Welding with car batteies

[Noidea87]

So I do a bit of off roading, and I've seen some videos and heard about people welding with 2 car batteries in series to weld some trail fixes. Basically a last resort just to get you off the trail if say, a suspension component comes apart, or your drive shaft snaps.

I'd like to keep a few rods in my truck just in case, but what rods would be best? Would you use electrode negative setup like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ture=emb_title

or would electrode positive work better? I don't have much experience with stick, but I think I know enough to make something hold together until you could get the truck to a place to be towed.Just curious on others thoughts on this and if anyone else has tried it.

[Lis2323]

Check out the “Show Us What You Welded Today” thread.

@ronsii has been welding with car batteries in his shop for quite some time.

[12V71]

So I do a bit of off roading, and I've seen some videos and heard about people welding with 2 car batteries in series to weld some trail fixes. Basically a last resort just to get you off the trail if say, a suspension component comes apart, or your drive shaft snaps.

I'd like to keep a few rods in my truck just in case, but what rods would be best? Would you use electrode negative setup like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ture=emb_title

or would electrode positive work better? I don't have much experience with stick, but I think I know enough to make something hold together until you could get the truck to a place to be towed.Just curious on others thoughts on this and if anyone else has tried it.

You can probably do it with some good 6013. That guy is a bozo, reverse polarity has always been electrode positive. Not negative.
Heck with 3 charged batteries you could run a voltage sensing wire feeder with gasless wire... That would be electrode negative.

[Louie1961]

Electrode positive, and if it is on the side of the trail where you likely won't have the tools to clean the metal, I might choose a 6011.

[Lis2323]

I’m in agreement with the above.

A plastic rod container with a handful each of 3/32 6011 and 6013 and you will be fine.

[Louie1961]

I don't have much experience with stick, but I think I know enough to make something hold together until you could get the truck to a place to be towed.

You really should get some proficiency with stick welding before relying on welding stuff with batteries on the side of the trail. I assume most trail fixes are going to be welded in place, versus pulling stuff apart so you can weld it on level ground. Welding out of position (that is to say anywhere other than on a level surface, i.e., vertical and overhead welds) takes a bit of practice. You don't want your first stick welding experience to be vertical or overhead. That just won't turn out well.

[ronsii]

LOL @ Lis


I actually have done a lot of welding with car batts a long time ago but I used a ready welder... http://readywelder.com/

[robert-r]

Ebay Ready Welder here. Saved my bacon many times. Check CL, too... they come up on occasion.

[ronsii]

Ebay Ready Welder here. Saved my bacon many times. Check CL, too... they come up on occasion.

Yep got mine off ebay long time ago, very handy tool!!!!

[Noidea87]

How long could you expect the batteries to last before they couldn't start the truck? It would really suck to fix the problem only to have 2 dead batteries lol

[ronsii]

How long could you expect the batteries to last before they couldn't start the truck? It would really suck to fix the problem only to have 2 dead batteries lol

That's why you always go jeepin' with a lot of jeeps

[robert-r]

If you are a serious off-roader, deep cycle batteries are pretty much a neccesity if you use a winch or are welding with them.

X2 regarding wheeling with a group. 3 rigs minimum.

[Noidea87]

If you are a serious off-roader, deep cycle batteries are pretty much a neccesity if you use a winch or are welding with them.

X2 regarding wheeling with a group. 3 rigs minimum.

I don't have that luxury unfortunately, it's 2 rigs at most (my wife and I). I was curious if the two batteries would last long enough to weld for a few minutes and still start the car or if like 10 seconds of welding would kill it, assuming they were fully charged.

[Dee_veloper]

I don't have that luxury unfortunately, it's 2 rigs at most (my wife and I). I was curious if the two batteries would last long enough to weld for a few minutes and still start the car or if like 10 seconds of welding would kill it, assuming they were fully charged.

You need to practice at home to answer those questions. Out on the trail is not where you want to learn the limits.

[Noidea87]

You need to practice at home to answer those questions. Out on the trail is not where you want to learn the limits.

I was hoping to get some info from someone who has done it before, but I may just go pick up some 6010 and 6011 and give it a shot in my driveway.

[tapwelder]

There are/were thread on this forum concerning this. Is alternator or generator welding out of the question. I had a zena welder for years. Though I know nothing about offloading.

[WNY_TomB]

I once connected 10 each 400 amp hour car batteries for 120 volts which I tried a double carbon arc torch to see about ability to melt steel in small quantities for foundry casting
.
1) 400 amp hour batteries put out 400 amps for short periods (car starting) and max amps overheat batteries cause internal damage if used continuous. deep cycle marine batteries are made for continuous use, more expensive and are not car batteries
.
2) roar from 400 amp arc at 120 volts was extremely loud probably about 2000 amp equivalent with normal welding machine
.
3) so I figure I would try a resistor in circuit to lower amp output, I used 1/8" steel coils about 2" dia and 6 foot long, they got red hot and started to
sag within minutes as amps were still too much for 1/8" dia rod even using 6 springs in parallel to spread out load, maybe could have tried in series but
I didnt bother. too hard to control
.
4) some use a water resistor but high current going through water creates a lot of hydrogen and oxygen gas which is very explosive.
.
5) some companies sell inverters which take 12 or 24 volt DC and converts to a controllable welding current. stick machine are CC or
constant current or for the most part maintain a relatively consistent welding amperage. these inverters cost over $1000. but do work.
could also use regular inverter for 12 or 24 volt DC to 240 volt AC and just run a regular welding machine off it.
240 volt at 30 amp about 7200 watts basically at least a 7KW continuous output inverter again they are not cheap like over $1500.

[Noidea87]

There are/were thread on this forum concerning this. Is alternator or generator welding out of the question. I had a zena welder for years. Though I know nothing about offloading.

Not out of the question, just curious if anyone else had done it before and had any advice about it. It would just be something I'd like to know how to do if something happened. I'm planning a trip out in the rocky mountains next summer, and if something like a tie rod busted I was thinking I might try welding with 2 batteries and some 6011

[Noidea87]

well I tried tonight with some 6011 and two batteries, the one out of my SUV and one out of my 4 cylinder colorado. Very hard to strike the arc, it kept sticking. I did get it running once but it was very difficult to keep the arc. I tried DCEP and DCEN . DCEN was definitely easier to strike the arc and weld, but it just petered out. Once the thing stuck and the whole electrode caught on fire before I could disconnect it. I haven't messed with stick since I was about 19 years old (a while ago)

Maybe it's better with 3 batteries , but I've seen a ton of videos with only 2 batteries in use. My Colorado battery was much smaller than my SUV battery so maybe it didn't have enough ***? I think it was a group 86 not sure what the larger one was

[ccawgc]

also look up a Hobart trek. flux core battery welder with its own batteries.
can be recharged from an inverter. no worries on the jeep battery.
Century also made one years ago. before they were bought out the first time.