200 dx and my welding generator

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I'm going to have ny hands on a miller 200 dx for the day tomorrow, need to weld 1/4 aluminum, so I need to squeeze out all the amperage I can get from it, my welder generator is a 3kva so 3000 watts I imagine. It has 115 plugs and the 200dx can run off 115 or 230. Does anyone have any input on this, is it better to run from 115 or 230. Miller tech service thinks I can squeeze more amps out on 115 with my generator
Reply:First since you say 1/4" alum, I'll assume you have a Dynasty 200dx, and not a Maxstar 200 dx. The only way you'll do 1/4" alum on a Dynasty 200 is going to be on 230v power. Single phase tig is rated at 140 amps @ 40% duty cycle and supposedly will draw 31 amps @ 115v. That's more input than you genny supposedly has total. According to the manual on 230v power it has a rated duty cycle of 60% @ 150 amps in tig. and draws 15.8 amps. looking at the 3 phase tig requirement it's listing 200 amps @ 18% duty cycle and wanting 5.5 KVA,  5.2 KW. Pg 15 lists the input requirements.http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o2240aj_mil.pdf1/4" will max that machine out. You will need to have everything tuned correctly as far as frequency and balance and have really clean material and good prep. A helium mix wouldn't hurt.Honestly I think your genny is way too small to pull this off. Given a choice, I'd go 230v, but I doubt that's an option an a genny that small. I'm also wondering if it's 3000watt continuous or just surge rated. Most small genny's like that list surge wattage, not the continuous wattage. If that's the case you probably only have 2500 watts available to work with, reducing even more your ability to pull this off. My guess is your genny has one, 20 amp breaker on 115v and you'll find you will constantly trip the breaker trying to pull enough current to do this right.Scotty, we need more power!.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by joseph_zlnskI'm going to have ny hands on a miller 200 dx for the day tomorrow, need to weld 1/4 aluminum, so I need to squeeze out all the amperage I can get from it, my welder generator is a 3kva so 3000 watts I imagine. It has 115 plugs and the 200dx can run off 115 or 230. Does anyone have any input on this, is it better to run from 115 or 230. Miller tech service thinks I can squeeze more amps out on 115 with my generator
Reply:I was afraid of that, yes its the dynasty dx model, I have 10k watts of dc welding output, but only 3k on the ac generator side, funny thing is the machine rectified the ac to turn it into dc. Ugh... I'm actually going to weld 3/8th with it, was going to take a torch and preheat the metal, so hopefully I had enough amps to push it... With 2 passes anyways. The guys from the miller tech phone number claim that they welded 1/4 inch in the lab with a 30 am breaker, that's in a lab anyways. Yes I thought about seeing if the lws had a bottle of 80/20 argon helium, afraid any more helium would cause a sooty weld. It's a boat hull
Reply:Thats alot to ask out of a 200dx. Like Millers but the lab is not real world. Maybe use a weaker helium mix to prevent a sooty weld.Miller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:Keep in mind when they do something like that in the lab, it's with someone who knows that machine inside and out and knows the optimum settings on all the bells and whistles to wring every last bit of performance from that machine. You won't be able to simply pick it up, dial it in and go to work that way with no experience. Take a note of how long it was taking BC to dial in his Dynasty with Terry giving him pointers as he went along. I also haven't seen many gennys equipped with a 115v 30 amp breaker ...I'd be very cautious about simply going to preheat as the "solution" to an undersized machine on alum. Keep in mind most alum alloys don't have to get very hot to loose most of their strength. IIRC alum cylinders only have to be heated to 300 deg or so and they aren't considered acceptable for service any more. At that heat they loose their temper and are considered junk. Turn that material dead soft, especially if it's a structural or load bearing member, and you may open a can of worms you'd wished you'd left alone.Give a choice, I'd be thinking about using mig on something like this..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I sure wish I could have mig welded it, this machine was my only option in the situation. I try to do most of my aluminum welding in shop, there are quite a few gens that have 30 amp breakers, Lincoln has an older sae 400 that actually has a 50 amp 120 outlet. Crazy. I did a light preheat, set the balance to 75 and freq. To 120, I had to sit on the spot for about 10 seconds or so before the puddle started liquifying, it got the job done, I ran two passes, it was inside the engine room, of a 42 ft aluminum finishing vessel
Reply:Picture of vessel Attached Images
Reply:I am curious though, my portable is a generator that produces ac power and rectifys it into dc welding output. There is no ac output, which makes no sense. And it has two 115/120 recepticles, but no 220, is there some kind of way to come of the fields or something and install a breaker box and a 220 outlet, I don't know much about that so not sure if that possible or mabey I'm just crazy. I have 10k watts of welding output in dc, but only 3k of generator ac power from outlets