Building Lithium Batteries ? Which Spot Welder is For You?

Here is a look at some spot welders for building / repairing Lithium Ion Battery Packs!
Kenpu (Not Recommended)
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
AWithZ Mini Battery Spot Welder (4th Best Pick)
www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0C3...
Sequre SQ-SW2 (3rd Best - Best for small battery / repair)
sequremall.com/products/sq-sw...
Capacitor Type (DoCreate 3000F Capacitor Spot Welder) (2nd Pick - Best Entry Level for Battery Building)
www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C3VY4NHC?r...
KWELD (1st Pick - Best Performance all Around)
gridrewired.com/products/kwel...
NICE Pen style handheld units for spot welding
www.aliexpress.com/item/33051...
One that we did not compare in this video was the Malectrics , we had one ordered for this review but since they ship from Europe it has not arrived and we wanted to get this video out there. We plan to update this video when we get the Malectrics
Hope you find this valuable! Thank you so much for watching!
Favourite comment on this video wins our 2K Subscriber prize :D
0:00 - Intro
1:07 - Spot Welder Overviews
4:25 - Test Materials
5:33 - AWithZ Test
8:38 - Kerpu Test
10:40 - Sequre SQSW2 Test
16:33 - Transformer Based Test
17:33 - Docreate Test
23:31 - K-Weld Test
31:03 - Overall Thoughts
35:50 - Handheld Units
37:19 - Final Overview/Outro

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Re-uploaded without music HERE kzbin.info/www/bejne/gILSf3WIp8-mmtEsi=9jmaOFRsoBQsbvcH

[@bestestname6757]

Man you guys are on point. It seems like every time I have a question about how to build my e bike build, your videos are the best and most in depth. Non biased, straight forward information. Just keep doing what your doing and you'll help more people than you know.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Well thank you very much ! We appreciate the kind words 😊

[@paulmryglod4802]

Well said

[@antikdeela5625]

Great review! - I'm a 75 yr old guy planning a 48v battery build for my converted Specialized stump jumper that I'm going to use on Vancouver Island this summer - I already bought the AwithZ unit and although it did a good job on the included nickel plated steel, after watching your review I tried it out with some 1.5 pure nickel and it didn't stick very well. Thinking I should return it and get something else. Thanks guys!

[@jaspermachnik]

Sweet! Wish there was a video like this years ago... Thanks, man!

[@david78212]

I’m getting ready to remake a small battery pack (6 cells) and you answered a ton of questions that I had, now I know that the small self contained welder will work fine for what I’m going to need it for, thanks.

[@winkydee]

You know what I liked best about this video? Those 2 batteries being built looked very familiar!😅

[@remjax1]

Nice video EXCEPT for the music which was annoying!

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you! We have noted it :)

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Re-uploaded without music

[@ntulsian]

Please consider posting the video without the background music, as the music is very annoying to me snd possibly others.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Well noted thank you!

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gILSf3WIp8-mmtEsi=9jmaOFRsoBQsbvcH No music re-uploaded

[@hisforhack]

This was the video I was waiting for, Thanks. Liked the honest and surprise reaction to how well the capacitor welder worked. You will still build my E-bike battery packs, but I have smaller 12v -18v packs to repair. Thank again

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you ! Yes I was very pleasantly surprised with that unit. I wish it was available when I was starting out :) Thanks for watching!!

[@actulice]

This is great, great information! I live off grid and can't supply the AC current peaks that plug in bench mount welders draw, and the handheld cell powered welders really don't have enough power, as we saw. I was about to spend the big bucks on the Kweld kit , (about $400 cad to my door) but the capacitor unit you showed worked well and will sip power from my solar setup. Such real and useful material is like gold. Thank you.

[@maxentropy7596]

I would be interested to know more about your choice of power source for your k-Weld. I have a K-Weld but have not decided on a power source.

