What is better? Extension cord OR soldering cord extension

[Marty Tippin]

OSHA? Doubt they'll be stopping by my hobby workshop...

[scott vroom]

OSHA? Doubt they'll be stopping by my hobby workshop...

I'd be more worried about Engine Co. 9 stopping by to put out the electrical fire if you don't do it safely, OSHA be damned.

[John Donhowe]

solder is actually non-conductive and can cause resistance. That's why major power connections are almost always lugged and crimped instead. But I'm not an electrician.

I'm not an electrician either, but solder is indeed conductive, as millions (at least) of printed circuit boards can attest. It's not as conductive as copper, but a good solder joint has a lot of conductive surface area, which offsets that.

My speculations about lugged or crimped connections being used are that it's probably cheaper to manufacture and assemble parts (less skill required); disassembly and part replacement is easier, esp. in the field (unsoldering is a PIA); troubleshooting can be easier- it can be hard to detect a weak or cold solder joint.

[Cary Falk]

I always throw away the cord that comes with my 220V tools and then wire a whole new cord of the appropiate length. I would never splice a cord.

[Steve Baumgartner]

Seems like a lot of fuss over what ought to be a non-issue! Just replace the original pigtail as others have suggested. It won't take any longer, won't cost much different (you will need cord and plugs anyway), and won't raise any questions about code or OSHA.

[glenn bradley]

I too simply replace the cord with appropriate wire of the length needed to do the job. Two exceptions, are my tablesaw and router table. For the reasons Steve P states, I put a connecting point near the operator position of the machines so I can easily unplug to blade / bit changes.

[Bob Grier]

I have always been leery about soldering wires unless they are joined by crimp of some sort of mechanical connection. I see 600 degrees (maybe that is volts) written on lots of electrical cable. Anyway I think solder melts well below the temperature wire at a bad connection could get to. Not sure if that means anything.

I sometimes solder crimped connections to hopefully reduce affect of long term corrosion on boat wiring connections or crimped connections on low voltage sensing wires.

[Keith Hankins]

Ok, first if you are doing a 20A circuit, you don't need 10/2, but it won't hurt other than your pocketbook. Of course if you think you will need a 30A in the future then the wire will be there. Second, just put a L620 plug and proper recepticle and matching rating breaker and you are good to go. Go to your electrical supply house and get flexible generator cable. It ain't cheap, but will remain flexible. Not familiar with your tool, so I don't knnow if you have just a wire end, or you have a connection box. If a box, crimp/solder spade connectors to put under the terminals and clamp it down. I would not do direct solder because you want to be able to remove if required other than a hot iron. You could consider a locking plug, but if you are like me you will be in the shop not a lot of newbs. PS, I'd label that 220 circuit so people know.

[Phil Thien]

I have always been leery about soldering wires unless they are joined by crimp of some sort of mechanical connection. I see 600 degrees (maybe that is volts) written on lots of electrical cable. Anyway I think solder melts well below the temperature wire at a bad connection could get to. Not sure if that means anything.

I sometimes solder crimped connections to hopefully reduce affect of long term corrosion on boat wiring connections or crimped connections on low voltage sensing wires.

The 600 rating you see on cables is voltage, not temperature. Teflon insulation will get you to approx. 200 degrees (C), but the rubber and plastic insulation on the stuff on the cords we're talking about won't get you anywhere near that.

Solder is about the best way to connect two conductors provided the person doing the work knows how to properly solder, and provided they don't need a convenient disconnect.

Everything else out there (wire nuts, crimps, lugs under a screw, etc.) were all designed for convenience and not superior current carrying capacity.

Soldering two cords together as a means of splicing them probably would only pass inspection if the work was done inside a box. I cannot imagine how that work could be done outside a box and pass any sort of inspection. I'm sure others with more experience will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Patrick Grady]

Boats teach tons about wiring and corrosion. I'd vote solder off the island immediately. Low and microamperages solder is fine. High amperage, high wattage solder does nothing more than cover over a possibly bad high-resistance fire hazard connection. If you ever solder line voltages then you will have bad night dreams. Solder cannot be coded because of the variables involved in condition of the wires (slight age and oxidation offer deadly resistances that compound themselves) regardless of skill. Your Hammer A3 is not a boat but if a high resistance solder connections lights up your saw dust, you will wish you had plenty of water around.

