I need a welder....

[AL_Josh]

that I can hook up to my generator. I have a Troybilt 5500. Is it possible to use my generator to power a welder with out any damage to the generator or welder? I bought the generator for hurricane Katrina but when I got home my power was back on. Of course if I had not bought the generator it would of stayed off for two weeks.

I would like to get some use out of it. So I was thinking of buying a welder. I have access to a welder at my parents house but I would like to have use of one at my house. I have projects I would like to work on.I do not want to run power from the house that is why I am asking about the generator. I think It would also be good for the generator to get some use rather than just sitting there in my shed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advanced for the guidance.

TBN is like have a father that has done it all.

 

[Soundguy]

Wel.. that 5500 limits you to about 25a at 220v... Most of the big 'stick' welders are gonna want 50a.

25ais only going to let you run mid sized migs and sticks, and small-mid sized plasma cutters.

Lots of the big stick/genny combo's are 10kw and up.

What you welding? How often? In what conditions?

These will all make the difference in what type of welder to get ( flux wire, stick, mig ).. size / gauge of metal will be basic determination of amperage.. and conditions will also help determine type of welder and amperage.

For instance.. if you wanted to do alot of indoor sheet metal welding.. a small mig would be fine.. or at least, a flux job .

If you needed to weld 1/2" rusty plates to a painted steel frame out in the wind.. then you need a big honkin 'tombstone' stick buzzbox...

Your answers will determine the size of welder you can run on the genny.. or if you need to bury some cable /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Soundguy

 

[AL_Josh]

I am more of the welding on rusty pipe and rusty angle iron. Like I said I was just looking for something to use at home. I guess I will have to do my projects at my parents. They have a big Miller stick welder. My grandfather used to run a machine shop before he passed.

I wanted to build me another utility trailer and just be able to weld something when I needed to. It is a hassle to drag all my materials down to thier shop. I do not need one often.

Thanks for the info.

 

[cmhyland]

Al,
I run my Lincoln 135 mig on a 5000 watt gen... using the 20 side of the 220 plug.... Sounds funny but thats how you get 20 amps.

you can weld 5/16 with flux core wire with that unit...

The metal doesn't have to be perfectly clean but it helps...

Regards,
Chris

 

[caylor]

Josh,

Look up a member named "Highbeam" he uses his Coleman 5.5 KW generator to run his Lincoln Tombstone stick welder, without a problem. Based on information he gave me I ran my Lincoln stick welder off the a 5.5 KW generator 20A 220V plug with no problem.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Your genny should be plenty for all but welding big stuff ... 100 amps or so is good for a lot of work with a stick. If you find you need more power once in a while, then you can take it to your folks, or grind the steel bare or run multiple passes.
Cheers!

 

[AL_Josh]

I also need some suggestions for a welder that would not break the bank and work with the above mentoned limitations.

Is the a type that would be less demanding of the generator? I mean either stick or wire feed?
Also I do not need to spend a ton on this but, I want something that will last. I know you get what you pay for. My situation is I get something reasonable or I get nothing at all right now. This is a want not a necessity and my wife know that. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks again!

 

[Highbeam]

That's me. You will have no problem running the standard AC 225 stickwelder tombstone machine made by Lincoln and available at Home Depot. 225 amps at 25 volts (standard welding voltage) is 5625 watts which just exceeds the 5500 "rated" watts you have. Despite this, I have run at the 225 setting for torching or other short term big stuff and the generator kept things running fine.

Most welding with AC stick on 1/8" to 1/4" is going to be done with 70 -135 amps. That is easily within the capabilities of the 5500 watt genset.

I put a big long cord on the tombstone and leave the generator humming along in the back of my pickup. I use the setup for projects on rusty, greasy, painted, and galvanized metal in the field. They aren't always pretty, but they are solid welds.

Check out the photo for the welder and notice the setting of the amp range dial. That's 225 baby. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif In this photo I'm at my remote 15 acre property with no power.

If you want to stick weld with DC current, then the 5.5KW won't do it. DC takes more power but the welders that operate with DC are often switchable to AC. I think that is why the big welder/generator combos are 10,000 watt powerplants. Also, they are a professional unit and the reserve capacity adds to a long life.

Oh, and I have also used the 5.5KW generator to run a 5HP/20 gallon air compressor along with a 220 volt plasma cutter simultaneously in the field at the same site. It was only 1/8" thick metal though but worked like a charm.

I made an adapter to go from the standard welder plug style to the standard generator twistlok connection. You will need that too.

 

[AL_Josh]

Is this the welder you are talking about?

Lincoln Welder

 

[Highbeam]

The link didn't work right, take a look at that picture I posted. There is only one tombstone. The only option I've seen for the tombstone from Lincoln is the DC capability which I wish I had for out of position welding. As I recall it was only 250$ or so for a new AC225. They have been made for a long time and are often available at pawn shops and auctions.

 

[AL_Josh]

Yeah, the url was a mile long and I thought I fixed it.

Also the generator is a 5550 not a 5000. The manual says the AC current load at 240 volts is 23.1 Amps.

They have one at Home Depot without the DC. It cost $239.00 which is well within the budget.

