welder/generator

[MikeC]

I'm considering a welder/generator.  The candidates so far are  Miller 250 Bobcat or Lincoln 250GXT.  I'm told by the Miller folks that theirs is a better generator than welder, and the Lincoln distributor says their own is "much improved" from 3 years previous.

Does anyone have experience with either of these? 

[glenn kangiser]

I do, Mike. 

Lincoln rode on their name for many years allowing Miller to make a much improved product.  True  - they are making a better product now and Miller has also had problems.  I have two broke  down Millers.

If you are considering it for home  use with stick welding then either will be a good  machine but  if you are going for heavy welding with  Innershield wire then neither are quite big enough.

A very important issue here for a home owner is the generator capacity for 120v AC and 240v AC.  The bigger machines  have 10000 watts  (10kw) available.  8kw could be acceptable.  Less will fall short of some requirements.

I have lots of these welders.  I do not recommend the Miller Diesel with the plastic fan.  They insist they do not have a problem, but I have had the blades fly off of mine twice and go through the radiator --- with less hours than the air cooled gas at 1/2 the price.  Not much fuel cost advantage anymore either since the oil companies have doubled the price for diesel -- they saw they  were leaving a lot of money on the table.

[glenn kangiser]

I would go for at least 300 amps for Innershield --- big welding - I use NR232.

[MikeC]

Thanks Glenn.  This unit would be used for occasional stick welding by some doofus in his garage (me) and as a backup generator. It would be WAY overkill for either mission. I'm fine with that approach. I had initially considered stand alone units but for a generator alone of only 6.5kw the cost is way more than the welder/generator package.  Plus, I'm reasoning (?) that these units are intended for much longer term running than the typical Honda generator, and hence more durable.

An acquaintance has several Bobcats on equipment service trucks and likes them.  But my impression of these was that they weren't quite as HD as I expected, so wanted to consider the Lincoln offering as well.

[glenn kangiser]

Danger Will Robinson....



They are made for heavy use - a good choice.  If your welder has DC  welding available then it can - carefully charge a large battery bank such as solar batteries.  It is not regulated so used on CC (constant current), the voltage will drop to some point above your batteries and give them a big charge - but it can produce gasses and if your battery bank is not large enough it can warp the plates destroying them.  A volt meter is a must. 

You need to lower the amps to lower the voltage and on a smaller system it can be pretty low -- it will not taper as the battery fills so you must remove it and shut it off.  I use extra leads or jumper cables to keep all sparks away from the batteries.  Hydrogen is produced so you could have your own personal Hindenburg.

AC will not work -   without a rectifier bank which is another story.....