Running a welder off a generator

Is this possible? Google has turned up conflicting opinions and lots of "I did it back in '82, worked fine." sorta stuff. I'd like the ability to weld during service, but I've never owned or even used a generator and am not well versed in sine waves and electrical black magic and that sort of stuff.

So, I've got a small Lincoln 120v welder, its a Weldpak 140 I believe. It works off a standard 15amp household breaker, with the odd breaker pop when its turned up. The only other requirement is that the generator is portable; we don't have a truck to install it in or something like that.

And no, we can't just get a welder/gen combo or whatever their proper name is; for the welding I do I don't need two...

Thanks!

Yes, you can absolutely run a welder off of a generator.
I've never done it...
I wouldn't know how to do it...
but I've seen it at least twice so I know it's commonly done.

(In fact, one of those times it was done to the car I was driving, and we borrowed the welder, so it must have been a reasonably portable generator that ran it.)

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First Rally: 2001
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Last Updated, January 4, 2015

Quote
john vanlandingham
Blame is for idiots. losers.

Being a sparky, my only recommendation is to get the genset grounded before you start welding and use a good sized gen to begin with

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Yes, it's a Ranger.
Xr4Ti, it is rwd and was made in Germany.

Yeah you can. I don't know any numbers of watts per voltage or any of that nonsense though, sorry. When I get around to getting a small, portable wire feed, it'll be powered off of 5-7k watt gen. More than likely overkill for a lil welder but will double as an emergency generator for the house and whatnot. I think snap on or someone makes a battery/rechargeable flux welder. Had a pretty decent duty cycle from what I can remember. The off road guys I ran with in MT ate em up vs using the battery to stick weld shit back together on the trail.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2013 10:30PM by deaner.

A huge issue with welders (especially if they are run off 120v) is they typically aren't supplied with enough juice. I'd strongly recommend at least 4000w's and a 30amp outlet (which will be pretty rare for a single outlet on a generator to supply). The problem is the larger you go with the generator, the harder it is to haul around, the louder it is (not to name any names of a service crew at PFR, but they put their generator behind their trailer so it wouldn't bother them. IT WAS DEAFENING to the rest of the service park), the more expensive it is, etc. And without the proper amount of POWA, you will end up with shitty welds... not that that might be an issue if the difference between you finishing is having the car in two pieces or one. I weld by the pound so take my advice for what its worth lol.

A few things to think about. The older mig welders and Arc welders were allot more resilient to low or questionable supply voltage (like you get out of cheaper generators). New Migs (like Yours) do a really good job of keeping a consistent arc and make welding allot easier. Most of the new Mig welders have a regulated supply via electronics. I have had a small Mig flake out and "reset" (power down and back on again) when using it on a smallish generator (although I had a 120' cord causing more issues). The issue was the generator was not able to prevent the voltage from dropping too low when I struck the arc. The supply voltage dropped faster than the generator could react to. The fix was to shorten the cord and crank the little generator to high (had an adjustable idle). My advise is to buy a good quality generator and look for one that can supply a higher wattage than the welder requires. Personally I would not look at a generator that can provide at least 15% more than the largest "tool" you plan to use with it. For example your welder is ~2400Watt at max output. Look for a generator that will give you 3000W.

Not saying that you cant run it off a smaller machine, just don't expect to get the max thickness out of your welder.

And Adam that could have only been Wims generator at PFR. Ken Block Jr as its affectionatly nick named due to its consistent fire breathing antics. Voice your concerns to the dutchman

See you at Big White?
Bryan

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Intercom and electronics dude. www.zerodegreec.ca



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2013 10:54PM by zerodegreec.

Thanks for all the responses! I figured a 3000W was the smallest I could get away with. I've been perusing Kijiji to find a used one, now I know what I actually need. I'll have to search and see if any models come with anything higher than a 15amp circuit.

Good to know this will actually work - theres been a couple times where a generator would of come in handy.

Any no Big White for us - just hitting two events in a month was tough, with the car down in Calgary and me up in Edmonton its just too much driving on my days off. Gotta spend some time with the girl right? Or at least she says so....

Ohms law. Volt x amp = watt . Give yourself some leeway with the wattage. 4000w should be fine for a 120v welder

(Deleted)

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First Rally: 2001
Driver (7), Co-Driver (44)
Drivers (16)
Clerk (10), Official (7), Volunteer (4)
Cars Built (1), Engines Built (0) Cages Built (0)
Last Updated, January 4, 2015

Quote
john vanlandingham
Blame is for idiots. losers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2013 12:13AM by Morison.

used to HAVE to run my old mig from a generator because the wiring to the garage was shit and couldn't supply enough current.

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.

I once welded my cracked exhaust headed back together at Ojibwe 2011 using my Hobart 140 110v and a borrowed generator. The generator looked like one of the cheapo HF specials, but probably 3000W.

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http://www.huebberally.com

i have seen hundreds of welders run on generators

from the local dirt tracks to road courses to desert racers to oil and gas field service trucks and army welders under fire sticking things back together

in that groupe all brand of welders and some homemade units too

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

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HiTempguy
not to name any names of a service crew at PFR, but they put their generator behind their trailer so it wouldn't bother them. IT WAS DEAFENING to the rest of the service park

I have told people to shut off their generators at service before. No one minds generators going for 20 minutes while you're welding or wrenching. Leave that shit running all day and making noise and that's just not cool.

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Grassroots rally. It's what I think about.

that's why they make batteries

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

I have MIG welded when running on my generator. Fairly big MIG using 220v 5500 watt gen. No problem.

Our job sites are full of MIG/Generator combo units that only run on gas...

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In the long run reality always wins.