mig welder generator units

[robin osborne]

hello, still struggling with no power. has any one got or know of reliable mig generator units. I am struggling to fined any they all seem to be stick. I did fined one a while ago but can not refined it now. cheers rob

 

[Rig Pig]

Miller do them but they are expensive!

 

[robin osborne]

will have a quick look now. I have a very low budget and trying to fined the best root to go down will only be able to do this once. I am just comparing the R-tec mig 180 and ifl I-tec 170. I have seen a 7kva Honda geney for €1000 in Portugal which all combined will be the max I can do. cheers for the help

 

[Jim Davey]

Don't try to run an inverter off a cheap/undersized genny, you'll regret it.

 

[Jim Davey]

I got your email Rob, and I've sent a reply. On first impressions I think you'd be best off buying an engine driven stick set, but I'll reserve judgement until I've spoken to you to find out more about your application. (Engine driven migs tend to be big industrial diesel units with a separate wire feed unit, they are less common than stick only machines and therefore more expensive.)
As for manufacturers recommended KVA requirements, I tend to play on the safe side and go double what is recommended (bear in mind the generator will have a duty cycle too, just because it says 7 KVA for example doesn't mean it can produce that kind of power for long, often the constant power output is at least a third less, maybe even half.) Inverters hate irregular power and under voltage, it overheats the machine and often causes the smoothing capacitors to fail (some machines have an internal fuse or thermistor that blows to prevent this kind of damage, but it still renders the set unusable until repairs are made)

All this adds up to needing a fairly big generator to run a relatively small mig. I tend to think therefore that a small engine driven welder would fit the bill more effectively, it can be used anywhere, regardless of wind etc, there are no gas bottles to move around, it can weld mild steel, stainless or even ally with the right rods (trust me, I've done it and it comes out better than I thought it would!) and the machine will be cheaper and far more reliable than a cheap inverter/generator combined.

If you want to discuss this further I'm available on +442380 339 525

Regards

Jim

 

[robin osborne]

I got your email Rob, and I've sent a reply. On first impressions I think you'd be best off buying an engine driven stick set, but I'll reserve judgement until I've spoken to you to find out more about your application. (Engine driven migs tend to be big industrial diesel units with a separate wire feed unit, they are less common than stick only machines and therefore more expensive.)
As for manufacturers recommended KVA requirements, I tend to play on the safe side and go double what is recommended (bear in mind the generator will have a duty cycle too, just because it says 7 KVA for example doesn't mean it can produce that kind of power for long, often the constant power output is at least a third less, maybe even half.) Inverters hate irregular power and under voltage, it overheats the machine and often causes the smoothing capacitors to fail (some machines have an internal fuse or thermistor that blows to prevent this kind of damage, but it still renders the set unusable until repairs are made)

All this adds up to needing a fairly big generator to run a relatively small mig. I tend to think therefore that a small engine driven welder would fit the bill more effectively, it can be used anywhere, regardless of wind etc, there are no gas bottles to move around, it can weld mild steel, stainless or even ally with the right rods (trust me, I've done it and it comes out better than I thought it would!) and the machine will be cheaper and far more reliable than a cheap inverter/generator combined.

If you want to discuss this further I'm available on +442380 339 525

Regards

Jim

cheers jim for all youre input. unfortunately I have now purchased a mig from r -tec. I will now try and get the largest Honda gen I can with avc. lets hope it will last a while because I carnt afford to replace it. thanks for youre help and I wish id seen youre posting sooner

 

[Jrstainless]

I tried to run my kemppi Evo 200 off a big generator on site and it just managed to switch on would not work at all.
I'm not sure of the size of the generator but it was a big hired in one with dedicated 240 outlets.
I did think it would work but not a chance. If your buying a generator to do that then try before you buy as it could be a very costly mistake.
Jr

 

[dannyp]

my old sealy mig will happily plug allong on an old lombarni desiel genny most of of my inverters wont.

i find diesel gennys best for welders idealy +10 kva if its got to earn money. running a mig or tig really

tho my littel thermal arc seems to be completly unfussy for an inverter and will run off anything it seema

 

[BUTTERS-UK]

have a look at the pdf

 

