Ok to ARC WELD with 002A?

[TroyHog]

Has anyone had any experience running an arc welder with a 002a or 003a? My question stems from an guy from Nordic Air that told me the compressors on the a/c units had continuous run compressors because it was hard on the gen sets if they cycled a lot.

Well that got me to thinkin.......... which is usually dangerous. One of the big reasons i picked a 002a and a 003a up is so I could run welders on the farm. I intended to use them for welding gates, building corral panels, fence corners, ect.

I have only tested so far. It does drop the rpm noticeably when you strike an arc. I ran the Hz up to about 62 no load - I am not sure what it was pulling down to as I am alone and was welding.

I am wondering if this is going to be harmful to the gen sets, and if anyone has already done this successfully or otherwise.

Thanks

 

[gimpyrobb]

If your welder's current requirements are within the output of the genset, no worrys. If the welder pulls more current than the genset puts out, you will probably pop the breaker a lot. That is not good for it.

 

[sewerzuk]

Has anyone had any experience running an arc welder with a 002a or 003a? My question stems from an guy from Nordic Air that told me the compressors on the a/c units had continuous run compressors because it was hard on the gen sets if they cycled a lot.

Well that got me to thinkin.......... which is usually dangerous. One of the big reasons i picked a 002a and a 003a up is so I could run welders on the farm. I intended to use them for welding gates, building corral panels, fence corners, ect.

I have only tested so far. It does drop the rpm noticeably when you strike an arc. I ran the Hz up to about 62 no load - I am not sure what it was pulling down to as I am alone and was welding.

I am wondering if this is going to be harmful to the gen sets, and if anyone has already done this successfully or otherwise.

Thanks

I have welded with an -002a and -003a quite a bit with no problems. You'll be pushing the -002a for the bigger welding jobs. I haven't stick welded with either machine, but I have run MIG, TIG, and flux core on both. My small flux core machine runs fine on either machine without difficulty. My Millermatic 251 works well up to about 17.5v with .035", any higher and it begins to bog down the -002a. At 17v it pulls 100% or more on the -002a. The -003a can run the MIG welder on any setting with no problem. The -002a doesn't like my TIG machine on any normal setting. I could probably weld thin steel with it, but the voltage and frequency bounce around so much I'm afraid of doing damage to the welder. The -003A runs the TIG welder fine, up to about 190A. Above that and it begins to complain too.

I know that doesn't directly answer your question about stick/ARC welding, but I also have a Lincoln Ranger 8 that I use for my stick welding. It has an 8000W generator. For most general welding jobs, I'm only using about 1/2 of the generators rated output. So, you're probably fine with the -002a's 5kw output for most jobs.

 

[dependable]

I tried stick welding with an 002 and a Lincon AC buzz box. Could not get get a good arc with 1/8 6011, not enough juice & I could tell I was loading it too hard. Did not stay at it long enough to trip breaker, as I could tell it was not working. Would probably work with thinner rod or an 003.

 

[Wildchild467]

I have welded with an -002a and -003a quite a bit with no problems. You'll be pushing the -002a for the bigger welding jobs. I haven't stick welded with either machine, but I have run MIG, TIG, and flux core on both. My small flux core machine runs fine on either machine without difficulty. My Millermatic 251 works well up to about 17.5v with .035", any higher and it begins to bog down the -002a. At 17v it pulls 100% or more on the -002a. The -003a can run the MIG welder on any setting with no problem. The -002a doesn't like my TIG machine on any normal setting. I could probably weld thin steel with it, but the voltage and frequency bounce around so much I'm afraid of doing damage to the welder. The -003A runs the TIG welder fine, up to about 190A. Above that and it begins to complain too.

I know that doesn't directly answer your question about stick/ARC welding, but I also have a Lincoln Ranger 8 that I use for my stick welding. It has an 8000W generator. For most general welding jobs, I'm only using about 1/2 of the generators rated output. So, you're probably fine with the -002a's 5kw output for most jobs.

How close is the Miller 200 to the 251? My Dad has a Miller 200 and it would be nice to know if somebody has used their MEP-002A to run the welder. Most of the time we only use it on "low range".

 

[ETN550]

I have mig welded using .035 wire and 1/4 steel single pass using a 3Kw MEP-016B, no issues. My daughter reported 75% +/- on the load meter and pretty steady once moving along. Not too much inrush either. However, I cannot even strike an arc with a 225 lincoln box. I would say the Lincoln box would be pushing it for a 002. 003 no problem, all day long.

The small wire of a mig and the control of the tig probably do not create a big start load compared to a honkin transformer and a 1/8 or 3/16 welding rod.

Starting motors is the hardest thing for a generator and that is probably why the compressor was set up to unload and stay on.

 

[m16ty]

What you need is one of the inverter stick welders. They don't draw nearly as much as a transformer (buzz box) welder does.

I've got a Miller Dynasty 200 that runs on any power from 120-480 volts. It will put out 200 amps of welding current only drawing 14 amps input on 240v 3-phase. That's only around 3.4 KW.

 

[gimpyrobb]

A hobart stickmate at 205amp output needs 47.5 amps at 230volts. Looks like an 003 is just barely enough.

 

[Triple Jim]

I've got a Miller Dynasty 200 that runs on any power from 120-480 volts. It will put out 200 amps of welding current only drawing 14 amps input on 240v 3-phase. That's only around 3.4 KW.

I have a Dynasty 200DX, and you're absolutely right: A welder like that will easily run on power from an 002A, and it weighs 45 lbs. and can be carried like a suitcase. I guess the downside is that it's around $3,000. There are oriental versions that cost a lot less though. I'd still save up for the Miller. Heck, most of the welding I do with the Dynasty could be powered from a 20A 120V outlet.

 

[m16ty]

I have a Dynasty 200DX, and you're absolutely right: A welder like that will easily run on power from an 002A, and it weighs 45 lbs. and can be carried like a suitcase. I guess the downside is that it's around $3,000. There are oriental versions that cost a lot less though. I'd still save up for the Miller. Heck, most of the welding I do with the Dynasty could be powered from a 20A 120V outlet.

I picked up mine less than 6 months old for less than $1,000. A renter owed me some money and he gave the the welder to settle the debt.

I didn't think it would hold up for the heavy stuff But I ran it for 8hrs. one day at around 125amps only stopping for lunch and long enough to change rods. I was beat but the welder was ready for more. We do quite a bit of welding in factories and used to pull our pipeliner around but have mostly went to the dynasty. With just "plug and play" to any voltage from 120-480 it's easy to find a power source and a lot easier to tote on your back than the pipeliner (45lbs vs around 2,000lbs). Like you said, unless you're doing some fairly heavy welding you can get by with 120v.

 

[Triple Jim]

If any more renters pay with Dynasties and you don't need another one, feel free to email me. Intuitively I know that transformer machines are more rugged than inverter machines, but I don't think I'll ever go back. I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but you can really get a lot more welding for your kWs with an inverter type welder.

 

[1800 Diesel]

I tried stick welding with an 002 and a Lincon AC buzz box. Could not get get a good arc with 1/8 6011, not enough juice & I could tell I was loading it too hard. Did not stay at it long enough to trip breaker, as I could tell it was not working. Would probably work with thinner rod or an 003.

What amps setting were you using with the 1/8 6011 rod?

 

[dependable]

Usually I use 90 for that rod. It is a 225 AC, next setting down is 75, next up is 105.