powering 220v welder off of generator?

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I have a Honda EW170 DC arc welder/120v generator.I hear people talk about powering their portable mig welders (220v, 1 phase) off of a generator.  My Honda EW170 only has 120v outlets.  Is there a way I could power a Miller 175 (or the equivalent Lincoln) off of it, using some kind of power adapter?Another question: Does anyone offer a kit, to adapt the EW170 to Tig welding?
Reply:I doubt it has windings for 230V, but you could tig from it. There really isnt a kit.www.urkafarms.com
Reply:Whatever you do, be careful with the electric system. Those Hondas are good welders, but the electronics are very sensitive. I had an EW 141 welder that burned up after less than 200 hours of normal low amperage welding. The boards were totally fried. It was so bad, it couldn't be repaired without replacing EVERYTHING. Be careful and don't over do it and you should be fine.
Reply:220 (230) volts are nothing more than a doubled 110 (120) circut with a common.  Each leg of the circut is 110 so there needs to be two separate 110 feeds and one common.  On a circut breaker panel, the incoming power comes in as two seperate 110 feeds, and goes into the bus bar (the bar down the middle that supplies the power to the breakers) is split with one incoming leg of 110 alternating with the other so that a 220 breaker picks up power from one leg (top screw) and the second leg (bottom screw) for the 220 power.On the generator, you would need to find out if each of the 110 outlets are a separate leg and if so, if the common is indeed common between them (likely is - but check) if so, you could then pull the hot wire from each 110 outlet and the common from both to a single 220 socket by making a new plug and box.  Then, simply plugging into each 110 with a Y-plug would get you a 220 circut for larger equipment.  Study the wiring diagram to see if this is feasable.  I expect that it is, but I don't know the specifics of the generator to say for sure.  I have seen enough generators that run a 220 outlet that I suspect it might work for you, they just didn't think that anyone would use the generator for that purpose.  One final thing to check is the amp rating of each circut.  It would need to be in the 20 range to power a welder.Hey! Bring the camera...Is it still hot?   $%#^%^#  Guess so...
Reply:There are 3 120v outlets, two 20A (standard AC outlet) & an 80A (funny large plug, 3 contacts in a "circle").The schematic shows all 3 to be in *parallel*, & have the same ground.Does this mean they are on the same feed, therefore they're not on *separate feeds*?  Thus, your proposed solution wouldn't work?
Reply:What is the funny looking plug?  It should be labeled.  I suspect it is a 20A twist loc.  If your drawing is parallel they wont work.  I doubt it is 230V or they would have put it on there as an added feature.  Yes, all grounds are tied together. For this purpose you can ignore that part of the drawing.www.urkafarms.com
Reply:A buddy of mine does this with a Coleman generator and his little Lincoln buzzbox but cannot weld anything over 3/32 rod or about 60-70 amps because it trips the generator.  However, it works for those times when you just don't have a long enough extension cord.Get it hot and hit it hard...
Reply:Originally posted by Sberry What is the funny looking plug?  It should be labeled.  I suspect it is a 20A twist loc.  If your drawing is parallel they wont work.  I doubt it is 230V or they would have put it on there as an added feature.  Yes, all grounds are tied together. For this purpose you can ignore that part of the drawing.
Reply:Just a speculation, but the 80A plug is likely a power out for hooking the generator to a home system or something.  I don't know what would work on an 80A plug at 110 otherwise.  It must get full amprerage from the generator.Also. you could try to hook two 110 lines into a 220 plug - I don't know what would happen - worst would be a single phase condition where your 220 application would just buzz instead of work.  Shouldn't short out anything that I can think of...  But, take care.  I make no promises, just a suggestion.  I would try it if it were mine, but that's all I can say.Hey! Bring the camera...Is it still hot?   $%#^%^#  Guess so...
Reply:It isnt an 80A plug, its a 120V of no more than 30A twist lock and its not for hooking to home electric systems.  Now you can try all you want but this machine makes 120 power and its just a fact and it isnt going to change. You wouldnt have to make an adapter, if you really want to see stick a meter on it. Another thing,, the need to run feeders with gensets is highly over rated. It might give you a warm fuzzy feling knowing you can do it, but do you really need it?  Thats one of the reason stick welding is still so popular, its good for portable work. You dont have to cart all that stuff around.  I certainly dont mess with it on my service truck. The Honda machine you have should be great for general light portable work, its light and easy to move, probably quiet and starts well, runs on a spoon full of fuel.Last edited by Sberry; 06-27-2004 at 07:51 AM.www.urkafarms.com
Reply:it sure looks like a 220v kinda plug. But, looking at the schematic, it's in parallel with the other 120v plugs...so it must be 120v. Strange.=================================================For what you are seeing in that schematic, 'bridged' is a closer description. All the receptacles are 'bridged' to one output off one breaker. That one breaker is fed by one supply (source).  Like Sberry says, what you see is what you get. For anyone interested a download of the manual is here:http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/G...ages/ew170.htm"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:byen00,If it were an 80A recep, you'd have a 10KW generator, which, obviously, you don't have.  I suspect that the "8" is really a "3", like Cary says.   You won't be running a 230V welder of this unit.Be well.hank