Welding off a generator

[Soundguy]

more power consumed, more power sourced.

IE.. welding at 180a draws more than welding at 70a.. otherwise a guy with a 235a welder would always be drawing max even welding at 70a. a very ineficient proposition!


soundguy

 

[grsthegreat]

when we calc out loads for welding equipment, the listed amperage....lets say 42 amps @ 240 volts = 10,080 watts.

but a generator only spikes that wattage for a second, after arc is established, the wattage (and amperage draw) is drastically reduced.

but a 5000 watt gen in this situation is pretty much underpowered for any large amt of welding. most people i see are using 10k generator sets to weld off of.

 

[Chain Bender]

Just curious, does your stick welder run on 110v or 220v?

XXXXXXXXXXX

I've got an old Chicago Electric stick welder that will weld off 110 or 220. Of course yo have to have the right plug on it I guess. The on/off switch sits in the off position. Turn it left and run 110, turn it right and run 220.

It burns up all the 3/32 rods I have on 110 easily. Haven't tried anything any bigger though. Guess I should try it though.

CB

 

[Transit]

I have done it. I had to enrich the fuel mixture or the motor-gen would surge.

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

I got a honda eu 2000 generator which is small for welding so I bought a acetylene set up.

 

[mullins87]

when we calc out loads for welding equipment, the listed amperage....lets say 42 amps @ 240 volts = 10,080 watts.

but a generator only spikes that wattage for a second, after arc is established, the wattage (and amperage draw) is drastically reduced.

but a 5000 watt gen in this situation is pretty much underpowered for any large amt of welding. most people i see are using 10k generator sets to weld off of.

I came up with that 10k watts also....slightly:laughing: more than what my little 5k rig can handle. I guess I'll just keep dragging my stuff up to the house.

 

[Chilly807]

Interesting question.

My old Miller 135 MIG would run off of our Honda 5000 watt generator, no problems at all.

I have a Miller 180 MIG now, and it's not nearly as happy as the 135 was on the generator. Weld quality is iffy once you're past 3/16 material (it's good on normal house current) on the generator.

It also won't quite run full power without opening the breaker.

I checked the frequency at full load, it's close enough to 60 Hz that it shouldn't bother the welder electronics, but there's something that the welder doesn't like.

Sean

 

[arrow]

Just curious, does your stick welder run on 110v or 220v?

it is 110

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

As for me I bought acetylene and torch with smaller tanks so I am more portable. Good for smaller jobs and I can heat and bend metal into place. Hope I do not blow up.

 

[rhett]

My setup:
Lincoln Weld-Pak 155
TroyBuilt Generator 5550W continuous/8550 surge

Use:
Innershield (flux-core) wire most used.
MIG feature is used for Aluminum projects only by me.

One project, a drill pipe fence, I worked 8 days, 12 hours a day with no issues. It was welding a little cold so I did use the "E" tap to get a hotter puddle (grid power I use the "D" tap).

A little info: (Weld-Pak anyway)
The "A,B,C,D & E tap selector switch controls weld voltage.
The Wire Speed also controls weld amperage.
Voltage limits Amperage.

My concern, which one day soon I will learn, is the use of a "Inverter Stick Welder" with a genset. My hopes are that the newer IGBT versions will hold up to the un-clean power supply. The small transformer in my Lincoln Weld-Pak has seen no issues to date.