Homemade welder/generator?

admin

is it possible to set up a 4500 watt diesel generator where it will run a lincoln 225 stick welder? new here so i dont know a whole bunch about this stuff!
Reply:You can run a stick welder from a generator but your generator is likely going to be way too small to run a power hungry transformer stick welder.   It will run a small inverter machine though (Maxstar 150S, Invertec V160S, etc).MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:AMPS X VOLTS = WATTShere your signroughly 50 a x 230v =11500 w
Reply:so i would need a 12000 watt gen for it to work? forgive my stupidity i know nothing about electricity
Reply:Originally Posted by OLD_SKOOL_STICKso i would need a 12000 watt gen for it to work? forgive my stupidity i know nothing about electricity
Reply:Yes you would need a 12000 watt constant output generator.  Most ratings are given in surge and constant output rating.  You would need the constant output to be at least 12000.  To get away with using a smaller output generator, you would need to use an inverter based stick welder which requires less of an input power.  An inverter drawing 30amps of input power at 230volts would require a generator rating of about 6900 watts.  Quite a reduction from your example.  One thing about generators, the larger ones get quite expensive in purchase price.  So much so, that for a few dollars more, a person could buy an engine driven welder/generator combo.  If it were me, and I know its not, and I wanted seperate generator and weldor systems, I would definitely go with the inverter welder.A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:i think ill just just go with a engine driven welder sounds like less of a pain in the neck! plus the gen i was gonna use is only 4500w and its already sold! thanks guys
Reply:4500 watt gen,,, you could actually use it........NOW that being said, it is not the best, nor would you have full capability of your welder. I have used a 4500 watt gen for a 225 crackerbox (lincoln) and it worked "ok" however you could only run about 90 amps and you had to kinda feather it to make it work.What I mean by that is I held a longer arc to stabilize the gen output and heat up the metal, then brought the arc in closer to weld. I was able to weld 1/8" 6011 on 2 3/8  sch 40 pipe with it. Did a bigger weld/gen work better? Yes. Could it be done with what you have access to? Yes. Chances are you will not need a full 50 amps input for 90% of what you are welding and you could make do.