Welding with 4000watt generator

[WranglerX]

What you really need to understand is outlet rating on generator.... MY 6500 watt generator has two 120v 20 amp outlets (NEMA 5-20R) and one 30 amp 120v (three prong twist lock NEMA L15-30R) outlet and one 120/240V 30 amp outlet (4 prong twist lock NEMA 14-30R) but in many cases the Neutral is not used for 240 V operation just L1&L2 and Ground....

What you really need to understand is what output generator is capable of and how to wire it correctly just flopping around and trying to buy adapters and such by guess work is not really going to help you much.....

I personally run my Hobart Handler 140 MIG on the 120V 30 amp (NEMA 15-30R) outlet with DIY adapter cable to a NEMA L15-30R receptacle...

 

[WranglerX]

Id need this one for the generator i'm using , Is it worth it?
?

https://www.amazon.ca/SURIEEN-L14-30P-Generator-Welder-Adapter/dp/B0914VZGW8/ref=sr_1_25?crid=26NTP4CMCPY6X&keywords=generator+welder+adapters&qid=1682550982&sprefix=generator+welder+adapters%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-25&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.b06bdbbe-20fd-4ebc-88cf-fa04f1ca0da8

If you have 240V 30A outlet on generator (NEMA L14-30) yes this is probably adapter you need if your welder is 240V (NEMA 6-50P)....

 

[sea2summit]

Did not know 240 Vac was two phase..... Most power in US is single phase or three phase....

It’s two 120 “hot” currents out of phase 180, usually when they get to your box the hots get separated to your 120 stuff so it’s single phase. It would be very odd for you to have a 220 or 240 appliance that was single phase.

 

[newbury]

I've:
Dryer for laundry
Welder
Electric heaters (in wall)
A JennAir stove/oven
A heat pump
All running off 240V circuits single phase (double pole) circuit breakers in my house and shop.
So they must be very odd.
From the wicki on two phase power:

Active two-phase distribution systems remain in Center City Philadelphia, where many commercial buildings are permanently wired for two-phase,[2] and in Hartford, Connecticut.

 

[domains]

If you have 240V 30A outlet on generator (NEMA L14-30) yes this is probably adapter you need if your welder is 240V (NEMA 6-50P)....

The round plug on generator says 120/240 volts, Will it be stronger considering its only a 4000watt generator? If i can't weld 3/32 rods its not worth it to me to buy adapter

 

[Eagle1]

Let's keep it simple 4000W "~ means roughly "
4000W = ~33 amp at 120 VAC
4000W = ~18 amp at 220 VAC

Watts = Amperage x Voltage

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Let's keep it simple 4000W "~ means roughly "
4000W = ~33 amp at 120 VAC
4000W = ~18 amp at 220 VAC

Watts = Amperage x Voltage

AND both are single phase.

SR

 

[WranglerX]

Face it you generator is under nourished to get full welding power out of your welder.... Common theory on welding sites is the generator should have a power rating (wattage) about 50% more than what welder requires.... The convention wisdom is the the larger the generator better is will supply power to welder,... When you strike an arc there is a momentary surge required for power to welder and if generator is too small it can not maintain output and it may bog down and damage the internals of welder and generator or even stall out generator... The cause is the rotor of the generator has small rotating mass and if surge requirement is to high it will cause the rotor to "stall" the generator, the larger the generator (wattage) the bigger the motor and the larger the rotating mass of the rotor the less likely for it to stall and the larger the rotating mass of rotor will sustain the inertia of the generator and less like to bog generator when initially striking arc.... Yes its simple physics along with electrical requirements....

Another thing we really need to know is what are the electrical specification of your welder, is it a 120 or 240 volt model and what is the amperage capability of unit.... Brand name and model number would help....

 

[domains]

Face it you generator is under nourished to get full welding power out of your welder.... Common theory on welding sites is the generator should have a power rating (wattage) about 50% more the the what welder requires.... The convention wisdom is the the larger the generator better is will supply power to welder,... When you strike an arc there is a momentary surge required for power to welder and if generator can not maintain output it may bog down and damage the internals of welder and generator or eve stall out generator... The cause is the rotor of the generator has small rotating mass and if surge requirement is to high it will cause the rotor to "stall" the generator, the larger the generator (wattage) the bigger the motor and the larger the rotating mass of the rotor the less likely for it to stall and the larger the rotating mass of rotor will sustain the inertia of the generator and less like to bog generator when initially striking arc.... Yes its simple physics along with electrical requirements....

damage the internals of welder and generator scares me aswell seeing the welder is an inverter, I had a 200 foot 8 grade wire my friend kept bugging me to sell it, sold for 20$ now I have to pay like 3-400 for a new wire

 

[Eagle1]

damage the internals of welder and generator scares me aswell seeing the welder is an inverter, I had a 200 foot 8 grade wire my friend kept bugging me to sell it, sold for 20$ now I have to pay like 3-400 for a new wire

Nice friend

 

[domains]

Nice friend

Everytime hes come over to my shop he would ask to buy a tool, I thought I was selling house and moving closer to town so he got most of my tools really cheap, Tire removal sold it for 40$ Got my ATV 4x4 for 500$, tons of tools, paied him over 2000 coffees through out the years, he never paid me one, I hit my limit a few years ago and no longer friends

 

[BukitCase]

Until you respond to the request for ACTUAL make and model #'s for your welder AND generator(s), all the answers you get are only going to be WILD SPECULATION at best - preferably links if possible -

1 - virtually ALL generators have two "ratings" - one is the PEAK wattage (mainly a number for liars to sell you less than you need) The second is CONTINUOUS wattage _ OK for a CONTINUOUS load, but STILL not good enough for a SUDDEN load like a welder needs when striking an arc - for that the generator should have at least half again the wattage capability.

