Decide whether you are buying an engine-driven welder-generator or a portable set that only feeds a welding inverter. Do not equate weld amps with set kW.

In this guide5 sections

A welding generator and a generator that only feeds a welding inverter are two different products. The first has its own welding terminals, regulation and process ratings. The second is an AC source whose outlet must match a separately named inverter. Keep the card on HOLD until the product identity is named. Welding-output current and generator kilowatts are measured at different points and cannot be compared as one number.

This page is for importers, distributors, rental fleets and mobile-service buyers. It is not a welding-procedure manual and it does not rank brands.

Name the product before comparing price

Write down the purchase route: a dedicated engine-driven welder-generator, or a portable set that will supply an inverter you already specify. “For welding” without that fork does not pass.

If the inverter already exists, attach make, model and the input page of its manual: voltage, frequency, phase, input current or apparent power, and any generator-use note from that maker. If the operator needs the engine-driven machine itself to strike and hold the arc, ask for welding-output range, polarity, process and duty basis separately from any auxiliary AC outlets.

When the question is only outlet power with no welding process, use the load-list sizing method. When the question is inverter architecture for electronics, use the inverter buying guide as a neighbour check, not as a weld-amp calculator.

Two purchase routes: a dedicated welder-generator with its own terminals, or a portable set that only feeds a named inverter
Mixing the two routes in one SKU card keeps the offer on HOLD.

Do not convert weld amps into generator kilowatts

For a dedicated welder-generator, request welding-output range, process, duty basis and terminal identity separately from receptacle ratings. The word welding on a housing without those fields is HOLD.

For a portable set feeding an inverter, compare the inverter’s documented AC input with the set’s declared output at the same electrical version — not the electrode current with the generator nameplate. Split rated and peak labels with the rated versus peak guide. Do not publish a universal “welding reserve.”

Auxiliary tools that run during welding are allowed only when the maker states it and a test uses the buyer’s cables and process. Assuming “everything can run together” returns the quote.

Freeze voltage, frequency, phase and outlets on one sheet, as in the voltage and frequency checklist and the outlet and plug guide.

ISO 8528-1 gives generating-set terminology. It does not convert welding current into kilowatts and it does not prove a generator-plus-inverter pair.

Four pairs of quantities that must not be treated as equivalent: weld current versus inverter input, duty cycle versus simultaneous outlets, welding terminals versus a household receptacle, process test versus a no-load demo
Cells are request fields, not BEAR ratings.

Prove the pair, not a no-load start

Agree a check with the inverter, electrode or process the customer will use. Starting the set without an arc does not prove the pair. Ask for protections, thermal limits, shutdown order and consumables. Grounding of the workpiece and return-cable practice stay with the inverter maker and the site rules.

Welding HOLD table

Field Passes HOLD
Product type Welder-generator or inverter-feed set is named The two ideas are mixed
Inverter document Passport of the named machine Only “for welding”
Inverter input Maker input limits are written Only weld amps versus set kW
Welding output Range, process, duty and terminals A 220 V outlet plus the word welding
Other outlets Written yes/no during welding Assumed simultaneity
Test Check with the buyer’s process No-load start only
Service Breakers, warnings, parts, warranty owner No claim route
Six RFQ fields: purchase route, named inverter or process, auxiliary loads, outlets, witnessed test and configuration identity
One sheet makes quotes comparable. It is not a welding procedure.

What to send with the request

State whether you need an engine-driven welder-generator or a generator supplying a separate welding inverter. For the second option, attach the inverter model and manual input page. Include the destination, welding process, any tools that must run during welding, voltage, frequency, phase, site conditions and quantity.

Ask the supplier to return product type without mixing, welding ratings apart from receptacle ratings, applicability to the named inverter, photos of terminals and panel, the matching manual, the service list and what is excluded. Start from the gasoline generator category. Compatibility and commercial terms are confirmed only on the named pair through the project form.