Will my generator run my welder?

[Qapla]

We gave $50 for our Lincoln Buzz Box - but, it is now not working correctly - even plugged in to the Power Company

 

[Teachu2]

For a one-time job, consider renting an engine-powered welder. I had a side business fabricating gates. I'd build them at home with a Lincoln AC/DC buzz box, then rent a portable unit for the install. After several of those jobs, I bought a new Miller Bobcat 250. Paid for itself many times over, and still runs and welds like new.

 

[stuckmotor]

I've seen some discussions where someone says you can't run such and such a buzz box on such and such a generator, then someone comes in and says he does when ever he needs to. This is sometimes countered by the claim that the buzz box won't make good welds because the generator they're using doesn't have enough power. I can't see why the buzz box shouldn't make good welds until it exceeds the amperage capacity of the generator. Maybe someone will explain this to me.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I use my new bobcat efi to power my 210mp. It's not known for clean power but it works great. Not a problem

Brett

 

[sixdogs]

I have the generator owner's manual. Will that tell if I have clean power?

 

[Teachu2]

Perhaps it would be best to contact the folks who sold you the welder and ask.

 

[sw99]

I run my 210MVP on my 6500 Predator generator all the time.

 

[Redneck in training]

I thought that inverters care less about the power quality. Isn't it true that in front of the inverter is rectifier and "smoothing" filter so the switching electronics downstream of it shouldn't be affected. I would guess that the switching voltage/current control circuitry creates more noise than the generator would. Transformers are sensitive to dirty power because asymmetrical shape of the wave (asymmetrical shape means there is a DC component) will burn the transformer.

If you want to know if your power is clean use purposely designed power analyzer or digital oscilloscope that has frequency analyzer. Pure sine wave will produce no harmonics in the spectrum while in example square wave will produce infinite number of harmonics and anything in between. Even cheap digital oscilloscopes have spectral analyzers build in. http://www.tequipment.net/Pico/2204...02s7T9rzsrDh6ZyS4Np8z_zW9OSRIsAQ2ahoC_Q3w_wcB

You can get better or cheaper scope on eBay.

 

[dickfoster]

I need to weld something in my machinery barn that has no power. Will my 10,000 watt, 12,000 surge generator run my Lincoln MP210 for five minutes of MIG welding?

You should look in your welder manual and find out how many amps it needs at which input voltage you're going to run the welder on, either 110 or 220. Then compare the input requirements of the welder to the output capacity of your generator. Volts X Amps = Watts. If the output is clean enough and there is enough output power so the welder doesn't overload it, it should be OK. Generators use alternators to produce electric power magnetically, they are not inverters, so their output is a sign wave like the power company supplies. Inverters like those used to convert DC to AC say from car batteries produce dirty power.
I have a 12KW Generac standby generator that runs anything in the house with no problem and some things like TVs, computers, stereos etc. are picky about the quality of the power you feed them. Welders are made to run in industrial environments where the power is not always so clean.

 

[Sodo]

I need to weld something in my machinery barn that has no power. Will my 10,000 watt, 12,000 surge generator run my Lincoln MP210 for five minutes of MIG welding?

Call Lincoln and ask them. Lincoln tech support 888-935-3877

I have a Miller multiprocess welder. It is an inverter type. Miller said my inverter-type welder was designed to take just about any power it can get. I told him that I had been running it on an old Coleman 5,000w that sometimes registered 325volts on my ohm meter. He said that could be a limitation of my meter unable to give an accurate voltage number when there's no power being drawn from the generator. He said on the 5kw I might be able to weld 1/4" but their "book value" for full power is 7200w. He said many customers are using 7,000W with the MultiMatic200 so they are confident with recommending 7,000W (since it's a popular "size"). The tech support guy said they designed my welder specifically to run on generators, that the inverter takes whatever it can get and makes it into the power that the welder needs.

I have a chinese 8,000/10,000W generator and it runs the Miller Multimatic200 at MAX power ( which max is a 3/8" steel thickness setting) without even a hiccup. Your MP210 looks to be same specs as my MultiMatic200 so I'd say your 10/12 has plenty of power to run your welder. I weld appx 90% on generator power.

If you are willing to report back I'd be interested to hear what Lincoln tech support says.