Please Recommend a Generator for my Multiplus 48/5000 and for welding

[AgroVenturesPeru]

I'm thinking about buying a generator, because I have a lot of work to be done on my house. I need some welding done, plus a lot of general carpentry and masonry.
I have an off-grid system with a Victron Multiplus 48/5000/70 and four Pylontech 48v 3.5kwh batteries.

I would like to use the generator via the Multiplus to charge my battery bank when there is no sun, and I also need it to do a little structural welding.

I live in a pretty remote part of Peru, but there are some options for generators in nearby towns. Don't expect it to be like the USA or wherever you're from. I personally am more interesting in knowing what specs to look for when shopping.

 

[JeepDaddy]

How large of a welder will you be running? In the USA consumer welders are 120V or 240V. Obviously the generator would need to be 240V for a 240V welder and also match or exceed the rated output of the welder.

 

[schmism]

Being in Peru I would look for a perkins engine driven unit. Should be fairly common and easy to keep running with good engine support.

You could also look for an engine driven welder that can double as a genset. These may be more common.

 

[AgroVenturesPeru]

How large of a welder will you be running? In the USA consumer welders are 120V or 240V. Obviously the generator would need to be 240V for a 240V welder and also match or exceed the rated output of the welder.

I hadn't considered that. The grid here is 220v and 60Hz. We've had welding work done before, and the welder rented a generator, which also worked for running other things and testing out the lightbulbs and outlets of the house.

 

[HRTKD]

You say structural welding, so is that stick? My welder is a TIG/stick machine that can run on 120/240. I don't know if it will do 220 @ 60 hz. I can't get to the technical specs at this time.

 

[AgroVenturesPeru]

You say structural welding, so is that stick? My welder is a TIG/stick machine that can run on 120/240. I don't know if it will do 220 @ 60 hz. I can't get to the technical specs at this time.

Man you guys are asking some great questions, of which I haven't the faintest clue. Last time we just had someone come out and do the job. He brought a big generator that we had trouble moving even with six workers, his little welder unit that he plugged into it was about the size of a briefcase, and didn't weigh very much at all. The generator was an old piece of junk, but it got the job done. Recently we've been looking for someone to weld awnings for our windows. The welders have said we wouldn't need as big a generator this time..I'm not sure why as it's the same metal as before.
Another detail I remember is that we bought a couple packages of each of these products (I don't know if these are the exact brands or measurements that we bought):
Our contractor just told us to buy "supercito" and "cellocord" so we did.

Electrodo Supercito 3.25 1/8

Electrodo resistente y de gran penetración para aceros en carbono, construcción naval, estructuras metálicas, entre otros.

www.promart.pe

Soldadora Arco Eléctrica 380V 250A + Máscara + Accesorios Bauker | Sodimac Perú

Soldadora Arco Eléctrica 380V 250A + Máscara + Accesorios Bauker BAUKER a un precio exclusivo con opción a delivery o recojo en tienda. Disponible online solo en Sodimac Perú Homecenter.

www.sodimac.com.pe

For what it's worth, the steel beams we have are hollow, and the walls of the beams are 2mm thick. One of these beams is going to be attached to a couple pieces of rebar sticking out of the floor, and the other will attach directly to steel.

 

[HRTKD]

To run my welder, I ran a 50 amp circuit. It could have been 40 amp, but I bumped it up to 50 amp just to be sure. My machine's stick rating only goes to 140 amps DC. It still wouldn't draw any more than 40 amp on the AC side, so it should work for your inverter. The TIG side goes to 225 amps, but I don't think I would ever use TIG for structural steel work. Don't know for sure, I'm still learning.

If you can bring in a competent welder that gets the job done, that may be the way to go. If you have the power already for his machine, that will make it easier for him and you can skip the generator.

 

[AgroVenturesPeru]

To run my welder, I ran a 50 amp circuit. It could have been 40 amp, but I bumped it up to 50 amp just to be sure. My machine's stick rating only goes to 140 amps DC. It still wouldn't draw any more than 40 amp on the AC side, so it should work for your inverter. The TIG side goes to 225 amps, but I don't think I would ever use TIG for structural steel work. Don't know for sure, I'm still learning.

If you can bring in a competent welder that gets the job done, that may be the way to go. If you have the power already for his machine, that will make it easier for him and you can skip the generator.

I want a generator anyway, because this climate is cloudy, and I'm going to probably need to run it a few times a year when there's no sun for a week or so.

I still don't understand what to get.

Maybe we can forget about the welding for a minute, and instead talk about what would be good generator to use for the Victron Inverter/Charger 48/5000/70

 

[HRTKD]

Here in the U.S. there is starting to be more use of propane (or natural gas) generators. Unlike gasoline or diesel, propane doesn't go bad. The downside is that propane doesn't have the same amount of energy as gasoline or diesel.

Much like we figure out how much PV we need, you can do something similar to figure out the right size of generator to get. Figure out how many watts you need to be generated, then find a generator with a rating above that.

 

[AgroVenturesPeru]

Good resource:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/multiplus_faq?do=export_pdf