DIY retractable WELDER Cord Reel 50amp 240volt Plasma Cutter

Build a Retractable Welder Cord Reel for 1/10 the cost of buying one.

3 wire SLIP RING: ❗️READ BELOW❗️
50ft air hose reel: https://amzn.to/3b4guTB
🔌 NEMA 6-50r 50amp Cord End: https://amzn.to/3XhHUub
50ft air hose reels can also be found at Harbor Freight(Merlin is better than the Central Pneumatic and is worth the few extra bucks)



BUILD THOUGHTS
Buying a premade welder retractable cord reel will set you back over $1000. Yes a grand! I already had the cord(8/4 SOOW) so my total costs for the Hose Reel and Slip Ring fell under $100. You don't need a 6 wire slip ring like I had in the video a 3 wire is more than adequate for a 50amp "WELDER CIRCUIT". https://amzn.to/3043FCA for a 3 wire/30 amp per wire. This is rated at 30amp at 100% duty cycle. Now you ask how is that adequate for a 50amp Nema 6-50 plug/circuit? We don't need 100% duty cycle for welders/plasma cutters. Homeowner Welders at full output generally draw sub 50amp at 20-30% duty cycle and this will EASILY handle it. And that's at FULL power, when was the last time you ran your 240v welder at full power until the overload protection kicked in? Now if you wanted to use this for powering an RV or similar 100% duty cycle appliance you will be limited by the 30AMPs of the slip ring and you should NOT exceed that. As far as the cord on the reel, 10/3 or 8/3 would have been lighter than my 8/4 I put on there and would be better. As a word of cation: Never run any cord reel at full power draw with multiple layers on the spool. Unroll them so they can have access to naturally cool under use. LABEL the cord end and reel so future people know the limitations.




This and all my projects are HIGHLY simplified for the videos and a ton of background testing is edited out. I take tons of precautions and do continuing tests to ensure my calculations are correct and everything will work safely for me and my equipment. If you have no idea what I was talking about in the video when it comes to amperage, voltages, and wiring; do not attempt this. Want more info do your own research. National Electrical Code NEC article 630 is a great place to start.



❗️3 wire slip ring:❗️ The largest gauge wire I can find on a slip ring is 12awg, which is the same gauge wire that is likely on your welder. It will handle 50amps with a DUTY cycle of up to around 40%. YOU CAN NOT run a stove, dryer, shop machinery off one of these as it won't give the wire enough time too cool. Here it is: https://windandsolar.com/90-amp-3-wir... If you want you can buy the 6 wire as a redundancy like I did in the video but I would still not run 50amps continuously : https://windandsolar.com/180-amp-6-wi...
Now with that said you can't run 12awg wire for the entire coiled cord as the voltage drop will be too much over 25-50ft. You need to stick with at least 10awg but 8awg is better. ❗️



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