Generators for 120 volt wire feed welders

First posting - been lurking and see that there's a lot of good knowledge out there.

Here's my situation. I have a Lincoln ProMig 140 wire feed welder that I need to operate off a generator up at the farm. The specs for this welder refer to 19.9 volts at 90 amps, but the welder theoretically will put out 140 amps. I would like to purchase one of the Chinese generators sold by Pep Boys, etc. that are in the 3000-3500 watt range (an alterior motive is to use it with my little RV, so I don't want to get too large a unit for me to handle).

Has anyone run a small wire feed welder off one of these generators? Would the 3000 watts be enough? The gensets I'm looking at are capable of putting all their wattage and amperage into one duplex 120 volt outlet, which means a possibility of getting almost 30 amps if you use an RV type outlet and plug. My welder operates fine off a 15 amp garage circuit and the power plug is a 15 amp instead of the 20 amp plug with the blades set at right angles.

Also, do these small wire feed 120 volt welders operate around 20 volts output regardless of the amperage setting, or does the voltage vary with the amperage? Please excuse the ignorance. I'm a newbie with the wire feed unit.

thankie.

Reply to
cuchara.red
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I've been occasinally running my small off brand wire feed from a 4 kw Coleman generator. I run strictly flux core on the little welder, gas wirefeed and TIG stay in the shop. It runs OK, not great. Not sure if it is the cheap welder or the interaction between the welder and the generator. Suspect it is both.

The genset I use bel> First posting - been lurking and see that there's a lot of good

Reply to
RoyJ

I can use my Hobart 140 (imput-110v-20AMP max) MIG with my Craftsman 5HP

3000W, (2-110V outlets, 20AMPs). Same as the requirements for max with the Hobart.
Reply to
charles

I did the same set up with a Genrac XL4000. I used the twist lock with a industrial quality 3 prong outlet. The genset was rated for 4000 watt normal load with surge up to 5k. If I were to do it again I would spring for a 5k unit.

Think duty cycle on the welder and the genset. The cheap units will probably handle the loads and surges for a short period of time. But I doubt the genset will go for long periods with out some serious overheating. The coils will cook long before you pop a breaker. Your welds get weird when you get near the limit of the duty cycle. Atleast they did for me.

Wire feed welders (MIG and fluxcore) are constant voltage devices. Arc welders (Stick and TIG) are constant current devices.

Good luck

Jim Vrzal Holiday, Fl.

Reply to
Mawdeeb

Ive got both a Honda 1500 watt genset and a bigger chinese clone of a Honda 3500 watt.

Ive run my Weldpack 100 full out with .035flux core with both. The little Honda sounds like its starting to struggle but the arc doesnt seem to change much at full power.

YMMV

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Reply to
Gunner

Where's local? I want one! :)

Reply to
John Husvar

Reply to
RoyJ

Gunner brings out a good point - about good generators vs cheap generators. You'll need a lot more generator to run a load like yours if you use a cheap generator than if you get a Honda or equivalent. Plus the cheap ones are noisy as all get out - and are very hard to get quiet. If you plan you use something with an RV - get a Honda, your family and your neighbours will thank you forever. I have a Generac 4000 in the shop for emergency use, but I have a little Honda 2000 that gets all of the work these days.

Brian

Reply to
Brian

I saw the same welder/generator at Lowes in Fayetteville, Arkansas for about the same.

Reply to
cuchara.red

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your insight. Seems like some have decent results using various generators and some don't. Guess I'm still up in the air...

Reply to
cuchara.red

Reply to
RoyJ

One more thought. A high amperage alternator with an external voltage regulator can be made to supply 20 volts DC. You might check to see what the drive motor for the wire feed requires as far as voltage. You might be able to use the alternator on your truck or car as the generator. No sense in generating 120 volts so your welder can change it to 20 volts.

Dan cuchara.red wrote:

Reply to
dcaster

I've run a WeldPAC from my 5500w (TroyBilt) and it worked perfectly. The only trouble I had was running my Plasma cutter and compressor at the same time on the same generator. I would simply have to wait for the compressor to kick off before using the plasma cutter. Doing this, I cut down three 12" I-Beams used as guy wire stanchions for a large antenna in no time.

Reply to
TheAndroid

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