kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Sept 21, 2020 20:43:06 GMT 10
And I'll bet you thought I couldn't come up with any even weirder ideas in my never-ending search for options for when plans go wrong! How about connecting up a heap of solar panels to use for arc welding? Stick a rod in the handpiece and weld away. The voltages out of panels can be really high. But how many amps are needed to melt a welding rod? Is there a minimum voltage? Or is it just watts thought the rod? The wire size from the panels may not be thick enough. Any thoughts on how to make this work?
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 21, 2020 22:31:25 GMT 10
Charge batteries .. use batteries like this. If you have a welder use that with an inverter.
3 batteries
2 Batteries
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bug
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Post by bug on Sept 22, 2020 7:50:31 GMT 10
You'll probably cause voltage collapse on the panels. Use them to charge batteries and do the welding that shinester has posted.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 22, 2020 12:35:48 GMT 10
You'll probably cause voltage collapse on the panels. Use them to charge batteries and do the welding that shinester has posted. Yep, what bug said. Unless you have a lot of panels won't have enough current with solar panels alone.
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Sept 22, 2020 17:43:00 GMT 10
You'll probably cause voltage collapse on the panels. Use them to charge batteries and do the welding that shinester has posted. Yep, what bug said. Unless you have a lot of panels won't have enough current with solar panels alone. I assume this means it would/might spark but then die. So how much current would you need? There are a lot of panels around. Total wattage can't be very high because you can buy a 240V 10A welder. And I've seen panel specs up to 1000V so I'm guessing voltage shouldn't be a problem?
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 23, 2020 1:11:47 GMT 10
So a 10A welder is going to use 240v x 10A = 2400W. Panels will produce a varying amount of power depending on the sun, the rating you see is the maximum. You sure might be able to do it without it, but why not just hook up a couple of car batteries?
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Sept 23, 2020 10:51:53 GMT 10
but why not just hook up a couple of car batteries? Because they only last for 5 years, or there may not be any where I am. I swear most people here are prepping for nothing to go wrong. "I have a BOV (or insert first option in any plan) so everything will be fine". Until it is burnt or breaks down or the roads are destroyed or it is stolen. Then what. "Two is one, and one is none". Ever heard that? It is optimistic. More likely it is "20 is none". Sometimes it is like banging your head on a wall. Will I ever use solar panels for welding? I bloody hope not. Because that will mean things are really shit. But the ability to have multiple means to do anything is the basis of prepping to my thinking. First option is to use a welder. Really easy. But what if it is broken or can't be powered. Then I will use car batteries. But what if there aren't any or they have all degraded. The panels may be working so the ability to weld with only panels becomes the third option. It may not be possible and the sun might not be out. But rather than standing around saying "Now we're fooked", I would rather have another option. Ebay won't be there if shit goes bad. So if you can't make something work you are going backwards. It won't be too long before stabbing someone with a pointy stick becomes state of the art warfare. As a bonus you can dig up worms to eat with the stick. Multi-function. It is getting better though. No one put up a link to a welder to buy!
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 24, 2020 3:19:57 GMT 10
From my perspective, you didn't like the simple and solid [such as $12 solar regulator and $22 radios] in favor of diminishingly unlikely scenarios with increasingly complexity. That's not exactly 'better', that's more likely to get you in a spot, cover the basics first!
I think most people here are realistic that catastrophic isn't going to happen and that they're ready for up to most major situations. What you're talking about is a complete and utter mad-max everything falls apart situation. Got 3 months of food and water?
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kelabar
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Post by kelabar on Sept 24, 2020 10:44:21 GMT 10
Yes, already got the basics. So back to the question. I have 'welded' with 12.6VDC when I have shorted battery terminals, oops! So voltage can be low. But what sort of current would be needed? Is it better to weld at a certain voltage, say 100V, because it makes starting the arc easier? Or go for more current? I would think too much of either voltage or current would just burn holes. Is there a happy mid-point?
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