What generator/welder should I get

[Pat]

I am currently looking at some generator/welder units and I am very confused as to which one would serve my purpose. I will be running a Hypertherm Powermax 1000 G3 series plasma cutter, and a Miller MM210 off the generator I have not gotten the plasma cutter yet, but need to consider it in the equation. For the most part I believe I would be ok running the MM210 on just about anything that has a 6000 watt or more output, but I have no idea what wattage is needed for the plasma cutter. Here are the input specs for the plasma cutter. Could someone please put these numbers into wattage for me.

Input current 200/208/230/240/480 V, 1-PH: 50/48/44/42/22 A
@ 8.4 kW 200/208/230/240/400/480/600 V, 3-PH:
30/29/26/24/15/12/11 A

Thank you for any info you can provide.

[DDA52]

Pat
Volts x amps = wattage. That formula works pretty good for most things. However plasma rigs seem to be rated about 30% higher than that figure. That is based on Miller's guidelines for plasma gen. requirements. So.... I'm thinking somewhere in the 13k to 14k range???? Most of the smaller weld/gen units are around 11k. To get 13k watts you'd have to go with Miller's TB 350D and higher or Lincoln's V-500. All big diesels and pricey. If that's too big, you could "derate" the plasma ..i.e. not run at max. cap.and run it off of a smaller unit. I've heard this suggested on Miller's board for Miller units. Might work with a Hypertherm.
Hope this helps,

Don

[Franz]

The specs you posted,
Input current 200/208/230/240/480 V, 1-PH: 50/48/44/42/22 A
>>>>>>@ 8.4 kW<<<<<<< 200/208/230/240/400/480/600 V, 3-PH: 30/29/26/24/15/12/11 A
say it consumes 8.4 kw witch would be 8,400 watts.
However, when you do the math, the numbers come up around 10kw or 10,000 watts.
Allowing for inrush current you probably want at least an 11,000 watt machine to run this plasma.
The 11,000 watts makes no allowence for power factor, so you'd probably want to go with a 15,000 watt machine for a decent safety factor.
If you need to run an electric air compressor too, that would require additional wattage.

[Pat]

Don and Franz,

Thank you so very much for explaining the math. Now that I know the needed input power, I may just opt to use the Miller Spectrum 625 plasma cutter that I presently have. My thinking was that the Hypertherm 1000 with a larger cutting capacity would come in handy for tasks that involved cutting steel 1 inch and thicker however, upon doing some reflecting I have rarely needed a cutting capacity beyond 3/4" and my Oxy/Mapp torch will easily get me through the thicker steel, and possibly quicker than a plasma cutter. ...........thanks again.