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I have a welder that draws 45 amps and (will soon have) a NEMA 6-50R outlet in my garage. I bought a very nice NEMA 6-50 extension cord, expecting to cut the female end off and wire it to have a long welder power cord. After looking at the cord, I decided would make more sense to put a male plug on the outside of the welder and have a removable power cord.

Minor problem, while there are thousands of wall mount 6-50R (Receptacle, female) devices out there, I am not finding any male versions. I COULD get a short plug and plug in from the wall to that but since the 6-50 is not locking, that does not appeal. I could also buy a standard issue 6-50 plug and mount it on the outside of the welder but I'd like to have something somewhat protected so, say the plugs don't get bent when the welder is not in use.

Does anybody have any good ideas or suggestions?

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    Can leave the welder plugged in(turned off) or get an extra 6-50 receptacle to placed over the prongs when not in use. Probably there are cheap boxes that will do the same job.
    – crip659
    Commented Jun 24 at 23:40
  • @crip659, the welder spends most of its time in the corner, out of the way, If I could hang the cable separately, that would be helpful in making room. Putting a standard issue plug inside of another box is something I had not considered. That might do the trick, Thanks.
    – user1683793
    Commented Jun 24 at 23:53
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    Eaton makes a 6-50 inlet. Retails for under $40
    – nobody
    Commented Jun 25 at 0:36
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    FWIW I also found Eaton's 6-50 inlet, like @nobody suggested. Web-searching with "inlet" in double quotes helped filter out the abundance of available 6-50 outlets better (not perfect, but better).
    – Triplefault
    Commented Jun 25 at 11:40
  • @nobody, I found the Eaton 6-50 inlet. I was searching for all kinds of things but never looked for inlet. Thanks. Now to see if my plug will fit in that device.
    – user1683793
    Commented Jun 26 at 4:13

2 Answers 2

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A plug on a short cable, as you suggest in the question, doesn't need to be locking. You could make the cable just long enough to reach the floor so the plug/socket won't be dangling. Or, you could stick a plastic broom clip to the side of the welder with foam tape, and clip the end of the extension cord just below the socket, to support the weight of the socket and plug. Or some other mechanical support for the pair of connectors -- design one that's simple and looks and works the way you want.

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  • There's an idea I had not thought of. Sticking something to the outside of my great old (vintage, 1976) welder is painful but it is a lot less permanent than drilling holes.
    – user1683793
    Commented Jun 25 at 0:57
  • Well .... if you are a welder and also nostalgic, instead of using a broom clip you should refashion some old 1970s thing for the purpose. A Sony Walkman or the handle of an old fridge or whatever ... a little cutting and welding, pretty much anything will do the trick. All you need functionally is a little forked shelf to rest the socket on.
    – jay613
    Commented Jun 25 at 1:15
  • Yeah, using a pigtail vs an inlet is recommended here as the pigtail can then be strain-relieved to the welder enclosure (vs having the stress be placed on the inlet/cordcap connection) -- had a leaf-blower/vac fail in a rather concerning way due to an "inlet on the body" configuration, even
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Commented Jun 26 at 9:05
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A standard female receptacle is an outlet. The opposite is an inlet.

In addition to setups such as yours - installing an inlet on the side of equipment instead of a cord/plug - the common usage is for a generator or other backup power. However, the common use for backup power is a 14-50, not a 6-50. That's because a 14-50 includes neutral, which is needed for typical backup power situations. Your welder doesn't need neutral. So what you are looking for is not in any way impossible, but it is relatively rare in ordinary consumer usage.

Which probably means: back to chopping an extension cord.

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    When I got started with this, I considered the 14-50 and thought "Naaah, I don't need the neutral, I'll save a few bucks with the 6-50." It's not a show stopper but I could have saved some headaches with the extra bucks. I'll see what's in the store and come up with something. Thanks.
    – user1683793
    Commented Jun 24 at 23:59
  • @user1683793 It basically comes down to the cost difference between 6-50 and 14-50. A couple of snips(of the white, if using /3) and 14-50 becomes a 6-50.
    – crip659
    Commented Jun 25 at 0:24

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