On Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 4:52:22 PM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 11:31:01 AM UTC-4, Uncle Monster wrote:


I don't think most people understand that an arc welder uses low voltage high current and that a short circuit on a large battery bank can vaporize a large gauge wire and create an arc just like an arc welder. In fact I've seen plans for homemade arc welders which use a golf cart or a few automotive batteries as a power source. ^__^

http://www.instructables.com/id/Golfcart--Welder/

[8~{} Uncle Plasma Monster

I told the story here a few months ago, where on a BMW forum
a guy posted a DIY on how to change an alternator, complete with
pics. One pic showed the 12V cable disconnected from the alternator
suspended from the hood with a piece of string, bare end fully
exposed, just dangling there.
He pointed out how he did it that way to avoid
disconnecting the battery, which is in the rear cargo area.
And on that car, the alternator cable connection is down under,
surrounded by all kinds of metal you could hit with a wrench or
the cable, etc.

Best part was that even after pointing it out, he insisted it
was no big deal, it would just spark, he knows about electricity,
etc. I brought up your arc welding analogy, and other obvious
angles, but it all fell on deaf ears.
It's such a bad DIY post that it really should have been
taken down.

Check out this guy using 3 car batteries in series and doing a heck of a job arc welding some steel. ^__^

http://www.popsci.com/article/diy/ho...s-welder-video

[8~{} Uncle Arc Monster