Welding Tips and Tricks

My son and I drug out an old AC stick welder for me to show him how to use. Looking and the leads I guess 40-50 years of age tends to take it's toll on the insulation. The buzz box is a 250 amp Forney 220V unit. Still does what it was made to do. Any ideas as to what size leads I should buy to replace what is on it? I did some looking on fleabay but in the descriptions the specs seem to be all over the place for the same sized copper, even from the same seller. Thanks for any help you can pass my way.
Bill

It depends a great deal on how far from the machine you plan to weld.

If you won't need leads longer than 12', you can buy 4 ga and be fine. If you want 25' of reach (each), I'd go 2 ga.

If you intend to use this machine for 90+% duty (production welding), double both estimates to 2 ga, and 1-ought, respectively.

I've welded 300 yards from my machine at 150 amps continuous duty with 2-ought cable.

If you're confident you won't be using your machine at more than half-power, you can use 6 ga. at 12', and 4 ga at 25'.

Be honest with yourself about how you will use it, and don't underbuy...

Steve S

Thank you very much for your reply, Steve. My shop is only 18 X 20 so I think I will give a shot at 15 foot leads of 2 AWG. I can move the machine out from the wall another 3-4 foot if needed from the outlet so that should cover most anything I need to work on. I don't want to under or over buy. I try to buy smart and buy once. Took some years to learn that one. Thanks again for your input.
Bill

If your not liking the price of replacement welding cables,
then go to your local auto salvage yard and look for a set of heavy duty, used jumper cables.

Thanks WS for the info chart. Downloaded and saved for reference. I actually have a set of very heavy duty cables that were damaged when two of the clamps were driven over that I was going to scrape or repair. I will give them a hard look and see if they might work. I'm thinking they might just be a bit short but they also might work until the welding equipment fund grows. Thanks again, Bill