question for you electrical knowhow people

[spackrackman]

I run my workshop from a 6k genset, everything is fine but I worry about running my TIG welder, the manual states that it should be run from a clean electrical source( single phase) and if any damage occurs from running it otherwise then they will not honour the warrenty. Is there any kind of industrial surge protector that I could put in between the source and my tig welder? or do you think that it should be fine? The generator always dips for a mo as the engine compinsates for the extra draw and that is what worries me.

Cheers all

 

[Chas]

When the TIG manual says 'clean electrical source' it probably means it should have it's own supply with nothing else in that circuit, a surge protector would prevent over supply so I would think that the 'dip' is reducing the supply so maybe not a problem, give the TIG people a call and ask them if it would be OK to run it off a mobile genny.

 

[Ronanjordan]

Just did some sums there and ur 6kva generator
Would give 26 amps more or less at 230v at p.f of 1.

What rating is ur welder? U may be running your generator quite hard.
If you have welder and other stuff going at once!

 

[Rob]

A quick Google has revealed a few interesting things. Firstly there are generators specifically sold with the intention of running welders, these are rated by the welder current output rather than generator power output and are more expensive than equivalent generators. Also it seems that people are recommending that you should have a generator that provides double the amount of current that your welder is rated to (input), so in your case that would mean you can only run a 3kw welder, something that can be run on a standard UK 13A plug.

I have also found references that state that you should have a pure sine wave generator , but I am confused as to why a generator would not be pure sine as your converting rotational mechanical energy into electricity which means it is dead easy to get a "pure" sine wave Maybe you need electronics to smooth the wave form and compensate for changes in engine rpm

Bear in mind I know little about portable generators and I have only summarised what I have found after a Google.