2 - There are very few (if any) companies who sell INVERTER welders who will honor their warranty if you use a generator that is NOT "clean power" - this means less than 5% THD (stands for Total Harmonic Distortion) - That specification is like any other spec; if they do NOT brag about it, they ain't GOT it - the least expensive clean power genny's I've seen that DO have it, are some of the Power Horse branded genny's that Northern tool sells - those tend to start pricing close to $1000, so not a cheap "bandaid" either.

3 - If you don't care about warranty, you MIGHT get away with using either of the genny's you have to run your inverter welder, and YES - you WILL see enough difference on 240 volts to run at least one size larger rods. No guarantee just how LONG you'll get away with it.

Sorry if I'm bursting your bubble, but like everything ELSE in the world, "TANSTAAFL" (acronym from an ancient SciFi book, means "There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" ... Steve

 

[setxjeff]

It’s worth it, after Hurricane Rita I had to make that adapter up to repair my tractor box blade. Since then I’ve bought and engine powered welder and a adapter Just in case I need to run my MiG welder

 

[domains]

Until you respond to the request for ACTUAL make and model #'s for your welder AND generator(s), all the answers you get are only going to be WILD SPECULATION at best - preferably links if possible -

1 - virtually ALL generators have two "ratings" - one is the PEAK wattage (mainly a number for liars to sell you less than you need) The second is CONTINUOUS wattage _ OK for a CONTINUOUS load, but STILL not good enough for a SUDDEN load like a welder needs when striking an arc - for that the generator should have at least half again the wattage capability.

2 - There are very few (if any) companies who sell INVERTER welders who will honor their warranty if you use a generator that is NOT "clean power" - this means less than 5% THD (stands for Total Harmonic Distortion) - That specification is like any other spec; if they do NOT brag about it, they ain't GOT it - the least expensive clean power genny's I've seen that DO have it, are some of the Power Horse branded genny's that Northern tool sells - those tend to start pricing close to $1000, so not a cheap "bandaid" either.

3 - If you don't care about warranty, you MIGHT get away with using either of the genny's you have to run your inverter welder, and YES - you WILL see enough difference on 240 volts to run at least one size larger rods. No guarantee just how LONG you'll get away with it.

Sorry if I'm bursting your bubble, but like everything ELSE in the world, "TANSTAAFL" (acronym from an ancient SciFi book, means "There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" ... Steve

Heres specs of my welder, The generator is a champion 3000. peak 4000 I welded 5/64 rods nice penetration at 75 amps, it would bog when starting to weld then smooth off nice, Generator 4000 starting watts then runs at 3000

 

[BukitCase]

According to that, I would get as much as you can for your two (actually 3000 watt) generators (if still possible, send the new in box one back) and find a genny that puts out 6000 watts CONTINUOUS (it'll probably be around 7500 PEAK) - I just looked at Northern's offerings, apparently that size range is pretty rare - then....

I found this model elsewhere, it's EXACTLY what I'd recommend for what you're trying to do and you will NEVER find a better price. It's also spec'd at under 5% THD. This is NOT an inverter welder, that size in inverter would run over $2000. Running on this generator your welder should run any rod the mfg claims it can -

Powerhorse Portable Generator — 7000 Surge Watts, 5500 Rated Watts

Powerhorse Portable Generator — 7000 Surge Watts, 5500 Rated Watts

www.ultimatetoolstore.com

Disclaimer - I've NEVER dealt with that company, but if I were in your situation I'd grab one before they add the other $500 or so to the price... Steve

FURTHER disclaimer - only YOU can decide if you're comfy dealing with a foreign based company, read this to see what I mean

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Who Makes Powerhorse Engines? – A Comprehensive Look at Powerhorse Engines, its Manufacturer, and Types

Powerhorse is a brand of portable generators that are sold at various stores, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. The company has been in business since 1981, and they produce a wide variety of generators for both residential and commercial use. In this blog post, we will take a comprehensive look...

whomakes.net

 

[domains]

One generator is for my moms house other is mine, Thats a cheap generator but i'm in Canada

 

[BukitCase]

Sorry to hear that; our present dictator is doing his best to make you feel GOOD about living in Canada - maybe BOTH of us should be reading up on how the Russians make potato vodka ... Steve

 

[domains]

Sorry to hear that; our present dictator is doing his best to make you feel GOOD about living in Canada - maybe BOTH of us should be reading up on how the Russians make potato vodka ... Steve

I stopped drinking, its been a year, Got gout and it went away, now i'm a pothead I guess, don't smoke much tho, love it with my morning coffee

 

[rangerfredbob]

I've welded a bunch with my Champion 4kw generator (says 3500 continuous, whatever, I have $100 in it and it works) and Harbor Freight Titanium MIG 170 welder, I've stalled the generator a number of times and blew out a GFI outlet and tripped breakers, hasn't hurt anything so far... although on flux core you might be able to push limits a bit more, but if you sneak up on things you're probably fine getting what you can. I know I have plugged my camper into the big 3 pin connector, I haven't tried using it on 220V since it doesn't have the right plug for anything I have...

 

[newbury]

Until you respond to the request for ACTUAL make and model #'s for your welder AND generator(s)

One generator is for my moms house other is mine,

Ok what is the EXACT MAKE AND MODEL of the generators?
Champion makes lots of welders.
IF you've 2 INVERTER welders available you might be able to PARALLEL them and run your welder.
/edit - that should have been

Champion makes lots of generators

IF you've 2 INVERTER generators available