Inverter generator use for powering welders

[sportbike]

Does anyone ave experience using a Honda 3000watt generator for powering their welder, specifically a PT185?

I assume it should be adequate for use on 120V. It is clean power and should have the current capacity.

[geezer]

If you are going to get a genset get a real one that has 220 and a remote start,,,honda's are way over priced and 3000 watts is barely enough to power my RV. If I remember correctly..inverter genset's aren't recomended for welders,, something to do with overloading the genset and destroying it,perhaps some of the other boy's can chime in on this...Personally I won't buy a genset that doesn't have remote on it,,,,just too handy a feature to be without..

[performance]

Gensets are recommended, as long as they are clean power, which the Honda is. It's the square wave generators that give the units fits. (I know what you are thinking...some of you...because its been brought up by customers before....but NO a square wave welder isn't suited for running on a square wave generator, just because both are square wave. NOT same thing.lol) Now, with that being said...I think it would work with the 185. You might be bumping it on the top end...but....

We're relaunching some of our generator line to include some clean power gensets, but unfortunately I think the largest tops out at 3600 watts.

[youngnstudly]

If you are going to get a genset get a real one that has 220 and a remote start,,,honda's are way over priced and 3000 watts is barely enough to power my RV. If I remember correctly..inverter genset's aren't recomended for welders,, something to do with overloading the genset and destroying it,perhaps some of the other boy's can chime in on this...Personally I won't buy a genset that doesn't have remote on it,,,,just too handy a feature to be without..

I've been wanting to purchase a generator for use with my welder, but you're exactly right....Honda's are very expensive and in order to have enough generator for any future welders (200 amp), I'll need to buy a 6000+ watt unit. I want as quiet of a generator as possible, and that feature really jacks the price up! I still don't want to listen to it while I'm welding though. My neighbor has been trying to convince me that I could build something more cost effect using a generator head that is belt driven, but there still needs to be an engine on the other end of the belt to turn the genny head...plus I don't feel terribly comfortable trusting a homemade generator with an expense welder (or other piece of equipment).

I'll admit that I keep checking Craigslist for a quiet Honda generator...good deals on there from time to time.

[sportbike]

I'm not referring to purchasing a generator, the generator is already available at the track.

As far as the honda's being overpriced, I tend to agree, although they are the quietest and seem to last longer than the other inverter options. They never miss a beat.

[sportbike]

We're relaunching some of our generator line to include some clean power gensets, but unfortunately I think the largest tops out at 3600 watts.

Are those inverter generators Mark? I may be in the market to replace my Harbor Freight 800W unit with an inverter that is a little larger for use at the track on my trailer.

[geezer]

I've been wanting to purchase a generator for use with my welder, but you're exactly right....Honda's are very expensive and in order to have enough generator for any future welders (200 amp), I'll need to buy a 6000+ watt unit. I want as quiet of a generator as possible, and that feature really jacks the price up! I still don't want to listen to it while I'm welding though. My neighbor has been trying to convince me that I could build something more cost effect using a generator head that is belt driven, but there still needs to be an engine on the other end of the belt to turn the genny head...plus I don't feel terribly comfortable trusting a homemade generator with an expense welder (or other piece of equipment).

I'll admit that I keep checking Craigslist for a quiet Honda generator...good deals on there from time to time.

A quiet genset is possible with any genset as long as you adapt a muffler sytem to it that doesn't increase back pressure to the exhaust,,,Honda makes good stuff,,but who can afford it,,,and to my knowlege they don't make big wattage ones that are in anybodies price range,,,try looking up a Honda in the 9 or 10,000 watt range,,,the sticker shock will bring you to your knees...again...I will say,,,get one with remote,,,,that feature is just too handy,,,

[Rambozo]

A quiet genset is possible with any genset as long as you adapt a muffler sytem to it that doesn't increase back pressure to the exhaust,,,Honda makes good stuff,,but who can afford it,,,and to my knowlege they don't make big wattage ones that are in anybodies price range,,,try looking up a Honda in the 9 or 10,000 watt range,,,the sticker shock will bring you to your knees...again...I will say,,,get one with remote,,,,that feature is just too handy,,,

It takes a lot more than exhaust work to make a quiet generator. Even if you silence the exhaust completely, many engines will still have plenty of mechanical noise. Typically, the quiet generators run @ 1800 rpm while the noisier ones run at 3600 rpm. Also liquid cooling really helps to reduce noise. The small Hondas are really amazing as to how quiet they are. You do get what you pay for in that respect. Units designed for RVs are always much quieter than those for construction type work, but you will pay for that. Also there are wireless remotes that can be added to almost any good electric start generator if you need that feature. It's all a horses for courses thing. There are enough options out there to suit almost any application.

[sportbike]

The Honda Inverters as well as most all inverters are not synchronous. They can operate at any engine speed and still produce a clean 60Hz waveform. That is the point. They just sit there and idle if teh load is low, then speed up the the speed required to produce the shaft power needed for the electrical load.

Again, I'm not saying they are easy on whe wallet by any means, nor are they huge power outputs (although the output is real rather than the usually inflated power provided by most others).

As for remote start, I don't see that adding any value at all to my application. Some guys at the track start the inverter generators up in the morning and they sit there and idle all day. I wouldn't even care if it didn't have electric start at all...one less thing to maintain.

[its_34]

The Honda Inverters as well as most all inverters are not synchronous. They can operate at any engine speed and still produce a clean 60Hz waveform. That is the point. They just sit there and idle if teh load is low, then speed up the the speed required to produce the shaft power needed for the electrical load.

