wrote:
On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:26:51 -0800 (PST), Too_Many_Tools
wrote:


Your old welder wouldn't happen to be a Century or Sears would it?

Years ago I had one that had just the connector that you described.

TMT


The NEW welder is a Sears. It has 3 plugs on it.
GROUND (the thicker one)
POS. HI and POS LO (thinner ones).
There is a lever that turns on the top to adjust the power level.
It's an AC (only) stick welder.

The old welder is an unidentified brand. It's rusted and ugly, and
has about a dozen plugs on it for different power levels, but no
adjustment knob. I bought it at an auction for a couple bucks about
10 years ago. It works, but this new one works better and has more
power. I never knew which plug did what on that older welder, because
the rust destroyed the lettering on it. I got to know which was which
thru trial and error. I might just scrap that old one since I hooked
up the Sears one, I know it's a much better welder. Seems to be a
waste of garage space keeping that old one.

I called the farm supply store and was shocked to learn that welding
cable is almost $3 a foot....... I'll wait till I find some used ones
at another farm auction.

Thanks for all the help !!!!

You might take this as an opportunity to learn a little about welding cable
and about welding cable connectors. Welding cable comes in several sizes.
They are numbered - the larger the number, the smaller the cable. Most
small buzzbox welders use #2 cable. There used to be a handy table on the
Web of welding cable data but the company has gotten out of that business
and has obsoleted that table. I archived it and cleaned it up. Here it is:

Welding Cable Specifications & Details:

AWG Conductor Insulation Nom OD lbs/Kft Cu Wght/Kft
6 266/30 0.06 0.32 116 79.35
4 392/30 0.06 0.375 163 125.66
3 525/30 0.06 0.428 215 158.73
2 644/30 0.06 0.44 252 200.61
1 784/30 0.08 0.515 321 253.52
1/0 1026/30 0.08 0.55 389 309.66
2/0 1254/30 0.08 0.59 474 406.89
3/0 1615/30 0.08 0.66 601 514.60
4/0 2052/30 0.08 0.725 763 646.24

To understand the various welding cable connectors, I suggest that you
spend a few minutes looking at http://www.weldingsupply.com - you could
start by searching for Tweco or Lenco.

Good luck. On the welding newsgroup we generally suggest that guys looking
for a small home welder look for a model which has AC/DC. My personal favorite
is the Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC. from just a few years ago, long enough to have
detachable leads. I prefer detachable leads because I generally upgrade the
leads to be longer, and also I think they store much more neatly.

Grant Erwin

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