General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
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I'll try it some day. maybe.... ;)
How many rods can you burn on one setting? can you hook you battery charger up to the battery's while welding???

~John
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I've only used this method for testing its usefulness and it does work quite well.
The arc was very smooth and unusually quiet. Charging at the same time is not recommended.
When a battery is being charged, it gives off explosive gases. Avoid getting sparks near these gases.

The best batteries are the non-spillable sealed UPS type that are used in Uninterruptable Power Supplies.
I get them from the local metal recyclers for $10 each as lead.
They are still good, but have been changed out because of expiration dates.
AKweldshop wrote:I'll try it some day. maybe.... ;)
How many rods can you burn on one setting? can you hook you battery charger up to the battery's while welding??? ~John
Greg From K/W
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Using batteries for this is dangerous at best. I agree that you should take a welding course and learn what you need there then save yourself from buying anything that won't do what you want. Stainless and aluminium are almost the same process. You could even register with a local high school and see if it was only to join a welding course for the theory and the little practice you would get. At least you would get used to the gear they have.
silentneko
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The battery weld was interesting, I will definitely file that one away in the old noggin for a quick fix on a rainy day. Can you weld smaller stuff on one battery given the lower amperage?

You guys have to understand I live in Florida, we don't work like many other states. They haven't done welding in high school here in decades, they barely let us use power tools anymore, and community colleges don't teach welding. Only the vocational programs teach welding, and they are 12 and 24 month programs. They had adult classes years back, but they stopped those in the late 90's. Proper education isn't an option here.

Can you stick weld stainless steel? I know you can mig stainless and aluminum, which process gives a cleaner finish? Obviously tig is the way to go, but there has to be better options then car batteries out there, lol.
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http://www.everlastgenerators.com/Power ... 90-pd.html
silentneko wrote:Obviously tig is the way to go, but there has to be better options then car batteries out there, lol.
MCE
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Only an idiot would weld with batteries. It's VERY VERY dangerous, batteries can explode from internal sparks
caused by the heavy current drain. DON'T do it.

You can pick up an inexpensive AC/DC stick welder and hook up a TIG torch with a gas valve on it for scratch
start. This will let you do steel and stainless. You can also use DCEP for real thin aluminum.

Just don't use batteries!
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