Portable welder advice

Alby,

Bloke I used to work with was going to use a set-up like yours, in lieu of a motorised welder, an expensive necessity on large stations,

He reckoned an 8 KVA genie was the go. Assume he'd been advised of the size to get?

Don't know if the Kipor would be big enough........suppose you could only try it?

Bob

I am using a 3.6kva kubota on a stick welder on the farm, BUT I only use thin welding rods, I end up using more rods but works fine for me and only a couple of times genny circuit drops out from overload

Alby, I have one of the Rossi welders in my shop and it's a very good little welder. Light and powerful, and it welds beautifully.

However, these are an electronically-controlled welder with an inverter, and all devices with electronics in them are very sensitive to voltage variations, and particularly voltages that outside regular parameters (i.e. - voltage spikes).
Portable gensets quite often have trouble keeping the supply voltage within normal parameters.
It's worse when they are working hard. As a result, it's not advisable to use items with electronic components in them, attached to small portable gensets. Voltage spikes and low voltage can damage the electronic components.

The voltage variations can happen due to substantial variations in engine RPM due to heavy load coming on and off, and the governor can't keep the RPM within the specified RPM range for correct voltage.
In addition, the Chinese are pretty good at over-rating their products. I'd hazard an educated guess that the Kipor is over-rated on its output and it probably struggles to produce a genuine 5KVA.

The Rossi has a 15 amp plug, I'm not sure if your Kipor has a 15 amp plug.
You certainly need a 15 amp plug and a genuine 15 amp steady output capacity to be able to run the Rossi 200 amp welder.

I have not tried to run my Rossi on a genset at all. I am leery of doing so, after having had previous problems with a 5KVA Honda/Dunlite and running a CIGWELD electronic welder off that unit.

Cheers, Ron.

We have a couple of different setups at work. Over the years the guys have started using a Lincoln 170 gas less mig off the genny. We used to run it off a 3.5 kva and it was ok for fencing but wouldn't penetrate plate. Running it off a 8.5 makes it sing. Your 5.5 should have 15a plug? If so i would think that setup will be good for all things except decent plate.
Lunchbox (dc caddy) can be more power hungry depending on the brand.

Hi Alby,

I was recently doing some fencing on the property and time came to weld on brackets for a gate. I have a 5500W peak rated 13HP Scorpion generator and an old Italian made 140A peak stick welder. Well the welder set at full amps really made the gennie work hard and to be honest was insufficient for 3.2mm electrodes. Striking an arc was difficult as well. I was using the shortest possible extension cord (5m) with a 15A rating. Probably 2.5mm electrodes and under would be OK.

So if you're thinking of anything up to 200 amps, definitely think about a generator of 8000W +.

Also, be careful with Edison's. They used to trade under a different name (AGR Machinery). Not very good online reviews. Buyer beware. If it's too good to be true then it probably is. They've been known to remove negative feedback. Just do some research first.

Cheers,

Tim.

How about one of these

Unipower alternator, 185 amp DC welder, 240V DC power, fast charge 12, 24V batteries.

I had one years ago, would happily drive a 10 gauge (3.25mm) low hydrogen rod.

Thanks for all the feedback

I think I will look for a smaller 130 to 140 amp unit to be on the safe side