[BUTTERS-UK]

I got your email Rob, and I've sent a reply. On first impressions I think you'd be best off buying an engine driven stick set, but I'll reserve judgement until I've spoken to you to find out more about your application. (Engine driven migs tend to be big industrial diesel units with a separate wire feed unit, they are less common than stick only machines and therefore more expensive.)
As for manufacturers recommended KVA requirements, I tend to play on the safe side and go double what is recommended (bear in mind the generator will have a duty cycle too, just because it says 7 KVA for example doesn't mean it can produce that kind of power for long, often the constant power output is at least a third less, maybe even half.) Inverters hate irregular power and under voltage, it overheats the machine and often causes the smoothing capacitors to fail (some machines have an internal fuse or thermistor that blows to prevent this kind of damage, but it still renders the set unusable until repairs are made)

All this adds up to needing a fairly big generator to run a relatively small mig. I tend to think therefore that a small engine driven welder would fit the bill more effectively, it can be used anywhere, regardless of wind etc, there are no gas bottles to move around, it can weld mild steel, stainless or even ally with the right rods (trust me, I've done it and it comes out better than I thought it would!) and the machine will be cheaper and far more reliable than a cheap inverter/generator combined.

If you want to discuss this further I'm available on +442380 339 525

Regards

Jim

 

[Kent]

cheers jim for all youre input. unfortunately I have now purchased a mig from r -tec. I will now try and get the largest Honda gen I can with avc. lets hope it will last a while because I carnt afford to replace it. thanks for youre help and I wish id seen youre posting sooner

Try Briggs and Stratton also they do a model 9000 with a higher KVA at less money. Honda are very good but haven't really pushed this higher end with their range with AVR. Been looking myself. There are others but Brigs and Stratton have a long history with generators.

 

[Wozzaaah]

have a look at the pdf

What good is that when the OP has already bought his welder?

 

[Bill Edwards]

For the generator spec, as an absolute minimum for for 1.5 times the 'required' power of the welder.

 

[robin osborne]

Cheers. I have now been using the rectec mig 180 with Honda 7kva avr for some time. Up to date so far so good. Just have to work longer hours to afford the fuel.

 

[Richard.]

For the generator spec, as an absolute minimum for for 1.5 times the 'required' power of the welder.

2x minimum I would say.

 

[Kent]

most manufacturers will give you the correct figure if you ask

 

[Richard.]

Well the general principle is amps x volts = watts but with a welder you have a sudden rush/surge of power when the arc in first initiated which throws that theroy out but on the flip side you rarely run your welder at max capacity.
I've done this before and I work it out like so.
200 amp welder would be
200x 50 OCV = 10,000 x2 for the power surge then x.6 which is assuming a 60% power factor so I would say a 12kva generator is suitable to run a 200amp machine. It will run on less but you then may Tripp it if it's pushed hard.

 

[dannyp]

the biggest problem i found was with the govener, if they don't react quickly the genorator can bog down and won't recover diesel seems to have a lot less issues with this

 

[Kent]

Well the general principle is amps x volts = watts but with a welder you have a sudden rush/surge of power when the arc in first initiated which throws that theroy out but on the flip side you rarely run your welder at max capacity.
I've done this before and I work it out like so.
200 amp welder would be
200x 50 OCV = 10,000 x2 for the power surge then x.6 which is assuming a 60% power factor so I would say a 12kva generator is suitable to run a 200amp machine. It will run on less but you then may Tripp it if it's pushed hard.

yet the draw on some of these new machines is a lot, lot lower and then PCF is often fitted. Do we take note of this? the manufacturers seem to think so with their suggestions ESAB recon 7.5 KVA for their Caddy mig for full power use and I have been told 8kva for the big Thermal arc 3-1n-1 both of these plants and more work on less in than normal (something we should all consider when plugging in- even over retail price as it seriously cuts annual costs) Pay a few hundred more and get to use smaller gen sets and pay lower electric bills (strange nobody talks of this when asking about purchase of a set?)
If you do use a generator BTW let it warm though and come off choke before you even think of lighting up

 

[Richard.]

A caddy mig is 200 amps so again I would suggest 12kva for that to run happily.