Stick Welding with Batteries

by Bill Baedke
(Romeo, MI)

I have occasionally needed to weld something where there was no power available and I didn't have a gas engine welder. I put two 12 volt car batteries in series to make 24 volts, which is just about right to burn 1/8 inch rods. The batteries were already in two vehicles so I parked them near each other and used jumper cables to put them in series. Then, I had both engines running so some of the current was being produced by the alternator/generator (this puts less load on the batteries and keeps them charged). You can increase the idle speed by putting a paper shim to hold the throttle open a little extra. Or, if you are using a tractor just set the speed up a little. Both times I did this was just for a few minutes, but it allowed me to weld when I had no other way.