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Equipment for welding work of inverter or transformer type is necessarily present among the home equipment of specialists in this profile. Welding units have long been no longer an attribute of the pros.
Anyone interested can purchase it and do small home welding tasks. Welding equipment is easy to use.
There is no need to study welding for a long time in order to weld what is required at home. Turning on the welding machine is generally easier than ever. Find a suitable electrical outlet. Turn on the welding cord.
- Introductory information
- Is it possible to cook using a car battery?
- Own experience of cooking from a car battery
- Is it worth welding from a machine battery?
- Safety regulations
- Summary
Introductory information
In theory, everything seems much simpler. But in application, certain conditions must be met. The current in the electrical network must remain uninterrupted and not fall below 180 Volts.
Or your welding unit must cope with low voltage work. Such equipment is not cheap.
It is not even discussed that you must have access to electricity. But some country houses and dachas, garages located far from the urban area are not connected to electricity.
What to do in this case. Our opinion comes down to buying a fuel generator for welding. But not everyone wants to spend extra money, especially if you rarely use welding.
The correct option under such circumstances is to use a 12-volt car battery. Some specialists manage to connect the battery to a welding inverter.
Even to carry out non-long-term welding. In our review we will write whether it is possible to carry out welding tasks using a 12 Volt battery. Is it really necessary to take such risks?
Is it possible to cook using a car battery?
Is it possible to carry out welding work using a 12 Volt battery? All owners of remote country houses and garages where there is no electricity are thinking about this. The mains current simply may not be enough to operate the inverter equipment.
This point is the subject of controversy. Of course, you can take the battery from your car, charge the welder, then return it to its place.
But additional questions arise. How good and strong the weld will be. Will the weld burn out? Will the battery itself deteriorate?
Based on our own experience, we declare that it is possible to cook using a 12-volt car battery. We will not say that machine batteries are suitable for powering a welding unit.
But they will be good additional insurance for these purposes. Car batteries have a large power reserve. Theoretically, they can charge a low-power welding inverter.
Own experience of cooking from a car battery
We will look at our own experience of using a car battery to power an inverter unit. You can test it yourself and duplicate our work to verify what you have received.
It should be noted that one regular car battery will not be enough. Know this is a fact. At first we wanted to power the inverter from one car battery.
Welding was carried out at low current, using electrical connections 2 mm thick. The arc hardly ignited. The seam went with considerable effort. Then they took out two car batteries and connected them one by one.
Assembling the welding machine
A graphite rod from an R20 battery will be used as a welding electrode in this homemade product. It is easily removed after cutting its body in a circle.
Clamps are attached to the ends of the wires stripped of insulation. There are 2 crocodiles on one cable, and one clip and a graphite rod on the second.
There is no need to use long wires during assembly. The battery power is too small to overcome their resistance. The shorter the cable, the better.
A wire with two clamps is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. The cable crocodile with a rod is placed on the positive terminal.
Is it worth welding from a machine battery?
The welding process from a 12 volt car battery is real. We advise using this method only in exceptional cases. The only advantage of this method is welding outside the home. And there are many more disadvantages.
The biggest problem is the almost uncontrollable voltage when welding from a car battery. Batteries may increase the initial voltage reading, so you will not be able to calculate the actual voltage numbers.
It's uncomfortable. Such differences contribute to defects in products that you cannot influence.
Also, due to uncontrolled voltage, the welding unit will burn out very easily. Our inverter equipment remains intact.
But if you use it awkwardly, you will be left without three batteries and a welding unit. In this case, be prepared for excessive consumption of electrical conductors.
In addition, when using the auto battery to fuel welding work, it is no longer worth putting it back in the car. Better to play it safe.
The eternal question is whether it's worth it. Only if you urgently need to work with welding equipment, but there is not the slightest chance of getting power from a regular outlet.
If you have extra money, it is better to buy a fuel generator. You will be able to organize the process not only with a welding unit, but also successfully connect other electrical tools. This is the best best way out of the situation.