This is why I'm surprised inverters haven't become a standard for RV units. I have a 3600W Generac that is fairly quiet, but runs at 3600rpm all day. In the cooler months it's probably working at 10-20% load most of that time. I'd love to have it slow down to 1200rpm when the AC is off.

[performance]

Are those inverter generators Mark? I may be in the market to replace my Harbor Freight 800W unit with an inverter that is a little larger for use at the track on my trailer.

Yes, they are our new Electro-wave inverters. Ours are available from 1000 to 3600 watts. We'll still have our 6500 diesel quiet (but dirty power) genset. On sale now on Ebay.

[sportbike]

Yes, they are our new Electro-wave inverters. Ours are available from 1000 to 3600 watts. We'll still have our 6500 diesel quiet (but dirty power) genset.

Are they able to be parallel connected?
Any idea when they will be available?
Is it a real 2200Watts or is that the peak and 2000w the running power?

[performance]

Are they able to be parallel connected?
Any idea when they will be available?
Is it a real 2200Watts or is that the peak and 2000w the running power?

Not sure about parallel. Maybe.
Should be available now.
On most it is peak. The 3500 is 3600 peak I think. Let me see if I can find info. Be back shortly.

[sportbike]

Any chance of including the 5600 version as well?

I'm not sure what I am going to go with for the trailer, but always good to have lots of options.

[performance]

The 1000 info says 900 watts rated...I believe this is continuous.
The 2200 info says 2000 watts rated
The 2800 says 2600 watts rated
The 3500 says 3000 watts rated.

[geezer]

This whole idea that honda's are not as noisy as everything else out there,,, is just so much hype and baloney,,,after reading the spec's on many generators,,,my conclusion is,,,an engine of a certain size,,makes a certain amount of noise,,,case in point my catagory 5 with remote start costing 949 dollars is just as quiet as the 5499 dollar honda,,,without remote,,,noise level for the honda,,,72 db,,,,,mine is 74 db,,,,,I just live with the extra 2 db of noise and keep 4,550 dollars in my pocket...with that kinda money...I should be able to buy another muffler to quiet it down...

[performance]

Back when I worked for a farm equipment company with a really nice line of tractors being built in India, we dealt with noise issue from our air cooled diesels. Due to EPA emissions, and the necessary reduction in timing needed to keep them up to date along with higher compression ratios, the noise level kept climbing. We discussed this with the factory and they came back to us with an engine "rework" that involved a redesign in the crankcase with internal webbing and ribs which made a noticeable difference. They changed a few things up top as well. A lot can be done to quieten an engine down, especially with an enclused engine. 2 decibels does make a difference to some extent. Decibel increases from what I remember aren't linear so, the higher it goes the incremental changes represent a greater change in sound. Although at this level, one would probably would hear about the same noise level at 10 feet or 15 foot

[geezer]

Back when I worked for a farm equipment company with a really nice line of tractors being built in India, we dealt with noise issue from our air cooled diesels. Due to EPA emissions, and the necessary reduction in timing needed to keep them up to date along with higher compression ratios, the noise level kept climbing. We discussed this with the factory and they came back to us with an engine "rework" that involved a redesign in the crankcase with internal webbing and ribs which made a noticeable difference. They changed a few things up top as well. A lot can be done to quieten an engine down, especially with an enclused engine. 2 decibels does make a difference to some extent. Decibel increases from what I remember aren't linear so, the higher it goes the incremental changes represent a greater change in sound. Although at this level, one would probably would hear about the same noise level at 10 feet or 15 foot

At my age and considering I have fired more rounds than most regiments carry in stock,,,2 db ain't nothing to a nearly deaf person...point is,,,most of us hobby guys have limited budgets and getting the best bang for our buck is important,,,Honda makes good stuff,,,but,,there are practical limits to their hype and reputation,,,many other builders of gensets use their engines and some import engines are clones that do the job and last as long...The reasson I value remote start is...it saves on fuel and it is handy starting and stopping without going over to where it is ,,to shut it off or restart it...regardless of what you buy,,,the limiting factor on most genset under 10,000 watts is the 30 amp 240 volt breaker,,,if you think your genset is too loud,,then build an enclousre or add a muffler...my catagory 5 genset serves me well,,,runs my PA 200 and Imig 205 no problem...

pardon my spelling,,,to many rye and cokes while writing this

[Titan winch]

The 1000 info says 900 watts rated...I believe this is continuous.
The 2200 info says 2000 watts rated
The 2800 says 2600 watts rated
The 3500 says 3000 watts rated.

The 2200 watt to 3600 watt have the Econo mode which drops the idle and noise level right down . You can switch this over to high output or just leave it and if the power requirement exceeds the Economy mode it will automatically jump in to full output. The 3600 model has no priming or choke setting as just flip the switch. The reason it has no remote start at this time was because we chose to add a LED. Screen giving info such as how many hours what the power output is being used for what electrical appliance oil reading power warning etc.
We are seriously considering the 5600 in both a diesel and gas model.

[sportbike]

The 2200 watt to 3600 watt have the Econo mode which drops the idle and noise level right down . You can switch this over to high output or just leave it and if the power requirement exceeds the Economy mode it will automatically jump in to full output. The 3600 model has no priming or choke setting as just flip the switch. The reason it has no remote start at this time was because we chose to add a LED. Screen giving info such as how many hours what the power output is being used for what electrical appliance oil reading power warning etc.
We are seriously considering the 5600 in both a diesel and gas model.

Oncec I determine what I want to do with my trailer, I will be in touch.