Flexible Welding Cable 2/0 Class M Copper Stranding
The two types of welding cable in the industry have different approval ratings and stranding options. There is a class K stranding and a class M stranding which determines how flexible the cable will be in the application. Those two classes are used for all types of electrical cables, not just welding cable.
Class K stranding refers to the use of 30 AWG copper strands which is already much more flexible than a standard THHN electrical wire. A 2/0 welding cable with class K stranding will need a total of 1248 strands to meet the outer diameter requirement of a 2/0 wire. This cable weighs about 487 pound per 1000 feet, it’s rated for 600 volts and has a temperature rating of 90ºC.
Class M stranding refers to the use of 34 AWG copper strands which makes this an extra flexible welding cable called Super Vu-Tron. A 2/0 Super Vu-Tron welding cable needs a total of 3300 copper strands to meet the outer diameter requirement of a 2/0 wire. A super Vu-Tron welding cable is UL, CSA, MSHA and RoHS compliant while the class K cable is only RoHS compliant.
The Super Vu-Tron welding cable also has a much more rugged insulation to deal with more impact throughout the day. It’s more commonly used on industrial job sites to bring power to portable tools and machines. It’s still a single conductor portable power cable rated for 600 volts and 90ºC but it can handle a lot more impact than the class K cable.
Since the class M stranded cable has a thicker insulation it can also handle a higher amount of power travelling through it. Class M welding cable can handle 300 AMPS while class K cables can handle 223 AMPS. Be careful when choosing a cable yourself because the amount of AMPS is calculated partly by the distance the power is travelling. The calculations on websites and in catalogs are based on a 250 foot run only. If your installation is longer or shorter than that then you should most definitely speak to an electrician about the size of cable you need.
If you’re not sure about the stranding option you need then speak to your electrical wire and cable supplier and they will walk you through the similarities and differences so you can make the decision yourself. Suppliers deal with different situations every day so they have probably already had a similar application requirement as yours.
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