Is there a mig welder that is able to use for welding in the same conditions? Like on angle used for a utility trailer(thicker material). I think the Mig Welder might be easier to use. I am more familiar with stick welding though.

Thanks to all for the quick answers.

 

[Highbeam]

My experience with anything less than a very expensive MIG welder has been pretty disappointing. A good MIG setup can easily hit 2000$ but a more economical version using fluxcore can be had for several hundered which is still more than the stick. HD has a lincoln wire feed that runs on 220 and is pretty decent. I would stick with the big brands like miller, hobart, or lincoln. But if cheap is your angle then people have had pretty good luck with harbor freight stuff. The problem is that wirefeeds have lots of moving parts to fail.

Myself, I would stick with the tombstone for field repairs in less than clean areas. It is just hard to beat the one pass with great penetration of that stick.

 

[AL_Josh]

Ok, I have narrowed it down to the Tombstone welder.

Can you explain how it has a range of 40-125 amps and will still work on my generator. I am not that electrically inclinded.

I believe Highbeam when he says it works fine I just was looking for more of an explination as to how the number plug into the requirements.

Lincolns web site says Specs.: Rated CC AC Output=225, Volts=25, Duty Cycle=20%

Output Range = 40-225A AC

What does that mean?I have experience welding but I am still a novice always looking for more info.

Thanks

 

[JustGary]

"Rated CC AC Output=225, Volts=25, Duty Cycle=20%"

The welder takes in relatively low current high voltage and puts out low voltage high current. Multiply the output volts times the amps for power:

225A x 25V = 5625 Watts

(Actually Volt-Amps, but let's not get into that). The conversion from 220VAC is not 100% efficient, but you see how close you are before any losses.

The generator is probably very happy driving a 220V stepdown transformer, because it is a balanced load and generators really like that. It is possible that you will get a bit more out of your generator than the rated power, but don't count on much.

The 20% duty cycle means that you should only use the welder 20% of the time. They probably have a specification for that time, but it doesn't mean all day one day and then off for four days. Most welding is done in short segments with time off for fitup and slag busting, so the 20% will work itself out. The bottom line is that you don't want to overheat the windings in the transformer. At full power, you also don't want to overheat the windings in your generator.

The good news is that when you ask for full power and lug the generator, the welder doesn't really care if the voltage or frequency drop a little bit. You'll pop a breaker when it's had enough.

Regards,

Just Gary

 

[MMM]

Spend a few extra bucks and go with AC/DC machine, as trailer building will involve a great deal of OP passes unless you plan to flip trailer, stand it on end etc A trailer is no place for inferior welds. Duty cycle is uaually rated for full amperage (20%@250a, 100%@60a etc) TSC did have a Hobart AC/DC for under $400 a while back.

 

[JustGary]

MMM,

Thanks for mentioning the rest about duty cycle. I forgot to mention that.

The DC welder will take much more current to run on DC (like someone else already said), but you probably will never weld with it on full power anyway. You'll like DC a lot better in most cases, so like MMM just said, consider it if you can afford it.

- Just Gary

 

[AL_Josh]

When you say OP passes, what do you mean? Do you mean overhead?

As mentioned before I have done some welding but I am still learning. I wasn't old enough to learn from my grandfather before he closed the machine shop. He built mufflers for alot of the deisel engines that went in shrimpboats in our area. I have some freinds that work at a shipyard and have been helping me out. I am looking into taking some classes.

My utility trailer will be later but I have other stuff I will be practicing on. Practice makes Perfect!

Thanks,
Josh

 

[MadReferee]

Go over to the Hobart welders forum and ask your question. They are very nice people and are color blind to machine manufacturer. The forums are very active and there are plenty of experienced people over there who can help you. I believe that a similar question to yours was asked in the past several months.

Hobart Weld Talk forums

 

[cattoon]

Woo Hoo something I can answer,,,,, I have a Briggs and Stratton elite series Gen set that I ues to run my Hobart Handler 175 on, have about 35 ft of big ext cord, works like a champ,,, 5500 cont watts 8500 surge, when you pull the trigger the gen throttles up just a bit then settles down and runs like a champ, 120 volt compressor seems to work it harder, so my vote would HH 180 or if you could find a HH175 and weld to your hearts content

 

[Highbeam]

"Can you explain how it has a range of 40-125 amps and will still work on my generator. I am not that electrically inclinded."

Volts * amps = watts. The generator makes 5000 watts which is equal to 23 amps at 220 volts or 200 amps at 25 volts.

The welders range of 40-125 amps at 25 volts is equal to a range of 1000 - 3125 watts.

Also note that the circuit breakers on these generators are slow-blow. So if you pull more than the rated power from the generator you will either slow the engine down or stall it before the breaker blows. I haven't picked up any damage from this but realize that you will very seldom need 5500 watts of power welding with AC.

Another nuance that might be unique to my generator is that when you strike the arc on a high amp setting, the engine slows for a second as the governor brings back the rpms on the loaded engine. This slowing reduces the voltage for a moment and requires you to be pretty good at keeping the arc going. Once the arc is steady, the weld can be run as normal. That won't happen when welding on grid power.

Practice makes perfect. If you can make good stick welds then you can make great wire feed welds so it is good to become proficient on the cheap stick welders.