I may have some welding ahead of me... but I have a problem.  My house has antiquated electrical service and it looks like I will cost C$1500 - C$2000 to have an upgraded panel installed in the house, along with suitable wiring taken out to the garage (which, as luck would have it, is about an 80' cable run from the panel location at the other end of the house).  I can buy a brand-new-with-warranty 6500W/8125W generator that's being clearanced by a well-known local retailer right now for C$850 tax-in, delivered.  I figure I can probably sell it for $250 after I'm done with it, so my eventual net cost for a year's worth of 24x7x365 access to the generator would be about C$600.

I have available to me right now a brand-new, store-brand, gas-ready 120V MIG welder that's rated as follows:

	X	20%	80%	100%
U0 = 34V	I2	80A	46A	35A
	U2	18V	16.3V	15.8V
U1 = 120V	I1max = 20A		I1eff = 9A

 

What are the thoughts of the CZCC welders' community, on:

1. in general, on MIG welding with a portable generator?
2. in particular, on the welder/generator combo that I'm considering?

@SteveJ

@Captain Obvious

I don't really know the answer, maybe the "sparkies" will. I know a welder wants clean power to make good welds. I don't know how to quantify that.

 I have MIG welded with a portable generator. Unfortunately, I don't know the specs on either of the welders or the generators that I used. I had used both welders in their respective shops with an adequate power supply, when I hooked them up to generators I immediately had to dial down the heat adjustment on the welders. Other than that, they welded the same as the shop power supply. You could rent a similar generator for the minimum time and try using it with your welder before taking the plunge.