porto welder talk

[M4wdFab]

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

[M4wdFab]

40$
29Ah
1.8lbs

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQ4NMX4H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A5JRJIFU23VB9&th=1

[Wingman]

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.

[M4wdFab]

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

[Harrison]

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.

[Harrison]

[M4wdFab]

ordered 2 jump packs to play with. 

[M4wdFab]

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


 

[M4wdFab]

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

[mr.mindless]

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.

[M4wdFab]

pretty sure his unit is a stick welder, same as nicks on his toyota

[mr.mindless]

Oh you’re absolutely right. He’s definitely stick welding.

Lots easier for sticks not to get tangled

[M4wdFab]

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.

[M4wdFab]

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 

[M4wdFab]

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