need to mobile my welder

[Rick Ransom]

hey ,I have an older lincoln arc welder ,model -225-s ,single phase input 230 volts and 50 amps .The problem is that i need to do a lot of welding out of reach of my shop.We're talking about several hundred feet away from my power source .I have a briggs & stratton 5250 emergency generator but not to sure about the amperage that it puts out .Would not enough amps burn up my welder ?What would be my best bet ?As you most likely noticed I'm new to welding and a definate stranger to electricity .Thanks in advance 4 any help .Sincerely confused

[Sandy]

Well there is a little more to it than simple formulas, but, a quick simple formula is good to see if you are even in the ball park. So at a 230 input with a 50 amp max requirement you would need to have a 11,500 watt (11.5kw) generator to run that thing at max. Looking at it that way you would be way under powered for applications requiring maximum output and thus maximum input.

If you think back tho, how often do you run it at max?? and when you do, for how long? How often do you think you would even trip a 30 amp input breaker?

A guess is that you probably use the 70 amp to 130 amp range on your machine a huge proportion of the time. The 130 to 190 occassionaly. I'd guess you could handle most of the work you need to do with the 5000 watt gen set you have. You just won't be able to run at the upper end of the scale. Give it a shot. The gen set will let you know.

[BigEd36]

Rick,

The formula to figure the watts you will need in a generator is: Volts times Amps equals Watts, so 230 volts times 50 amps equals 11,500 watts. This would be at full load on your welder. The formula to give you the amps output of your generator is : Watts divided by Volts equals Amps, so 5250 watts divided by 230 volts equals 22.8 amps.

Ed

Edited to add: Sandy got his post in while I was typing mine!

[smithboy]

What kind of welding do you need to do? I think you could possibly work off a 30 amp circuit (what's on most 220v-capable generator) if you didnt have to run the welder at too high of an amperage. I know some folks run their ac225 off 30 amp dryer outlets...You might contact lincoln to see if there are any dangers associated with running this welder off a generator, but I wouldnt think there would be.

Followup: We were all on this one at the same time...but Sandy's got the answer without the guesswork.

[Rick Ransom]

thanks :Sandy,Smithboy and BIg ED.
You cleared up a lot 4 me ,was thinking that 50 amps meant all the time not at max .I usually run 115 for everthing from railroad tie roadrunners to kokopellis' .Still have to build rails for my trailer and not to forget mamas wrought iron fence.The main reason I'll need the generator 4 .Thanks again