[@1bottlefed]

Thanks for taking the time to review the various types of welders and helping those considering a welder to gain some knowledge into the various options. That said IMHHO the welders should not just stick the strip to the battery. An OK weld will be take moderate effort to pull off with pliers, a proper weld will tear out sections of the strip. To me acceptable of most pack construction and Somewhere in the middle is a weld that (on tear off) is causing a decent amount of material transfer from the strip....IE the weld although not penetrating the strip fully causing tear out of small sections of the strip, it will melt enough of the strip to cause a substantial depression in the strip and corresponding deposition of nickel onto the battery terminal. This is the minimum I would consider acceptable for two reasons. One is that anything with less weld penetration and area will be transferring the current through a small area (when in use) and this will generate a lot of localized heating that over time will fatigue the weld and can cause it to separate. The second issue is even if this is in a very low current draw pack (say a true 250-350w e bike) the vibration of the cells in the pack encountered over bumps can also cause fracture of the welds.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Excellent comment , thank you for the valuable insight ! You are right a strong weld has to be very hard to remove. If it can stick then 3-4 weld points (6-8 points on the cell) MAY do the job but deep penetration like you mentioned is the most important. Thank you!

[@bladongarland8635]

Keep up the work, this video was very helpful

[@allinclusive5762]

this ... music. That's why I have blood in my ears now! 😫

[@antikdeela5625]

I returned the AwithZ unit and bought the purple unit with a small car battery. excellent results.

[@turkcanatilir3943]

Thanks for the review. You helped me much.❤

[@SvetoslavStefanovS]

Hey, a useful video. Thank you for it!

[@user-mh5ex3cu9d]

Great video definitely like the k welder the best because it is adjustable and can possibly also do other thin metels Thanks for the great videos always learn alot

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you for watching James ! 😊

[@CampervanEcosse]

Looked like a good video but I just couldn't listen to that excruciating music much longer than 5 mins...such a pity

[@IMBruceECLECTIC]

Great information for a newbie like me.....I am amazed at the technology ...but still think I will buy from legitimate seller. Looks like it will be time consuming to build a big battery. Glad I subscribed! Always trying to learn something and your Channel helps make that possible!!

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for watching! :)

[@issaml.4189]

Great video keep up 🌱

[@guilhermefrancoaminger8332]

Thanks for your great video. Talking about the types of Handheld Units, I think you could make your video even more interesting if you add comments on: 1) The advantage of having a rounded tip or not. K-weld has rounded finish on tip and your preferred tool has fully flat needles. 2) Which handheld units can adjust the distance between the tips or not. In my opinion, rounded tips make more reliable welding points than completely flat ones, no wonder K-weld uses rounded tips.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Great points ! Thank you 😊

[@neironasgautamas654]

Docreate is best one ever i have same one it was factory defect but works perfect super stront fast fun to use for money only thing i can reconend 😊

[@frankpitochelli6786]

It looks like you're holding the probes too close and a bit more current would be what the doctor ordered.... Nice video.

[@ericklein5097]

There is no huge bank of capacitors inside the cap based welders. Every model I've seen online uses ultracapacitors and typically they use 2000F to 3000F capacitors...now the quality of those caps varies widely. The sub $100 ones likely have used caps in them so the internal resistance of the caps is significantly higher. Resistance Spot Welding is 100% about resistance. You can use an AC IR milliohm meter like the RC3563 or YR1035+ to take measurements to help you build a powerful welder but remember DC IR is NOT the same as AC IR. DC IR is typically 50% to 100% more than AC IR. Between your power source, welding circuit (mosfets), cabling and electrodes you want somewhere in the single digit milliohm range to weld 0.15mm or 0.20mm pure nickel. The simplest upgrade someone can make to an off the shelf spot welder is to use a thicker gauge of silicone insulated wire for the cables/electrodes. Keep in mind that using cables that are TOO large (the kWeld has a section on this in their manual) can cause too much inductance and blow up your welding circuit. Also keep in mind pure copper is not the most ideal alloy for spot welding nickel to steel cans. There's websites with this info but aluminum copper alloys are usually what is used in this application. The built in Lipo style welders are convenient but you never really know what you're getting inside the box....and the RC Lipo world is full of absolute bullshit C ratings....100C...200C...all bullshit. Nothing out there is over 50C and the best of the best Lipos are 30C to 40C typically. 25C is pretty standard for your average "100C" rated Lipo. The fact that you have to discharge the Lipo to storage voltage (3.85V'ish) every time you go to store the unit for more than a day or two means its a lot of extra work and you'll likely forget. I rarely see these lasting longer than a year. Look for one that advertises having a USB output for charging a phone or something. Use that as a discharge port so you don't have to open up the case the Lipo is in. Stupid feature that actually has a necessary alternative function. High power LiFePO4 and LTO packs are going to be the best long term power sources besides super capacitors and ultra capacitors. Used Headways from BatteryHookup.com are cheap and if you buy enough for a 3S2P or 4S2P pack you'll get enough power to do 0.20mm nickel so long as the PCB you match it with has good mosfets. Do some research on the mosfets on the PCB you are looking at or buy one of the DIY mosfet boards on Aliexpress and some copper bar stock and build a beast of a fet board using IRL40SC228's or something similar. I can link all the Aliexpress components necessary to build your own spot welder that will outperform a kWeld for about $100 plus a $100 battery.

