M4wd&Fabrications
Projects place => Projects Section => Topic started by: M4wdFab on July 29, 2024, 06:43:18 PM
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a trail welder would have been handy this weekend on trail 13 to fix a broken roxor.
Harrys new welder got me thinking, i really dont use or carry my portable welder because you need to source and lug and connect two truck batteries but my spool gun / case is a little more friendly to trail travel than a box welder.
could two jump pack batteries power my spool gun?
seems like no name 12ah jump packs can be had for 35$ now
https://youtu.be/o9_z7Nb4SJc?si=XH86dlZz1woPNV2g&t=333
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC9CRGRQ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?pd_rd_i=B0CC9CRGRQ&pd_rd_w=l3ETc&content-id=amzn1.sym.f2f1cf8f-cab4-44dc-82ba-0ca811fb90cc&pf_rd_p=f2f1cf8f-cab4-44dc-82ba-0ca811fb90cc&pf_rd_r=V714SPFPMHRH0ZN41VGZ&pd_rd_wg=lZbeV&pd_rd_r=ea170aec-c1b6-4f6f-8186-bbf3de588ddb&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1
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40$
29Ah
1.8lbs
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQ4NMX4H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A5JRJIFU23VB9&th=1
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Prob no one wants to lug a welder around in their wheeler unless on a long overland trip or something. Something portable for the trailer that could be retrieved and taken to the site would be the ticket.
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i have one of these that was useless for aluminum so i converted it to run on two truck batteries (and flux core for steel). 12v for drive motor, 24v for weld circuit. burns 1/4" hot, fine.
the case is nice and easy to throw in a trail rig. im thinking removing the extra wires and hose i could easily make 2 jump packs fit in the same box.
https://www.millerwelds.com/accessories/mig-welding-accessories/mig-guns/spool-guns/spoolmate-100-spool-gun-m00238
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https://karnagewelder.com/shop-now/ols/products/karnage-welder
That's what gave me the idea. I was poking around on their side and saw they were only powered by two 22ah batteries and realized how simple it would be to DIY one for significantly less than $1100. Mine still sucks to carry like any other small welder, the case those come in is probably a little nicer. Decided for how often it will get used it wasn't worth the added time and money to buy a case and move everything over. I already had the welder and am about $150 into the batteries, solenoid, DC motor controller, power switch, voltage gauge, and misc other items.
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(https://i.ibb.co/6bWYSFm/3-C07-BB0-E-B4-D6-4-E8-C-8-E6-A-9-E333-FB54-C21.jpg) (https://ibb.co/rMwkhHm)
(https://i.ibb.co/qCPNSng/48-D419-B9-B09-C-46-B1-A668-94-B25-A2-B7053.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nB57G01)
(https://i.ibb.co/mqDCZF0/AEB6-CB7-D-56-FB-4-B90-8575-583-EAD3-A8-AAB.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G2xvY39)
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ordered 2 jump packs to play with.
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jump packs showed up
played around with them. looks like protection is all in the gator clamp plug. power leads are direct connected to battery cells before that.
need to think about that before i bipass and blast on them. im sure grabbing 2 more to split the current load would be wise. I might cut open the packs to see if they are labeled. look pretty small for 29000mAH from what i remember my RC packs.
packs claim 400amp discharge cranking, 4000amp peak which seems comical for the wire gages involved and i assume they are 10C rated?.
cant get both of them to unlock out of safe mode when put in series and hooked to the welder as 24V as of yet, meh
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any solution for the bird nest of mig wire from storage / transport? the 2lb spool on my spool gun was fucked same as yours from bouncing around my trailer ect also
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I think the only way is to prep for transport every time, and lock down the wire tight. Probably have to fully unfree it and lock itself it it’s spool.
I wonder if Mike universal has a solid solution. He’s been doing this regularly for a long time.
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pretty sure his unit is a stick welder, same as nicks on his toyota
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Oh you’re absolutely right. He’s definitely stick welding.
Lots easier for sticks not to get tangled
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after hours of frustration on customer truck yesterday and this morning, i was ready for the satisfaction of blowing up some jump packs or having a good result.
removed safety relay from output connections, wired in series with drive motor pulling off only one of them.
started with 100% indicated on both. measured 32volts on weld circuit (16 on drive motor) pulling 94 amps
did a few buzzes, then layed a 1" weld. ended at about 72%
29000mah is 29ah, should be able to pull 29 amps for an hour or ~90 amps for 20 min ignoring losses. doesnt add up- and im confused are all the jump packs capacities listed with an extra zero? even the name brand expensive ones are listed in that range.
hmm.
