6300 watt generator for 50 amp welder?

[Kendrick]

I don't know of anyplace you can get three phase power in a residential setting. Usually you can only get this in area's zones for commercial use. It is a lot more efficient but don't think it will be available to most people in a residential setting. (though I guess some large farms might have three phase?)

there is plenty residences that have 3 phase. farms are most, one house we looked at had 3phase for the wood working shop they had setup. in town you wont get 3phase in houses much. It takes some work and $$$ 400amp max i think for res settings then you pay 2 or 3 k just to think of bigger 600 amp and above is com/3phase. you do have to get com power but not zoning iirc.

I am hoping to get a 50kw gen for my place but will have to see want to run both the barn and the house off the gen if need be. all welding will be done via gen and barn may never see com powerlines. we shal see though

 

[xkrfan]

what's been your experience so far with your generator and welder setup?

 

[Jarrett]

Nathan,

I have a 5550 watt generator with a 8550 surge that has a 120/240 volt 30 amp receptacle. With the advice of some fine folks on this website, I was able to construct a 50 amp box with a cord that has a 30 amp connector attached. See the pic below. This setup allowed me to begin learning how to weld. I now have power in my barn but before that, the generator was my only source of welding power. I have a Lincoln AC225. Although not intended for that kind of use and the 30amp breaker trips from time to time with continuous welding, it still works with low amp welding or very quick welding tasks. It's very handy in a pinch when you're out in the field and you need portable welding power.

Yes, the welder has a sticker that says to provide a 50 amp 220 volt input to the AC225. Lincoln also "suggests" a 15,000 watt generator or some other ridiculous genset which they just happen to sell mated with a welder.

The standard welder plug used by almost all welders is a 50 amp plug so I wonder if Lincoln is just trying to standardize the input plugs in garages since the AC225 does not need 50 amps of 220.

The AC welder is just a big fat transformer that takes 220 volt input power and lowers the voltage to about 25 volts. So when you set the welder to the 200 amp setting for thick steel you are using 200 * 25 = 5000 watts. There might be some efficiency penalty so say 5500. Most welding for me is done in the 120 amp range so 3000 watts is all I needed.

I made an adapter cable just like the one posted here and ran my AC225 from a Coleman 6850 surge/5500 continuous rated genset for quite some time. I performed jobs like welding the reinforcement plate to my tractor bucket for the toothbar or adding beads of weld to the grousers on my old bulldozer.

MUD & Highbeam:
I need to do this same thing. How did you connect the wire to the 50A receptacle, when the 30A generator receptacle has 4 prongs and the welder plug only has 3? What size wire did you use?

 

[have_blue]

I'm always checking craigslist for stuff and there is a 6300w craftsman generator with electric start on there for $600 which seems like a pretty good deal. It has a 220v outlet but it is only a 20 amp outlet. Is there anyway to work it so that I could run my 50 amp 220v welder on it or should I just forget about that idea? I had thought that would be a great option for using the welder on tractor projects so I could just take the welder to the tractor or implement instead of having to pull everything into the barn.

Thanks in advance.

Nathan

Maybe just sell everything and start fresh with this:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[Dargo]

MUD & Highbeam:
I need to do this same thing. How did you connect the wire to the 50A receptacle, when the 30A generator receptacle has 4 prongs and the welder plug only has 3? What size wire did you use?

You most likely have a floating neutral. Be careful. If you only wire up 3 wires you'll fry most everything with a transformer that is hooked up to it. Here is an article that explains it far better than I can http://www.smartpowersystems.com/New/PDF/Articles/mw ng article.pdf

And, no, the little Honda 8750 surge 6500 constant generator won't power my welder worth a hoot. Even using #2 wire for the cord from the generator to my welder I can't get enough power to make any reasonable welds. I tore up my rear blade twice while we were out of power and only wasted my time trying to weld the 3/8" bracket I tore off the blade. Oh, I could stick it to together with a really cold weld, but that won't work when I'm yanking on it with a 100 hp tractor that weighs around 13k. I have been welding for almost 35 years now and know only too well about a nice looking but cold weld. I can make one that looks great with my generator that will fool anyone who doesn't know what they are looking at. It will also break the first time it is used hard. If I weld something and it breaks again at my weld, I've failed. For me to even remotely consider my welds adequate, any future breaks must occur somewhere other than where I've made the weld. I've welded the breech on several black powder cannons that shoot beer cans full of concrete over 2 miles. That is not a weld I'd want to fail.

 

[Highbeam]

MUD & Highbeam:
I need to do this same thing. How did you connect the wire to the 50A receptacle, when the 30A generator receptacle has 4 prongs and the welder plug only has 3? What size wire did you use?

It's been a long time. You obviously wire the two 110 volt legs to the two hots of the 50 amp plug. The ground and neutral are where it gets tricky. On the twistlok end of the adapter wire in all four wires correctly. Use 4 conductor cord (10-3).

Now what to do at the welder end which is a 3 conductor plug.

I recall that I started out with just the ground from the generator for the ground of the 50 amp plug which is what you would do with a house. That is fine at a house since the ground and neutral are bonded at the panel.

I found that the cooling fan for the welder wouldn't work unless I used the neutral from the genset. It must be 110. So I attached both the neutral and the ground wire from the twistlok to the ground prong on the 50 amp plug which is similar to how it is done at a house.

Hey it works and nobody has been shocked. Truth be told, I now have a smaller 3500 watt genset and sold the LOUD! tecumseh powered unit after wiring a new 50 amp circuit into my garage at the house. Inspected and all. So the adapter I made sits on the shelf.

Currrently, rob (screenname 3rrl) uses his genset to power a welder and might be able to offer another success story.

I will admit that the welder works better with grid power than using a contractor's genset. Welds are easier to start and flow better. I think the grid handles the surge better.