Running Arc Welder Off Generator

Stick welding from the generator sucks.

Running arc welder off generator.

At weldclass we recognise that many operators especially in rural construction and maintenance industries have the need to run their welder off a generator. I would avoid running any of the new computer controlled mig or tig stuff off a normal generator. After that it is the same as normal. Also there will not be adequate heat input to the work resulting in low weld quality poor fusion and poor bead appearance.

The biggest problem i had was adapting the generator to the welder plug. If you are fortunate to establish an arc the arc will tend to pop out frequently. To successfully run your ac dc 225 125 welder you would need a minimum of a 15 000 watt ac generator. I use the 240 volt 20 amp outlet mates with nema l14 20p.

The generator is breaker protected. The arc voltaqe is on the order of 30 volts when your welding stuck shorted it s zero and thats when the generator gets real unhappy. You can run a small inverter welder off of a moderately sized generator as they only draw about half the amperage of a comparable transformer based welder.