Micro160 on generator

[Mick Annick]

I’ve got a job to do on a site with no power, will my Lorch run 2.5mm rods at 80A off of a 2000w generator? @matt1978 ?

 

[voipio]

Probably not. It's likely to need 5kVA minimum, at that current, and 10kVA would be likely to be the recommended generator size. Any generator used will need to have AVR. Lorch don't seem to give definite guidelines, apart from saying the user should at least match the generator's output to the power consumption of the welder. Maybe try a test weld on some scrap. though there's a risk the 2000W generator will suffer. Have you considered the Lorch Akku-Pack battery pack. It should burn up to around 20 2.5mm rods off one charge. The genny could probably be used to recharge the battery.

 

[finyuk2005]

i think it would struggle, especially if its a wee petrol genny, it would bog down and voltage/frequency would be too low,
I wouldnt risk it with a nice welder, it might not like it!

 

[Mick Annick]

Probably not. It's likely to need 5kVA minimum, at that current, and 10kVA would be likely to be the recommended generator size. Any generator used will need to have AVR. Lorch don't seem to give definite guidelines, apart from saying the user should at least match the generator's output to the power consumption of the welder. Maybe try a test weld on some scrap. though there's a risk the 2000W generator will suffer. Have you considered the Lorch battery pack. It should burn up to around 20 2.5mm rods off one charge. The genny could probably be used to recharge the battery.

I can’t justify a battery pack, I’ll probably never have this same issue again, it’s a puddly little job but has to be done.

 

[finyuk2005]

3 or 4 car batteries might do it?!

 

[Mick Annick]

I wouldnt risk it with a nice welder, it might not like it!

That’s why I asked - I’ve got a little Selco Genesis portable arc welder that owes me nothing - I’ll sacrifice that!

 

[Mick Annick]

The annoying this is there’s a socket next to where I’m working but it’s dead.

 

[finyuk2005]

Ha ha! thats just typical!!

 

[finyuk2005]

how many extension leads to you own?

 

[Mick Annick]

Well. The site is only .5km from my house, and my mate that’s helping me (it’s his genny) has a couple of long leads so maybe…

 

[finyuk2005]

Maybe a bit far for extensions!

 

[Mick Annick]

I hooked up the Selco to the genny today and, as some of you predicted, it didn’t work. Managed to strike an arc but the bead was pathetic, no heat in it.

 

[finyuk2005]

I hooked up the Selco to the genny today and, as some of you predicted, it didn’t work. Managed to strike an arc but the bead was pathetic, no heat in it.

i wouldnt try it again, im sure running on ****ty extension leads is what made my old parweld inverter blow up, as the voltage drops the current drawn rises, then stuff has a melt down
not all inverters are able to run on less than ideal power!

 

[Munkul]

The Lorch micor is pretty efficient on power, actually it astounds me how easy on electric it is... My brother runs his micortig on 4mm 7018 at 160 amps using a 50m extension that's only rated for 13 amps.
I had a jasic 160 that used to blow fuses all the time on that same extension and i was only using 3.2 rods at 120 amps.

The micor is designed to run anywhere between 90 to 250 VAC, it's a very flexible system that should take dirty power no problem.

I still don;t think your genny is good enough to handle it though!

 

[finyuk2005]

yeah, the better brands will cope easy,
i run my kemppi on a 1.5mm per core extension reel quite often and it doesnt care, but im sure thats what killed the parweld!

 

[anto44]

I managed to run my thermal arc 175 on 300' of extension leads, I had to turn it up to 150 amps on the dial to get it to behave like it normally when set to 110 amps

 

[Mick Annick]

The Lorch micor is pretty efficient on power, actually it astounds me how easy on electric it is... My brother runs his micortig on 4mm 7018 at 160 amps using a 50m extension that's only rated for 13 amps.
I had a jasic 160 that used to blow fuses all the time on that same extension and i was only using 3.2 rods at 120 amps.

The micor is designed to run anywhere between 90 to 250 VAC, it's a very flexible system that should take dirty power no problem.

I still don;t think your genny is good enough to handle it though!

Agreed, my Lorch runs quite happily on an extension lead of 25m with no noticeable deterioration in weld quality. I’ve asked the client to get me access to mains power - he has it in the barn about 30m’s away, and I’ve literally just two tack welds to do.

 

[finyuk2005]

Agreed, my Lorch runs quite happily on an extension lead of 25m with no noticeable deterioration in weld quality. I’ve asked the client to get me access to mains power - he has it in the barn about 30m’s away, and I’ve literally just two tack welds to do.

ah, it should easy handle that length of extension lead!
It definately helps if its a good quality lead, most that cable reels are only 1.5mm cores,
I made my own 40 meters each, 4mm cores, im sure that makes a difference

 

[Mick Annick]

ah, it should easy handle that length of extension lead!
It definately helps if its a good quality lead, most that cable reels are only 1.5mm cores,
I made my own 40 meters each, 4mm cores, im sure that makes a difference

I don’t know what core mine is, but OD is a bit larger than welding cable

 

[voipio]

For a given length and current, 4mm^2 should give roughly 40% of the voltage drop that occurs with 1.5mm^2. As an example, 50m of 1.5mm^2 carrying 13A will exhibit a voltage drop of 20V, whereas the corresponding voltage drop for 4mm^2 will be 8.5V. BUT, bear in mind that the figures are per conductor, so the same voltage will be being dropped on the live and the neutral i.e. the total is 40V and 17V, respectively.