What generator for my mig?

[HMB]

As title suggests. Need gen set to go in my van for my mig. Mig is 240v 20a 4.8kW (assuming pf of 1). I think 6kVa. Preferably diesel. Seen some on evil bay by leaden and bulldog. Any ideas?

 

[octo0072000]

you may need a bigger genny some migs don't like gennys start up can double those figures

 

[Justme]

Will you be running it at high amps?

If so you need to double your genny size.

If you just doing car thickness stuff then you might get away with a 6kVa unit.

Some 6kVa's are better than others.

 

[BrokenBiker]

my mig states 5kVa but it wont run at all on anything i have tried in that range

 

[Bill Edwards]

If you don't use it at high power then I'd suggest you get a minimum of 50% more power than you should need. Generators struggle with welders. If you want to use it at full power, you need more still. Bear in mind a MIG has the wire feed to worry about so doesn't want a generator that is dipping under load too much otherwise the feed rate may end up varying, you have a bit more leeway with MMA.

Also be aware that KW and KVA are not the same thing. Your 4.8KW equates to 5.9KVA - so in theory it will be the absolute maximum of the generator you were thinking of. In reality you can't expect it to run it though.

 

[blenkie1]

I have a lincoln ranger and it powers my 240 mig no problem. Keeps tripping the fuse at high power. Think its rated to 8Kw. Should get a CV wire feeder really.

 

[dannyp]

diesel gennys carry welders better than petrol ones also old heavy gennorators fair better as well.

problem is welders present a sudden massive load on the genorator that sort of suprises it, the govoners on a lot of petrol ones struggel to react fast enough, by the time it's opend the carb up the engine has ether boged down or stalled. diesels tend to have more inertia that better helps it deal with the suprise giveing the govoner more time to respond, and diesel has advantage of makeing more torque easyer espectly at low rpm so they can often recover from the suprise better

 

[Jim Davey]

Bear in mind genny kva is rated a similar way to welder duty cycle. This means as a general rule most 6 kva gennys can only put out 3-4 kva constantly and anything more is definitely pushing things. A rule of thumb for selecting gennys to run welders is take mains kva draw then double it or preferably and especially if it's an inverter triple it. This may sound like overkill but so many inverters and generators for that matter have been burned out because they have been incorrectly matched.

 

[W.olly]

Hope you dont mind me jumping in here but my Bro is looking on getting a genny for his Clarke 135te, i said he will need a 10-12kva to run it full wack and to be sure on enough power, i told him this from what i looked into when i was going to run a 180amp, just memory isnt best. He will also want to run a radio same time, also micro wave and bench grinder etc etc from it, but not all at once.
You think it will be fine, i cant fint he specs on the Clarke 135te but for the 135amp and single phase.

 

[Jim Davey]

You'll be fine with a 12, to be honest that size is overkill by quite some margin mate.

 

[W.olly]

You'll be fine with a 12, to be honest that size is overkill by quite some margin mate.

I am thinking on voltage drop on the arc strike and then the constant seam run. could he drop then to 8kva maybe. A lot say 6kva but then a lot say the it wont do and volts will vary to much for a good weld.

 

[Bill Edwards]

135a is pretty small, nothing too fancy is needed. I'd suggest 8 should be enough.

But as to a microwave? Someone with the required knowledge might be able to say why or whether it's just my luck, but I've found microwaves don't seem to last very well off generators. I've gone through a few!

 

[Jim Davey]

8 would be more than enough. A 135 doesn't draw much and won't be damaged easily by voltage drop anyway, not like an inverter.

 

[W.olly]

Thanks guys, 8 it is, i will warn him about the microwave

My welder was a Thermal Arc 181i so i think thats why i was told i needed a bigger genny then like a 10-12kva.

 

[W.olly]

Thanks guys, 8 it is, i will warn him about the microwave

My welder was a Thermal Arc 181i so i think thats why i was told i needed a bigger genny then like a 10-12kva.

 

[F.J.]

As title suggests. Need gen set to go in my van for my mig. Mig is 240v 20a 4.8kW (assuming pf of 1). I think 6kVa. Preferably diesel. Seen some on evil bay by leaden and bulldog. Any ideas?

If it's going in your van I'd highly recommend not using the mig set and have a wire feeder set up for the genny instead. Rather than have a heavy unit (assuming it's a transformer type mig) along with a heavy genny, it will give you more room, less weight and give you more manoeuvrability when out on site.

 

[normspanners]

Thanks guys, 8 it is, i will warn him about the microwave

use an 12v -240v inverter for the microwave they work ok

 

[dannyp]

depends how much welding your planning on doing off the van.

genny + welder is more flexible as if there power on site, but if on genny all the time welder genorator is better job. if it's all off the van and your doing a lot of it i would keep an eye out for a van with PTO. i bought an ex fleet van with underfloor genny and screw compressor for simalar reasons. iirc it was 100 ish cfm and 20 or 25kw genny and all be it a heavy can still an empty one