Emergency generator question for you electricians

[HCJtractor]

I am thinking about buying a Miller Bobcat 225 for a welder and also for emergency power to my home. Since this unit is so heavy, I would trailer it. My question is, since I can't get it closer than 60 feet to my panel, is that a problem. I assume if I make an extension cord with the proper plugs, using the right gauge, it should be fine. Will probably never exceed 8000 W. What gauge to use and what is this cord called?

I also thought about buying a good generator and separate stick, but the combo seems to have more advantages. Do you agree? I will only use it for occasional personal use. I would like to have the ability to run my Miller 211 mig and later a plasma 40 or 50W unit. Seems these Bobcats hold their value and they are rated for the mig and plasma, whereas a standalone generator may be questionable. Thanks for any input or thoughts on this. I really need a generator for piece of mind and really want a welder to play with.

 

[boggen]

60 feet of cord sounds rather long and cumbersome.

why not look at installing a cable underground out to garage or were ever. with a receptacle. that you then could use a short (cord) between gen and receptacle?

 

[CurlyDave]

I am thinking about buying a Miller Bobcat 225 for a welder and also for emergency power to my home...

I also thought about buying a good generator and separate stick, but the combo seems to have more advantages. Do you agree?

I have never had a welder like that, but how easy is it to set up as a generator vs. a straight generator? If the power went out while you weren't at home would your wife be able to start it up and get the house on emergency power?

IMHO the easier the emergency power set up the better. I most likely won't be home when it is needed, and the ones who will need it are not as mechanically inclined as I am.

Another thought: What happens if you have trailered it off to someplace to use it when the power goes out? In my neck of the woods, the power doesn't go off at high noon on the 4th of July. It goes out in a cold, blinding snowstorm--just the time when you most need the power at home and are least likely to be able to get the trailer back.

 

[Baby Grand]

HJCtractor-

I have a Trailblazer as a welder and backup power source. If I could have afforded the diesel model I would have prefered to go that way for better fuel storage life & compatibility with the tractor. But that would have doubled the price.

Plan on getting a GenTran or similar hookup. If you're not an electricial, then plan on having an electrician make the installation - it's somewhat involved and you want it acceptable to local building codes so if you sell your place it's an asset, not a liability. I have a morbid and somewhat irrational fear of messing with AC power, so I shelled out the money to have someone who knows what he's doing do the work.

My plan is to bury an underground conduit with an appropriate gauge cable from the outlet on the side of the house to our shop, which is about 40 feet away. I'll build a little, sound insulated doghouse on the side of the shop where the unit will sleep until needed.

Right now the unit sits on a heavy duty 4 wheel cart in my shop. This allows me to wheel it out onto the paved driveway quickly for welding jobs and bring it back in when I'm done. My plan it to build a skid with wheels and a 3pt hitch so I can take it with me anywhere on the property that I need 120V, 240V or welding power. The skid will be designed to roll easily into and out of the doghouse from inside the shop.

I don't think you could ask for a nicer welder. For a genny it's pretty quiet, but I still dislike the noise of the generator when I'm welding. I like to hear the weld as well as see it. Another project is to add a second, automotive muffler to try to attenuate the sound a bit more. Otherwise, I have had the unit for about 2 years and am very, very happy with it. It was a big ticket item for me that I have never regretted buying.

-Jim

 

[varmint]

I got a smallish (5500 watt) generator years ago, after we lost power for week stretches at a time, thanks to hurricanes. I wish I hadn't been so cheap, and had gotten an engine that runs off propane. No storage issues, always good to go. Since gasoline is now $3.60 a gallon here, the cost of propane isn't an issue. The hassles with gas and having the wife start it if I am away are issues, for sure. Like someone said, you always need it in the middle of the night in a freezing snowstorm, when doing anything is twice as difficult.

 

[groundcover]

I think you are on the right track. We had an ice storm in '98 that had people paying over list price for portable gensets. I had a 3K Briggs that was getting tired and the welder generator looked like the way to go. I got a Lincon Ranger 8 8K for not much more than people were paying for small Hondas. Elect start,oil and fuel filters and 9gal gas tank . 16h Onan built to run all day. I have it in a detached garage,wired back to the house through a transfer switch ,piece of flex exaust out a steel plate in the window. Can hardly hear it in the house. Lost power for a couple of weeks in the 2008 ice storm, never skipped a beat. It even kept the garage warm !

 

[SPYDERLK]

I am thinking about buying a Miller Bobcat 225 for a welder and also for emergency power to my home. Since this unit is so heavy, I would trailer it. My question is, since I can't get it closer than 60 feet to my panel, is that a problem. I assume if I make an extension cord with the proper plugs, using the right gauge, it should be fine. Will probably never exceed 8000 W. What gauge to use and what is this cord called?

I also thought about buying a good generator and separate stick, but the combo seems to have more advantages. Do you agree? I will only use it for occasional personal use. I would like to have the ability to run my Miller 211 mig and later a plasma 40 or 50W unit. Seems these Bobcats hold their value and they are rated for the mig and plasma, whereas a standalone generator may be questionable. Thanks for any input or thoughts on this. I really need a generator for piece of mind and really want a welder to play with.

I would use 6 gauge 3wire with ground .. UF grade for direct burial. You can probably get it for $2 per foot. Wire V loss at 40A [even 60A] load would be negilible for 60' length.
larry

 

[Chilly807]

. Another project is to add a second, automotive muffler to try to attenuate the sound a bit more.

Jim, you may have less success with the second muffler than you hoped. I added a car muffler on a stand to my 5000 watt Honda.

It muffled the exhaust note more, to be sure, but the noise inside the garage (I had an exhaust port cut through the door panel) was pretty much the same. Most of the noise from the air-cooled Honda was mechanical, much more so than I thought originally.

Sean

 

[Travelover]

Jim, you may have less success with the second muffler than you hoped. I added a car muffler on a stand to my 5000 watt Honda.

It muffled the exhaust note more, to be sure, but the noise inside the garage (I had an exhaust port cut through the door panel) was pretty much the same. Most of the noise from the air-cooled Honda was mechanical, much more so than I thought originally.

Sean

+1 Did something similar on a Coleman generator and it still has lots of noise radiated off the engine block.

 

[crazyal]

First thing I would say is you can't use how much you think you will draw for power to judge what size wire you need. The generator should have a breaker, that's what you need to size the wire too.