Backwoods Poorman's Stick Welding

Welding 1/2 plate can be done with stringer beads. I doubt you'll get enough out of two batteries for it in single pass. Might be able to use 4. Two parallel pairs in series. 

7018 in 1/8 would be the easiest rod to use. I have some at the shop nm if you want to try some out. 

They aren't as expensive as I thought, but their web page is so bad and many of their retailers no longer sell them, I wonder if they are about to go belly up.

Are you running dcen or dcep? This matters to how well the electrode will melt. 

98TJ wrote: I think Doc has a Ready Welder.

Yes, nice little rig.  Fits in the bag at right, including the dedicated jumper cables.  Its wire feed, uses flux wire since I dont want to carry around a gas bottle and regulator, but it will work with gas.

Dunno what the interest is.  In my limited experience with it, seems to work well, but really needs 2 batteries for 24V power.  On 12V, its really not able to penetrate sufficiently for structural welds.  It will work up to 36V I believe, but I've never tried it.  This welder was why I installed a second battery in my 4Runner.

We used this thing once "in anger" at "Lions Den" at Harlan.  Don Ferguson's tie rod end on his buggy pulled out of the tie rod, ie no way to fix it short of replacing the tie rod, unless one can weld.  Heath welded the tie rod back in using this welder, and Don drove on it that way for several years afterwards.  I dont know if he *ever* fixed it!

I had a last-minute change of plans and can't make the Battelle thing tomorrow.  My bees are being delivered!

Brad, you're welcome to borrow this welder and try it out, but obviously I wont be there to bring it to you.  The reason for the jumper cables was to allow setup/use without removal of the batteries.  You have to *disconnect* the batteries in order to use the jumper cables to arrange the batteries in serial for 24V, but its not necessary to remove the batteries from their installed position.  I'm assuming you know what I mean by serial versus parallel.

I think Cole works in 'Nooga, if that's still so I could drop the welder off with him somewhere and he can get it to you.

Update -  I recently tried using the two original 12v batteries and added a 12v battery out of my lawn mower for a total of 36 volts.  The rod I found worked best was an 1/8" 6011 rod.  I checked the amperage and with that set up was in the range of 150-160 amps.  That's really too hot, but for what I will use it on (thick steel) worked very well.  Very good penetration and zero rod sticking.

The lawn mower battery is small, but its rated at 320 CCA.  I did some testing and I believe I can burn about six 1/8" rods before the lawn mower battery voltage drops below 10.5 volts.  If I had 3 full sized batteries, I could burn about twice as many.

For what I'll be welding (dirty painted rusty 1/4" to 1/2" steel) 1/8" 7011 on 36 volts worked a lot better than anything else I tried.  It actually works better than the cracker box A/C welder I used for many years until I got a mig.  It doesn't stick, penetrates very well (maybe too well) and I can weld vertical with it.  I just can't stay in one spot too long or it will burn through.