EU2000i & Backwoods Welding

msiminoff wrote:
For emergency repairs, a pair of (or three) 12V batteries wired in series makes a remarkably good DC SMAW (stick) power source. Although I have never needed to do it out of necessity, I have practiced a bit and I'm confident that I'll be able to successfully manage a field repair if push ever comes to shove. I do carry a set of jumper cables, a makeshift stinger and couple sticks of E7018 (in a vacuum-sealed bag) in my tool box and I wouldn't hesitate to pull batteries from my truck and/or camper if I needed to get my rig fixed.

I think this is going to be my best bet for now. I know this can be done, but from the you tube videos I watched, the welds look pretty bad and it seems very hard to run a bead very far. I hear people say that when you first touch the stick to the metal, instead of sticking like is usually the problem, the highy amperage available from the batteries actually blows/vaporizes the end of the rod leaving a shell of flux. Then you have to keep forcing the rod into the metal surface. Just the opposite from the stick welding I've done.

And that was test welding on clean 3/8" flat bar setting on a welding table. I can only imaging the problems running a vertical weld or overhead.

We have a very remote "rustic" one-room cabin; takes a 4wd to get to it on a good day. Sometimes it takes a 4wd and a good which on a bad day. I may need to weld on something up there like a steel bracket or a steel fire ring. That would be very limited in the quantity of welding. But mainly I would be welding on a big heavy steel gate. That could be anything from repair vandalism to some other major repair or modification. That could end up being quite a bit of welding.

I confess that I have gotten lazy and spoiled using a MIG.

When I get some time, I'm going to try some 24volt welding in my garage to see how bad it is.