My shop is located about 100 feet behind my house.  If I wanted to run an extension cord out there to power a Lincoln Weldpak 140HD, what kind would I need?

 

Also, am I likely to blow my breakers?  I would hope not since these welders are meant for the home shop.

 

Thanks,

Rob

Short answer, you're screwed. Please don't try to make a trailer from this tool. My family might be on the same road.

You are best to have a 20 amp breaker.  I have a Lincoln 125 and use a 12/3 100 foot cord to run the welder without issues.  I do not use it for anything structural except for furniture items, tac welding, and small repairs.  For everything else, I like my 220 Lincoln Arc welder.  110's just do not have the fire power to penetrate thick steel. Shop use and home use are two different things.  Most homes weren't wired for welders.  The washer/dryer plugs are usually 20 amps and may work.  For your welder, you may need 10/3 wire and that can be expensive.  Good luck.  

Contact the welding supply house or the manufacturer and find out what and how much electric that welder will need to operate at peak performance.

 

Now that you have that information, you need to get a certified electrician to install a breaker box in your shop. He must install the power needed in the shop so it meets national code, state code, and local codes as well as supply the quality and quantity of electric you will need both for the welder AND the shop.  You may have to tap directly into the house breaker box for power.  A certified electrician will know these things.  

 

It is better to pay for his expert advice one time than to have problems for a long time.

 

Consider putting the electric underground. 

someone mentioned electrical work?  I should add that a 12/3 100 foot cord is not rated for 20 amps, only 15 amps at best. 

 

Most people are not aware that amperage ratings are a combination of wire type (aluminum or copper are most common choices) wire size (gauge) and insulating jacket (RW, THHN etc),  as well as if it is underground open air, or in conduit for installation.  All this will effect the load being able to transfer through the wire without heat build up, that can cause a fire.

 

For short term welding jobs (minutes not hours) you should be fine, but will not have full power available form your machine. If your machine needs a 20 amp circuit it will have a 20 amp plug on the end, a 15 amp plug has the 2 parallel tabs, a 20 amp  has the 2 at 90 degree angles to each other to prevent the wrong circuit being used.

Dave, If your not part of the cure your part of the problem. If we, as guests can self police and gently remind our piers to use there manners, and play by Glenn's rules, then It takes some of the stress of of Glenn, Steve and the other moderators.
And Dave, please don't poke the bear ;-)

I agree Dave

Dave, Charles, et al. My bad. Dave made some good points about what a weldpac can do. I'm sorry for lashing out about it, those things are a sore spot for me. I've actually made a lot of money from them, mostly when some body tried to fix a trailer tongue or weld on spring shackles with a 110v mig, and it comes into my shop in twisted pieces to be sorted out. I'm really not a bad guy, but I have an issue with these machines. The boys at the welding supply aren't much help, they are happy to sell them to whomever for whatever reason.
I'll stand down and sit in the corner now
mh

Hey Rob,
I have a 140 and like it. Look at the data plate on the front. Its designed to run on a 20 amp curcuit at 120Volt. When you get out to 100' feet you start to get voltage drop due to distance and then your amps will go up and you may start tripping the breaker. A 12/3 100' cord will probably cause you a lot of walks back to the house to reset the breaker. It does at my house. A 10/3 cord would be more reliable for you.

On the fun side, Its been -30 here for the last 10 day. If this welder power is an emergency I could be there pretty quick!
Jeff

I have a Lincoln 140 that I use at home it has a 110 plug connected to it my question was can I use an extension to get more power to it I want to use it for small jobs but I just don’t seem to get enough Power 

Welcome aboard.  Glad to have you.  Read the "Read this first" in the banner at the top of the page.  If you put your location in your profile we can give you better answers.  We don't know if you are in Lapland or Tasmania.  A surprisingly large number of questions have geographic specific replies.

Re extension cords:  If you don't have enough power with the welder's internal cord an extension cord won't help.  All it does is let you get further away from the outlet.  That said, larger gauge wire extension cords will have less power loss over distance than thinner cords because of less resistance.  You may need a larger welder rather than a little 110v buzz box which is only designed for pretty light applications.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."