Generator question.

[geezer]

The fastest and easyist way to find out,,,, is to try and run your welder using a 30 amp breaker, if it won,t start and run on 30 amps then it won't work,,,cause the limiting factor on most of the generators is the 30 amp breaker, I have recently bought a Category 5 genset from Northern tool it will run my power arc 200 and my IMig 205's but no way on my 250EX (not that I would hook it up even if it could,,TIG welding isn't my idea of portable outdoor welding)..I have remote start on my genset and after having a remote starter, I wouldn't be without it.

[SeanMurphy265]

The Everlast generator will have plenty of power, it's an 8,500 running what with a 10,000 max input. The website says that the 225lx needs a minimum of 8,500 watts to run. The inrush or start amps is what takes the most power, when you start welding. When your are welding or running amps takes less power. Sams club had a 7,000 watt running amp generator with honda engine on sale. I have a northern tool powerhouse 7,000 that works for me. They also have a powerhouse 9,000 that should work for a 225lx. Northern Tools extended warranty is very good. I have 4 years of warranty with accidental coverage if the generator damaged. I figured since I was welding I would push a generator pretty hard, and needed a good extended warranty.

[DaveO]

There's been a fair amount of discussion about generators and clean power, such as this one:
http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...-on-generator?
... altho you can "advanced search" using "clean power" as the search term and get three more pages of Everlast references. Clean power refers to low "total harmonic distortion" in the generator's waveform. I've been looking at generators locally and using THD as a reference point.

[posixPilot]

Dyethor,

You should probably give Everlast support a call as they can definitely tell you how your welder is going to operate on an Everlast generator. When I was shopping for a generator, I traded email/phone calls with Mike and Mark, and they were both really helpful.

I read the same thread that Dave O linked to, and I ended up buying a Generac due to the power output vs cost. If you are going to buy any non-Everlast genset, I'd highly recommend you scope the output to determine how clean the wave form is (read the thread Dave linked to, and this will make sense). Be careful though, as scopes and line voltages don't mix ... you need an isolation transformer. I found that my genset produced a decent wave form, which actually looked better once it had a heavy load on it.

Cheers
Mike

[performance]

Guys,
Our gensets are NOT considered clean. Go figure...but I don't have anything to do with the generator side of things.
For a good clean power generator at a good price, check out this series from Northern:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9025_200419025

[SeanMurphy265]

Get the warranty plan and run the crap out of it! I have the powerhorse 7000 it's been a good generator, the only draw back is it's loud.

[dyethor]

Mark, Unfortunately they don't sell that generator in California. Stupid CARB laws.

[CGCINC]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9025_200419025

This looks like a pretty good deal! Will the I-Mig 200 run on something like this?
All the lower priced generators I've looked at have 30amp outlets on them.... would it be possible to change out the outlet to something with a higher rating?

[geezer]

This looks like a pretty good deal! Will the I-Mig 200 run on something like this?
All the lower priced generators I've looked at have 30amp outlets on them.... would it be possible to change out the outlet to something with a higher rating?

No,,,it would not be a good idea, changing the breaker would be the same as overloading the genset,,,something they tell you to avoid...I have a Category 5 from NT with remote,,,a couple of hundred bucks more than the one you are interested in,,,,,the remote is worth the money in more ways than having a remote,,,it also shuts off the power like a switch,,,something you don't get on the others,,,,it also has a 15 second delay when starting up,,,,gives it time to reach proper current before it turns on...something those without remote don't have...