Battery Welding

[caryc]

On an episode of Alaskan Bush People, one of the guys wired two 12 volt batteries together and was able to arc weld with it.

I kind of don't believe it myself but has anyone ever tried it? I found it kind of strange they he got the batteries out of old junked vehicles. How did they still have that much power left in them?

If one had two fully charged batteries and tried that, how long would the arcing power last for using a welding rod? Could it weld anything thicker than aluminum foil?

 

[contender]

McGiver taught him how to do that!

I heard it was "possible" but NOT recommended by my old welding instructor many decades ago.

 

[Selena]

One of Uncle Lee's "if it's stupid and it works" projects consisted of an old push mower that he replaced the blade with the unload pulley of an old combine, a generator off an old car and a 12 volt lead acid battery. It would weld up to 3/8 inch (mild) steel with good penetration but was only good for "make it do" repairs as the battery tended to overheat if used too long.

 

[Tom W]

I saw my uncle's FIL do it using the solid core of a D cell battery, a car battery and some jumper cables a looooong time ago, probably when I was 10 or 11.....

 

[InjunBro]

We used to weld off the 24 volt system on a Cat grader (2-12 volt batteries). As long as you use a thin rod & give it time between weld it makes an ok field repair. No where near as good as the Miller in the shop but workable.

 

[Number9]

Yes, you can do it.. but I wouldn't use junk batteries from a junkyard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5oLPLUzrM

 

[caryc]

I'm not even thinking of trying it. I am leery about doing anything concerning batteries since my nephew had a 12 volt battery blow up on him when attempting to hook up charger cables. I was in the vicinity and heard it. It sounded like a 12 gauge shot gun going off and blew a soft ball size hole in the battery. Amazingly the thing blew mostly away from him and he was not hurt or burned.

Even the guy on the show had sense enough to put a piece of plywood between him and the batteries.

 

[ndcowboy]

Back in my younger days I worked in Medora in the Badlands of North Dakota at the riding stables. One day a buddy and I drove an old pickup off the top of one of those buttes you see in a postcard. The ride down got a little wild and somehow we knocked the battery loose. It tipped on its side against the frame and all of a sudden the pickup wouldn't run. We had it towed in to the maintenance shop and when they opened the hood, the battery had welded itself to the frame. No we didn't get fired. Those kinds of things happen a lot when you employ 500 college kids every summer.

 

[AJGUNNER]

Watching Escape from Alcatraz last night I saw Clint Eastwood weld a spoon to a nail file using stick matches. Guess if you are desperate enough you can make just about anything work.

 

[caryc]

Watching Escape from Alcatraz last night I saw Clint Eastwood weld a spoon to a nail file using stick matches. Guess if you are desperate enough you can make just about anything work.

Was he eating yogurt while doing his nails?

Note to self...Never say that face to face with Clint.

 

[Galaxiedan]

Well known trick in the offroad/ rockcrawling crowd. If you've ever accidentally touched a wrench across terminals youll see how easy it is to weld.
One can also set the bead on a tire with starting fluid, another thing that works in a pinch but there are better ways.

 

[caryc]

Well known trick in the offroad/ rockcrawling crowd. If you've ever accidentally touched a wrench across terminals youll see how easy it is to weld.
One can also set the bead on a tire with starting fluid, another thing that works in a pinch but there are better ways.

One can also blow oneself up. I just don't intend on asking for it.

 

[SAJohn]

I once accidentally shorted a car battery then I had to change my pants.

 

[CLAYPOOL]

I "ONCE" tried touching a 1/2 Craftsman ratchet from post to post to see how much juice was in it. We had just brought it back from town to get it charged. me and a nephew had to both rinse our eyes out at the sink. The next time I washed my all most new Levi jacket there was a major problem with the sleeve..It was all most dark and I can still see the blue fire ball coming out of the top of that new die hard battery. Loud too...

 

[caryc]

I "ONCE" tried touching a 1/2 Craftsman ratchet from post to post to see how much juice was in it. We had just brought it back from town to get it charged. me and a nephew had to both rinse our eyes out at the sink. The next time I washed my all most new Levi jacket there was a major problem with the sleeve..It was all most dark and I can still see the blue fire ball coming out of the top of that new die hard battery. Loud too...

If you buy a new battery charger, all the instructions say "use in a well ventilated area". They generate hydrogen gas. Very explosive.

 

[jimbo1096]

Co-worker had the task of changing out the battery string in UPS equipment. They may have between 8 and 38 smaller sized deep cycle gel-cell batteries. He would take about 20 and string them in parallel and use them to weld with in his shop. But he did all kinds of crazy things----