On Sep 4, 11:24 am, Jim Stewart wrote:
The business had a little extra cash before tax
time so my wife let me buy a Thermal Arc 185 TIG
welder.

I sorted out the plug/socket and installed an
outlet for the unit. I also want to fabricate
a 20' extension cord for the unit, and that's
where I got confused.

The welder specs call out 38 amps/240 volts as
the max current draw. The welder comes with a
line cord with 12 gauge conductors with a 50
ampere plug on the end. Anyone see the apparent
contradiction here?

I installed a 50 ampere breaker, the called-out
50 ampere socket, and 50 ampere-rated conductors
between the two. Should be no issue there.

The problem is the 20 foot extension cord. 8
or even 10 gauge portable cordage would seem
to be a waste given the 12 gauge cord on the
unit. OTOH, there's just something wrong about
putting a 25 amp cable on a 50 amp breaker running
to a 38 amp load.

Jim --

Are you near water? Any decent-sized town with a boating presence
will have a used marine equipment store and they just about always
have shore power cables available. A 50A marine shore power cable
will be just the ticket for your welder, and likely cost less at the
boat surplus shop than it would to buy the parts new.

Regards,

Bob