[Wade Lippman]

It is improper to make a joint that relies on solder. You can solder if you want, but there must be a mechanical joint that would hold without the solder.

I have both replaced short cords and used extension cords. Either works. Extending a short cord with solder wouldn't.

Don't know what breaker you need, but if you are going to use 10/2 then you might as well use 30a. Unlikely to be much benefit from 10/3 though.

[Phil Thien]

Boats teach tons about wiring and corrosion. I'd vote solder off the island immediately. Low and microamperages solder is fine. High amperage, high wattage solder does nothing more than cover over a possibly bad high-resistance fire hazard connection. If you ever solder line voltages then you will have bad night dreams. Solder cannot be coded because of the variables involved in condition of the wires (slight age and oxidation offer deadly resistances that compound themselves) regardless of skill. Your Hammer A3 is not a boat but if a high resistance solder connections lights up your saw dust, you will wish you had plenty of water around.

Solder is used for line voltages inside all sorts of devices in your home, from appliances to outlet strips to what-not. And I've got no problem sleeping.

I'm not sure what you mean by "solder cannot be coded," it certainly is allowed in the NEC.

Just securely twist the conductors, solder them, and insulate.

[John Coloccia]

A proper solder joint make fine electrical joints. It also embrittles the wire and causes a stress riser where the wire will surely break with any sort of flexing. If you want the original current carrying capacity of the wire, some random twisting and glopping solder on there won't work. I'll also say that unless the OP is an electronics tech, the odds of him making a proper solder joint with whatever Radio Shack iron he happens to have is somewhere around zero and none. Twisting, soldering and tossing electrical tape on it is a sure way to put your property in danger. Crimping is far more reliable if a joint is to see any sort of vibration or other stress.

The right way, and simple way, is to replace the wire, but I don't have a dog in this fight. If someone wants to relearn all of these lessons for themselves and run experiments with wiring sitting in their homes, by all means go for it.

[Phil Thien]

A proper solder joint make fine electrical joints. It also embrittles the wire and causes a stress riser where the wire will surely break with any sort of flexing. If you want the original current carrying capacity of the wire, some random twisting and glopping solder on there won't work. I'll also say that unless the OP is an electronics tech, the odds of him making a proper solder joint with whatever Radio Shack iron he happens to have is somewhere around zero and none. Twisting, soldering and tossing electrical tape on it is a sure way to put your property in danger. Crimping is far more reliable if a joint is to see any sort of vibration or other stress.

The right way, and simple way, is to replace the wire, but I don't have a dog in this fight. If someone wants to relearn all of these lessons for themselves and run experiments with wiring sitting in their homes, by all means go for it.

The very first job I ever had was at a Heathkit store. That is where I learned that most people can actually solder a heckuva lot better than they can crimp. A lot of that is because most people don't have the gear to consistently perform gas-tight crimps.

Here is the definitive guide on splicing:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doctree/87394.pdf

See what NASA has to say (all 114 pages) in regards to soldering and crimping.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Thanks everyone for your help. I like the extension cord idea better. I can just move it around the shop to whatever machine in use.

As an update, it turns out that putting in a 20A circuit in the main panel was more involved than I had thought. However, I asked the electrician to put in a 50A circuit terminating in the small garage/shop when this house was under construction. I decided that since I am wiring for 240V tools, I might as well do a proper job. I converted the 50A outlet into a subpanel (rated 125 Amp, 6 circuits).

The original 50A outlet:
IMG_3277.jpg

Subpanel with a 2-pole, 240V, 20-Amp circuit for the Hammer A3 31 (and future 240V tools):
IMG_3279.jpg

240V 20-A outlet, which will be labeled in big, red letters "240V":
IMG_3281.jpg

While I were at it, I put in a GFCI 20A 120V circuit and ran 12/2 wires for future circuits (likely a 240V 20A and 120V 20A):
IMG_3284.jpg

Fishing romex behind drywall isn't so bad this time because of the large cutout I had to make for the subpanel. I found out that GFCI circuit is the most expensive item of this retrofit job.

Question to the electricians on the forum: Did I wire these subpanel and circuits correctly?

One thing I am not entirely sure about is polarity. Does it matter for the 240V circuit?

I checked and checked more times than I can count against my reference (The Complete Guide to Home Wiring: A Comprehensive Manual, from Basic Repairs to Advanced Projects, ISBN-10: 0865734291) and spotted no mistake, but other set of eyes would help.