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i need to look at the specs of my lipo charger from my RC days
i bet 2 or 4 of these would be better fitted. get the spool gun speed down with 11.1 volts and discharge rate tolerance up with real batteries and real specs
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ83M83W/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0CQ83M83W&pd_rd_w=1OV5w&content-id=amzn1.sym.36d4fe03-2814-4a0b-86e2-d1e3d3071509&pf_rd_p=36d4fe03-2814-4a0b-86e2-d1e3d3071509&pf_rd_r=BM2WEXXDHD04X6FNJBGW&pd_rd_wg=59XbH&pd_rd_r=09456757-01cd-4305-8649-503a5a3afebf&s=electronics&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM
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like 4 of these would be about the equivl of what Harry is running, and they are 1lb each. my goal is to be cordless and less weight than a dewalt impact gun (7lbs?)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP5SHF5W/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0CP5SHF5W&pd_rd_w=HjghR&content-id=amzn1.sym.36d4fe03-2814-4a0b-86e2-d1e3d3071509&pf_rd_p=36d4fe03-2814-4a0b-86e2-d1e3d3071509&pf_rd_r=YAESA8MVBY7DFA9ESYE6&pd_rd_wg=wOrpu&pd_rd_r=de80f0ca-f189-4fdc-b192-fa0bb0366e32&s=electronics&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM
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some electrical tape but first fully cordless weld achieved!
time for some real batteries.
the two welds shown are 1/8" to 3/16" and 5/16" to 5/16. that was the entire power of the two jump packs to perform those two welds from 99% to 0% on one and 32% on the other (i stopped when lack of power was noticed)
Im thinking based on the charge time at 2A usb charger, and discharge time of <30 seconds @ 94amps, they are more like 2900mah and not 29000mah packs
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My welder is running two of these batteries:
https://thebatterydude.com/jb12-18-battery/
Did you measure or calculate 94 amps? That's pretty light duty for much more than 1/8"
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measured. i have a 600amp DCM clamp on meter
it burns the shit out of it and that first weld i was needing to go about 3x speed i normal weld at to not burn though
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batteries and rest of small parts for variable wire speed and battery voltage monitor system
best i could find for 50$ was a 200W lipo battery charger that might be a bit cumbersome to charge that much of battery in 4 sessions, but thats really not the purpose to be needing this thing for more than one or two weekend uses
also since extra no name / no wires spool guns are 47$ on amazon i grabbed another one (looks identical to my miller gun)
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waiting on charger to ship have everything else lol
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new lipo smart 10A charger arrived and charging first pack. should be able to burn some steel tomorrow.
need to make battery hold system and add wire speed control board i got also.
fun!
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bah! mixed up polarity on my load side and have all the wrong connectors and y harnesses.
boo. no welding tonight.
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new parts came in, picked at this thing a bit and did some testing. burns nice. I think we got something good here once its re packaged.
all said and done i have about 300$ into the entire thing with the charger, batteries, spool gun, BMS chips, variable speed board, wire, connectors, fire bag, close quarter weld glasses/sock.
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Neat!
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motor drive speed controller was DOA when attemted to use at FF. 2nd one i have managed to kill, but i hooked on up reverse polarity so was my fault. ordered 3 more (7$ for 3) and will try again before sourcing something else
current unit rated for 5amps 35V.
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replaced motor driver, not sure root cause
have two working units ready to go for hallowheeling!
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worked good in the field welding up a toyota axle drain plug that got ripped out in VA
grabbed a HF pelican case to step up storage. also ordered a 3" mini angle grinder that uses dewalt batteries im hoping to also fit in the case. might make an itteration 5 of the welder housing if i can find more aluminum.
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new mini grinder is sweet! and all fits with welder into meduim HF pelican case. win.
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new setup.
ordered parts to make another one.
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That is a slick little setup. How did it do with the trail repair in VA? Got whatever power issues you were having last year sorted out?
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i wasnt there when a failure occurred so not sure how it happened. Probably because wire spool is taped to keep it from birdnesting while bouncing around in a rig and tape wasnt removed. i do stock extra variable speed controllers now, and i think i got 5amp ones instead of 3A originally. could also just delete the wire speed option, my original setup was like that running wire feed on 12v, weld circuit on 24 for years and worked fine for 1/8-3/8 duty with a skilled operator.
VA fix went awesome, toyota truck ripped out a drain plug and only solution was to weld it since threads and plug were damaged.
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threw together a second kit with all new parts deleted wire speed feature.
30min assembly time.
need to clean up wire connection plan- EC5 plugs are annoying. I had a few older iteration housings cut out already.
New case 40$
New spool gun 40$
030 spool 2lb 15$
auto darkening welding glasses 15$
HF welding gloves 10$
EC5 plugs / wire / ground clamp 20$
(4) 3s 6600 packs 120$ (cheaper than that 8500 packs i first bought, but same sizes? lol)
lipo charger 60$ (my RC car charger 150W)
320$ @ cost not bad?
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got used twice on trail this weekend
Travis blew a rear ujoint that damaged the yoke cap tab so we tac welded a washer on
Joshs 1ton XJ ripped off track bar mount / hydro assist mount at axle. recovery on this one would have been nightmare without welder. ground clean, banged some ripped brackets back in shape, did a good amount of welding and then wheeled rest of day.
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That’s a pretty neat unit
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the mini grinder is sweet. works awesome. need to figure out how to get a die grinder bit on it some how also
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Sounds like a real weekend saver!