Can the generator provide the required amperage ?

[ALBRT]

Hello

I have a question that needs to be answered

I have a generator with 5500 WAT of power, and it has two sockets of 220 V with 13 AMP.

I have a welder ( power supply ) that needs 20 AMP

How can I get that amount of amperage ?
If I connect the welder to the sockets together , will I get 26 AMP in this way ?

The phase line will be connected with the phase line in the two sockets.

Thank You

[MikeGyver]

It's almost certainly 2 outlets on a single 13 amp line. You could probably barely run 1/8" 7018. You could easily run 3/32" 7018.

[Broccoli1]

What brand of generator is this?

I've never seen a genset with 2 13amp 240v receptacles

Mathematically it should provide enough power

5500/240v = 22.91 amps at Peak but most gensets have a rated output lower than the max wattage so you really only have about 4500watts of continuous power.

Most USA gensets in this wattage will have one 240v receptacle and a couple 120v receptacles.

The one 240v receptacle being 20amp rated

[drjuan]

you might keep in mind that a generator is a different kind of power, its nothing like grid power, its a "dirty" form of power, not clean power and can actually burn up your welder due to low current, take the covers off and look at the small wires going to the plug ins on the generator and ask yourself if you really want to burn a stick with the power coming through those small wires on that power source,
I have 5600 watt craftsman generator that I have ran my hobart mig on, it does not weld well at all even on the lowest setting, that being said, it runs very well on off my ranger 250 with 9500 watts of power if I need it, but I would rather plug it into the grid when possible,

[anickode]

I used to have an old coleman 5000 watt generator that had a duplex NEMA 5-15 (120v) and a duplex NEMA 6-15 (240v) outlet on it, instead of the more common 120/240 L14-20 or L14-30 4 prong twistlock. My gramps (master electrician for 30 years) told me that the individual sockets would be limited to 15 amps each because the NEMA rating is 15 amps, but the pair wired together (make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOUR LEGS ARE MATCHED, OTHERWISE YOU'LL SHORT CIRCUIT THE GENERATOR) will be able to output the full capacity together, which totaled about 21 amps max. We wired it that way and it worked just fine, never tripping the integrated 15 amp breakers on the individual sockets on the genset, even running a 20 amp load.

So... it worked for me. I can't say definitively if it will work for you, and I will NOT RECOMMEND doing so without consult from the generator manufacturer and/or a real electrician. If you do this and burn up your generator or welder or burn down your house or fry yourself, don't blame me.

All that said... a 5500 max watt genset is probably going to have trouble running any welder, even if it's wired to squeeze every last watt out of the machine.

[ALBRT]

It has 5500 rated power and not maximum ( surge ) power

The generator is from AC Delco

Can I replace the two 13 AMP circuit breakers with one 25 AMP Breaker, and replace the two sockets with one socket ?

Or should I keep the two sockets and plug one cable with two branches to them ?


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[anickode]

Hm.. 240v only. I gotcha.

Where are you located? I know 240v only systems are prevalent in Europe... I'd really have to see how it's wired to know what could be done.

Also, that sticker right above the outlets is slightly worrisome. It might be very difficult to find any decent technical support and/or wiring diagrams for it.

[G-son]

Do you even know if the generator has one single winding divided to two separate outlets, or two windings feeding two separate outlets? I can't really see why they'd put two 13A breakers separately on a single generator outlet when that limits the usability (and costs more than a single bigger breaker for both outlets).

If the generator has two separate outlets they are probably working out of sync with each other, and can not be connected to eachother. Opening up the panel and finding out how it's wired behind the breakers and outlets would probably answer alot.

[Broccoli1]

Originally Posted by G-son

Do you even know if the generator has one single winding divided to two separate outlets, or two windings feeding two separate outlets? I can't really see why they'd put two 13A breakers separately on a single generator outlet when that limits the usability (and costs more than a single bigger breaker for both outlets).

If the generator has two separate outlets they are probably working out of sync with each other, and can not be connected to eachother. Opening up the panel and finding out how it's wired behind the breakers and outlets would probably answer alot.

Looks to be a European 240v genset so they have 2 receptacles individually protected like we would see on our genset 120v receptacles.

I believe 13amp 240v is a standard receptacle configuration for those on the other side of the pond.

[anickode]

Originally Posted by G-son

If the generator has two separate outlets they are probably working out of sync with each other, and can not be connected to eachother. Opening up the panel and finding out how it's wired behind the breakers and outlets would probably answer alot.

Since the generator maxes at 5500 watts, or roughly 22 amps total combined load, I'd suspect it's a single set of windings, with the receptacles wired in parallel. If there was a separate winding for each receptacle, there would be 13 amps available at both simultaneously, as opposed to combined of 22.

[G-son]

Actually, it says 220V under the outlets (if I'm not blind), and 5500W at 220V is 25A. Anyway, we won't know for sure what's going on inside it without a bit of exploratory surgery.