Ive had this Craftsman 230amp dual range arc welder sitting under my work bench for a few years now. I finally got some ideas on what I want to weld and fabricate for my trucks (rollcage, skid plates, bumpers, etc...) But I don't have a 240 line in my garage. I don't really want to wire my garage since I want to be able to move the welder around. I am trying to find a 2nd hand generator to power it, but not really sure what I should be looking for. Any advice what to look for?

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230A is a pretty good size welder. You would need a 7000w genny minimum to power that safely.

It maybe worth calling an electrician to wire up some 230v. I'd request two 30A breakers for that. At least it's not 3 phase...

230V is just two hots...

You might check this thread for some background info...

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showf...&an=0&page=1#Post1245652

Stay away from cheap chinese generators that are good for 2-3 uses. Spend some money and buy quality. The Dewalt generators have been good to me, I have been using the 6500W versions.

I don't want to wire the garage for 240 because I don't feel like paying to get a permit to run line to my outside garage and then pay to have the inspectors come by, and if they see anything out of line with the house or garage I will be screwed into fixing stuff I don't have to right now. A generator would also allow me to make my welder mobile, in case I break something offroad on the Raider, the Montero can bring the trailer with the generator and welder to do a trailside fix.

While you are looking, might also keep your eye open for a used Miller Bobcat engine powered welder..

I bought a Bobcat 225 years ago that is a combined 225amp AC/DC welder and 8500watt 240/120VAC for standby power.. Same unit serves both purposes...

One caveat... older Bobcats are pretty loud. If you live in a tight residential area, neighbors will probably complain about noise.

Look up the amp draw on the welder on the data plate, i.e., 30a at 240v or something similar. If the welder delivers that without being firewalled, it should work. Forget the 230a on the welder side, that's output at a lower voltage than 240v, perhaps 24-36v or thereabouts.

You need a little math here. 30a @ 240v = 7200watts (watts = volts x amps) on the supply side from the genset or the wall outlet. Do not firewall the genset either. If you need 7200w, buy 8000.

Also, you can operate the welder at lower amperages on a smaller genset, but you need the current draw figures at the lower welding amperages to calculate how much smaller you can go. 230a is for fat, fat, steel, so a lower working amps will probably work just fine...

I bit the bullet and wired my garage for 50 amp 240 volt. Inside I used conduit and surface mounted the boxes. I also added 240 volt outlets in two locations so I can run tools on either end of the shop.

As far as passing inspection goes, I was never too worried. It's not all that hard to meet code. What was a PITA was digging a trench. I went with 1" PVC buried conduit and pulled three 6 gauge conductors. The ground wire can be 8 gauge.

I can understand the appeal of a generator. But having 240 always available in a shop rocks. You can run a real air compressor! I have a 220 volts 3 HP belt sander for metal work, it takes stock down like you can't believe.

I spent a about $350 on materials and $80 for a pair of conduit benders ( 3/4" and 1/2"). In my area permits cost about $110 including the inspection. As a homeowner, I'm allowed to do my own work. The only tricky part of the code is knowing not to connect the neutral inside the shops breaker box to the shops ground. That and making sure the shops ground rod meets code.

Not sure if that's the case in your area or not. The upside is I can run a decent sized heater when I'm not welding. Since I plan on staying here for a while, it made sense to go for it, IMHO it was one of the best shop upgrades I have made, at lest until I build a new shop. On a large project the time between welds is often pretty long as you set up the next part. The generator re start could get old pretty quickly.


Then again, I still want to buy an emergency generator.

Kevin

Buying wire really hurts right now, and & #6 hurts more than most.

Kevin, if you used metal conduit, why did you run a ground wire? The conduit is the ground. And yes, the only place the neutral and grounds meet is in the main panel, NOT in a sub panel. Never understood why, but I bet I will soon...

240 in a garage rocks. 3ph rocks even more, even if you have to use an open delta in a residential neighborhood. If you ask for it, the power company will hate you...

Eddy,

Code requires a independent ground from the conduit. Too many cases of conduit coming uncoupled and interrupting the ground. This was not always the case, using the conduit as a ground used to be legal.

That and the underground run is plastic, the shop has metal conduit.