So don't stress and buy a fuel generator. You can choose a small-sized and low-power option. It will easily fit in the trunk of your car.
You will transport it without much effort. They are very economical in fuel consumption and can operate for a long time. The generator can cope with ensuring the operation of the entire arsenal of your power tools.
From a transformer
Spot welding for batteries can be done with your own hands from a transformer. It can be used to weld not only batteries, but also any thin metal products.
To weld batteries, a high-power transformer is not required; 300-500 W is sufficient. The main thing is to be able to rewind the secondary winding.
The primary winding should be 220V 50 Hz. As a winding wire for the secondary winding, you need to use an insulated copper wire of large diameter. It takes three to four turns.
The body of the spot welding machine can be made of plexiglass or plywood. Plexiglas is of course preferable. The base of the housing must be of such a size that it can accommodate a transformer with connecting wires, a button and a lever with electrodes .
The lever is mounted on an axis between aluminum corner posts, which in turn are secured to the base of the device with self-tapping screws. The length of the lever is made in such a way that the electrodes attached to it reach the working platform of the base of the device. The diameter of the electrodes should be 3-5 mm. Their ends are sharpened and the ends are leveled.
The secondary winding of the transformer is connected to the electrodes using a stranded copper wire with a cross-section not less than the cross-section of the electrodes. The length of the wires from the secondary winding to the working part should be minimal. It is better to weld the connections to reduce the circuit resistance or connect them through screw terminal blocks.
The operating button is installed on one of the terminals of the secondary winding. Springs are installed on the lever and button. They are needed for their rapid return to their original state.
To set a specific welding pulse duration, instead of a button, you can use a thyristor or a power relay controlled by an RC circuit. The resistor must be variable, and the capacitor must be large enough to allow the pulse duration to be varied in the range from tens to hundreds of milliseconds.
There are a large number of circuit implementations of spot welding for batteries. Much depends on the materials available. Circuits may change to increase the functionality of the device and improve its consumer properties, but the essence remains the same.
Safety regulations
In appearance, the car battery is absolutely safe. All its parts are inside a strong case. This impression is deceptive.
You should not be negligent about the safety rules when using car batteries. Moreover, when ensuring the operation of the welding inverter.
If you want to remove the battery from the car, move it or perform any actions, use special gloves. The most correct and safe option is also special clothing for these purposes.
But if this is an unplanned event, you are unlikely to follow her. Therefore, we will limit ourselves to thick gloves.
If electrolyte has dripped onto an open area of your body, you should immediately rinse the area. This area can be treated with a solution of soda or ammonia diluted with water.
Remove gloves and wash your hands well with soap. Don't eat near batteries, don't smoke, and generally be careful. If you are tired and need to take a break, place the car batteries in an isolated room and you should go out.
If your car batteries become dusty, they need to be cleaned. This is done using ammonia diluted with water. Use a clean, dry cloth.
If you have removed the batteries from your car, clean the plugs to ensure there is no dirt left behind. To prevent the formation of excessive gas pressure.
Remember that car batteries can become a threat to your health. When working with your car's battery, take good care of your body and mucous membranes from damage by acid.
You may get a serious burn. You should definitely have a fire extinguisher in your garage. If handled incorrectly, problems can also occur with welding equipment.
These are absolutely simple safety rules. But not all masters remember this when they start working with devices. Remember that it is better to prevent problems from arising than to eliminate the consequences later.
What is important to know
An important point is the choice of wire. If its cross-section is too large, you risk burning your batteries. Therefore, we strongly recommend using wires with a small cross-section, because it is better if the wire itself burns out (it is cheaper to replace it).
You can adjust the current strength (A) depending on the cross-section and length of the cable. The optimal length is 1 meter and cross-section 12 mm2. But, if you are making such a homemade product for the first time, try using a wire of a smaller cross-section, this will avoid possible problems.
Remember! It is prohibited to handle the electrode or wire with bare hands. Try using any available means that will help avoid direct contact.
