Interconnects (mods it's a brew room question)

[Cato]

On the Lincoln mig I got from @MattH some time ago I have 10m interconnects. They are a Pita to be honest, I could use the MIG next door never mind on the other side of the workshop.

So my question is, are they something that I could swap for a shorter set with a proper welderist who needed longer cables? I know they're quite pricey but have no idea if they're 'in demand'.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you can find somebody to do a swap then yes, as long as all the connections and the multiplug wiring is the same then no reason why not.

But, there are probably not that many people with short interconnects about as the point of having a remote feeder is to give you extra length. You can get mig torches up to 6m so I don't think many people would have originally ordered a welder with an interconnect any shorter than that?

They are expensive so I would look into making some sort of holder to keep the 10m mounted on the welder somehow rather than buy a short one.
Or have a look at the connectors on yours and see if it's possible to reuse them if you cut your cable down to the length you want but I expect you will have to buy some new ones and find the correct tooling to fit them.
Another option might be to find some genetic male/female connectors and stick them into your existing cable to shorten it, ie, make yourself a 3m length with 1.5m from each end then you could get another set of connectors to use the 7m middle bit if you wanted to keep the option to extend it.
Yet another option is to swap (or fit additional) connectors on the welder/feeder as well. Might be cheaper than buying the proper ones but will take you a few hours to do it!

Best bet would be to find a Lincoln dealer and pop in. Most of these migs will be getting used industrially and the users probably won't be looking on the forum or fb etc for parts swaps but a dealer might be interested in swapping out cables if they happen to have plenty of short ones and no longer ones.
Otherwise, try listing your cable on sales sites with "will swap for shorter" in the description.
That might help you find somebody who is looking for a 10m cable for a start.

If you priced the connectors/cable up you could advertise yours for the price of making up a new one.

 

[Cato]

Thanks, good info/advice.

It's not a huge issue as they're looped out of the way most of the time, but if I want to move the welder it's a pain. I'm trying to reorganise in the workshop to make things work better day to day and it's one of those things that bugs you. It doesn't warrant any real effort to sort, I just wondered if they were the sort of thing people swapped around. What you say makes sense, so they can stay where they are for now and if I need to shift the welder to as part of the reorganise I'll rig something up to hold them out of the way again.

 

[Robotstar5]

But, there are probably not that many people with short interconnects about as the point of having a remote feeder is to give you extra length. You can get mig torches up to 6m so I don't think many people would have originally ordered a welder with an interconnect any shorter than that?

Some sets have facilities to mount a remote feeder on top of the power source with short interconnect cables. We liked this system for production welders as the "tackers" tended to break/damage the WFU and it was easier to swap out instead of mauling a heavy power source out

 

[MCKDAVID]

just make up a new short set, easy enough to make,
I kept a short set, when it was in the workshop, and had the feeder on the power plant, when I wanted to move them outside swapped them out 10 M..., just copy the plugs, and make them identical... works fine.. had mine for a few years, right up to the point, one of the primary windings went pop... still have the interconnects hanging outside. I rerun them in old flat water hose to keep them tidy makes them easier to handle / store.....

 

[knighty]

do you move the wire feed box around?

like the post above, my big mig has a remote feed box, but it fits on top of the welder on a swivel so it can point in any direction

interconnects are hung up on the back of the welder, don;t think I've ever used the wire feed box remotely

 

[Cato]

do you move the wire feed box around?

like the post above, my big mig has a remote feed box, but it fits on top of the welder on a swivel so it can point in any direction

interconnects are hung up on the back of the welder, don;t think I've ever used the wire feed box remotely

No, I use it exactly as you say. The swivel works just fine, and I loop the cables over a beam.

The only time it's an issue is when I want to move the welder. Not a huge issue, but if there was an easy solution I'd use it. So it'll be OK as it is.