Running a welder on a generator

Stan in Oly, WA · Sep 24, 2017

My friend has a Miller Dynasty 200 (maybe 200 DX) TIG welder and a Generac 5000 generator. Could he run that welder from that generator? He knows somebody who would loan him a Chinese 200 amp 240 volt inverter stick welder---the kind that's about the size of a loaf of bread. Could he run that from a 5000 watt generator? He needs to do some repair work on a gate on family property which is far from any power source, and he'd like to do it without having to use equipment that is too heavy for him to take it out of his truck by himself.

Stan

kcm.MN · Sep 24, 2017

Stan, I have one of those inverter welders (200A @ 240V), as well as a 4,000 watt gas generator. The generator will run the welder, but not at full capacity. However, I've yet to need more than about 120A, so no problems. I would imagine that 5,000 watt generator would be just fine. Don't know about the Miller welder though - not familiar with it. Sure am happy with the inverter welder though. Also has a much greater duty cycle than transformer welders costing much more.

For the record though, haven't done much with it yet. Has been too dry to weld, grind or cut. Getting lots of rain now, so will hopefully be good to go later this week.

kevinthefixer · Sep 24, 2017

Only thing that makes any sense in that case is to test it at home first. 5KW should be enough but gensets can be particular.

Ian Beale · Sep 24, 2017

My experience

We have a 7.5 kva alternator which quite happily ran a Lincoln tombstone for field work using up to 3.2 mm rods. After about 40 years the Lincoln let the smoke out (interestingly in the same place on the transformer as a spare I was given).

I replaced it with a 180 amp stick/tig suitcase which will not run on that alternator. You get the initial "zapp" and then it shuts down. Specifies minimum 9 kva alternator and obviously needs that for starting - doesn't appear to taper down for lower amperages.

So check the specs of the suitcase for minimum alternator size.

Dopp Creek · Sep 24, 2017

I have a Generac 5000 watt generator and use it to power my Hobart 180 wire feed. I've never struggled to make it work. This has been for field repairs so not high amperages for long periods like on a fab job.

Texasmark1 · Sep 25, 2017

I had the 5kW Generac and couldn't weld purlins with 3/32 7018 on a Miller 130 in DC position....AC would barely work. Moved up to a 6.5 kW HF machine and worked fine and then some.

Using a MIG, Farmhand 75-120v I think it was from TSC it handled it fine. Never ran a TIG. If they run like a MIG then you should be good to go.

jeffcat · Sep 25, 2017

How about a short hand trick. Read the lable on the welder for what the max amps are...........then double your generator. My dad managed to burn up a very expensive generator doing that. Stick welder and generator were almost amp for amp. MAXIMUM SMOKE!!!

DR. EVIL · Sep 26, 2017

You can arc weld with the Dynasty, AC and DC both straight and reverse polarity. It's probably the most versatile welder made, If the generator produces clean power, no peaks or surges, stable voltage, it should work to run the Dynasty, but if it doesn't you risk destroying a very expensive welder.

Stan in Oly, WA · Sep 26, 2017

Thanks, that's the information I was looking for. As my friend described it to me, the repair work he needs to do out in the boondocks would best be done with a stick welder, and he can buy a perfectly adequate Chinese inverter stick welder for around $100 on Amazon. I suspect there wouldn't be any problem with one of those, but if there was---so what? I've owned a Harbor Freight 80 amp, 110 volt DC stick welder for about 10 years and I've used it a ton. Its low open circuit voltage makes it relatively hard to strike an arc---particularly with 3/32 6011---but it's not too bad with 3/32 7014 or 6013. It won't run 6010 or 7018 worth talking about, and 80 amps is marginal at best for any 1/8 rod. But for a quick fix when the stakes are low, it's really convenient. When I've got any serious welding to do, or just a lot of it, then it's worth dragging out and setting up one of my more serious welders.

Stan

Running a welder on a generator

Stan in Oly, WA

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kcm.MN

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kevinthefixer

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Ian Beale

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Dopp Creek

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Texasmark1

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jeffcat

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DR. EVIL

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Stan in Oly, WA

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