Inverter welders powered by portable generators ?

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Is there any risk to inverter machines fancy circuitry by running them off generators with unknown sinewave quality ?MM 180
Reply:It's not as safe as good grid power.  I would guess the greatest danger is from an undersized generator.  The sudden demand from the inverterwelder drops the voltage to far and too fast.I would try to have the generator 2X the highest welder load expected.millermatic 130XPharbour freight 180 amp mig with added caps.hobart stickmate ac/dcpowerarc 200
Reply:Actually, the sine wave from a genset is fairly clean. Just oddly shaped because of the pulsing nature of a 4-stroke engine (vs. steam turbines).And yeah, the response of the governor can become quite the issue...Last edited by mike837go; 09-14-2015 at 11:56 AM.Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A
Reply:No, the statement that a sine wave from a genset is fairly clean is wrong.  Some gensets are clean.  Some are not.  And some will definitely blow up your inverters.   Some even generate a square or sawtooth wave.  They are all over the board with sine waves.  Total THD should be less than 10% for it to be clean enough to be considered as a "clean" wave.  Oddly shaped sine waves are a no go and are only good for lighting and resistive loads that aren't picky.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:So will hooking up an oscilliscope to display the waveform be sufficient or could it change depending on load ?MM 180
Reply:SEARCH the forum....there have been NUMEROUS threads and posts regarding inverters and generators.  There is even one other thread active now.