... welding with the wire coiled up like that, wouldn't it like create a magnetic field (like an induction heater or something) and melt the wire? i have no experience in electrical work.... just asking out of curiosity
The two poles are opposite (or zero) at any given moment, so their electromagnetic fields cancel each other out
@@N-hunter oh... i had no idea.. thanks for explaining!
Great video, found this because I'm wanting to build a reel similar. Thumbs up!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Really helpful, very inventive. Thanks!
Well done, but now what are you gonna do with the air hose ?😃😃
Was this reel the one that had the hose that cracked on you?
No, I bought a brand new hose reel for this project and thought I would get an extra hose. Nope, the hose was so cheap that came with this one. The rubber was so soft and uncured it stuck to other parts of the hose when reeled up and ripped holes in itself. So the brand new hose has around 5 holes in it and I've never aired it up. I'm taking just the hose back to HF today to see if they'll give me a new one.
Sweet
But courious as to how long the tension spring will last with that heavy wire and how many back lashes you will have to untangle.
It's no different than the air hose and puts no more strain on the spring than that would.
Crimping is better then solder for this application. And in many cases us preferably to crimp instead if soldering.
Yes and no. Crimping is better in high vibration situations where the length of the cord can't be supported. Crimping gives up a perfect connection though and can cause heat build up at the crimp joints. Soldering will have no heat build up at the wire joints under heavy duty applications like I'm using it for. Crimping would be fine in household wiring where the wires are so overrated that they're not pushed to the limits of their gauge.
Great idea and awesome execution!
Glad you think so!
That's it!
i'm building my own!
What guage wire would I need for a 220v MIG welder? And what size breaker? And do you have a video on adding a plug and wire from the breaker panel?
Welders/plasma cutters have a intermittent duty cycle so you can use thinner wire than is commonly used for household 220v circuits. Generally you will wire in a 50 amp welder outlet with what's called a Nema 6-50r(virtually all welders come with this plug pre-installed). You would also use a 50amp breaker. You could run 10/3 for up to around 50ft and it'll handle a 220v 50amp welder with a duty cycle up to 40%-50%(most diy welders are only 10- 20% duty cycle on max). Now this will be an intermittent duty cycle outlet only and can't run things like a stove or charge an electric vehicle etc. If you want to do those, (those are 100% duty cycle) the 50 amp outlet is limited to only around 30amps. You would want to step up to 6 gauge wire to handle 50amps continuous/non-stop.
In wiring it's all about controlling the heat / temperature of the wire. A duty cycle allows the wire to cool down and not get overly hot and why we can get away with lot thinner wire with welders. Where as something like a stove you'll turn on and it'll run for an hour two hours straight and the wire will never get a chance to cool down so you need oversized wire. I mentioned this because everywhere you read will tell you you need 6 gauge wire for 50 amp circuit. but this doesn't take into account welders which are their own category in electrical code.
I’m jealous I didn’t think of this. Great idea.
Glad you liked it!
now that the way to go..... great video
Thanks 👍
That’s pretty cool.
Thanks Man
I found that the springs on the cheap-o hose reels are crap and weaken up with repeated use. Assuming it's because they are not proper spring steel or not properly heat treated. An issue with running higher currents through smaller gauge wiring is voltage drop due to resistivity. Short runs are likely not a problem but it really adds up over long runs and that will affect your welder, plasma cutter, etc. Cool hack nonetheless!
Thank you man! I've been trying to think what the slip ring thing is called. I just have a male end at the end and just plug and unplug each time I roll out
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Nice engineering Moe!
Thanks!
If you hang around a water pump company - or show up where they're changing a pump, you can get the wire that goes into the well. If the well is deep enough, you could wind up with 100' or 12/3 and some really impervious waterproof heavy sheathing on it too!
☼ The wire normally is suspended in the well, all the way down to the pump and by code, they always put new wire in - so they have to throw it out and not many people want to clean it to get 12ga copper out of all that covering!
☼ THIS is what I make my heavy duty extension cords from - 12/3 - and it's gonna carry my welders with no problems.
☼ A 6-pack of something cold would go a long way to getting the wire they throw away too..... for free ...... just sayin' .....
Yeah I had my builder put in a 220v plug in my garage. They put a 4 prong in but only a 15 amp 120v breaker in the panel. 🙄🙃
Strange. Not sure what device you could run off a 15amp 220v circuit.
Do you know why they don't run coils of wire around a metallic core?
Where have you been? It's done all the time.
He's running the full circuit so the in and out currents cancel each other's magnetic fields.
great job, great build,
Thanks 👍
Sweeeeeet idea, thank you
Glad you like it!
Fantastic idea thanks I'll definitely going to use the it
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Great Idea! Awesome Inexpensive Project Idea...🤔
Thanks TK