Quote Originally Posted by PBBIZ2 View Post
I have tried the direct connection to battery welder method and found I needed at least 24V to maintain the arc, and 25v gave a bit too much spatter, however if you were really after deep peno welds in a single pass it would be good. i only tried with 2.5mm rods. I have heard this is really not a long term or sustainable proposition as the shorting does eventually damage the batteries, however i am guessing for an emerg repair it would have little impact.

The Uniwelder Alternator i have and didn't have much luke with looks like a standard 80A Hitachi Frame alternator, however it has 3 big plates of diodes on the back of it and requires a cooling horn to funnel the air over the windings and diodes. When it was tested by the autoelec it would barely generate a spark with the rods, at any speed, so i am still guessing as to what the problem was, even after it was rewound. The literature and experiences of others attest to them being really good devices and they have a 240V output as well.

The mig welder also seems to operate better on 24v as well. It can run on flux core of gas wire.
Can you post a picture of your 24V gas/gasless mig welder, please mate?

If I understood correctly, you still have that high amp(200A?) Uniwelder brand alternator, but it can't be used for welding. In other words it doesn't either generate enough voltage or amps to generate a spark?!

Thanx