[@CrazyChinese]

BIRFC.... Board and 60c 3s Lipo Best Bang for your Buck....

[@Funermen]

This video was quite a bit helpful for someone like me who has been slowly learning everything they can about electrical in general. Strange to think that 3yrs ago before I joined the ebike world i barely knew anything and now im learning about spot welders. A few notes I'm wondering about. The two-handed welders, is there anything stopping a person from just 3d printing a holder to make them 1 handed? Is there anything you would change about your main setup. I would definitely be interested to learn more about soldering, thats where i have learned most of my electrical over the years and have even managed to build my own 12v electrical harness for my electric bike. Cant wait to see what else you have in store!

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you for watching ! Some great questions here; Yes, people 3D Print parts that make a 2 hand unit become a one hand unit, but the best units have springs inside that allow both sides to apply equal pressure, that is the tough part when designing a good unit. Otherwise you think you're applying equal pressure but one electrode is touching and the other one might not even be touching or is barely touching, which ends up blowing through the material! Honestly I think our setup is pretty solid now and I don't have any complaints about it , although it would be pretty cool to get a unit that allows you to be hands free, I've seen them on the market and the one we were using was pretty good but slightly too crude to be really effective. Its important to have easily replaceable copper ends because they do burn up over time, that was our issue. We definitely intend to do a good soldering video or two, solder is all about 3 things , a hot iron, flux, and low melt point solder. If you're missing any of those three it is very hard to solder, but with those 3 its very easy. Thanks for watching!!

[@antibrevity]

Thank you. I wish that you wouldn't put the music in your videos or at least mute it when there's narration, but I still appreciate the comparison.

[@markpryce3282]

Very timely video, been using the kerpu but your right other than .1-1.3 plated it doesn't work. I'm building two 52v packs with 21700 50e and 40t batteries and had a feeling it wasn't the right welder. Thanks again for the video. Just a quick question why do people not just use copper directly? Is the nickel required for the weld?

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thanks for the comment ! Copper has such low resistance that generally it just absorbs the heat and spreads it out everywhere , it can be welded directly belut requires basically a modified tig welder. Nickel ends up melting the copper so it is needed to facilitate the weld in the copper nickel sandwich. Even the KWeld on basically max will not weld copper on its own

[@timlauck5206]

Can you put that promised link for the ali-express welding probe solution.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

My bad! Thanks for pointing that out! www.aliexpress.com/item/33051004051.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.177e1802KiYL9A

[@neironasgautamas654]

Doctreate i use around 30 40level and welds only came out with pliers it welds hard i think i use 0.15mm for that and cant rip it off

[@hisforhack]

Have you ever consider renting out the "DoCreate 3000F Capacitor Spot Welder" or similar welder to DIYers for battery repair, You would need a deposit, cost of consumables ie welding tips, rental fee, it Could be a cost affective option for small projects. just a thought.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Great idea!!

[@MrLWFred]

What about the Portable foot peddle 8000w spot welder on AliExpress? Have you seen that one or familiar with it?

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Not familiar with it but I believe it is the same make as the capacitor style one that we used

[@klotzey]

hey! could you try welding silver (sterling) with these? :D

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

If only I had any sterling silver to try out!

[@neironasgautamas654]

Docriate say u can do 10k welds till its breake i use 4 welds so it cant go bad it means u can spot weld only 2500cells for 100-150e ye all ok i tried weld fuse wired but all it do is explode so i just spot weld - side and put small dot of solder on +side with fuses 😅

[@paulmryglod4802]

I have an orange and blue capacitor welder and it will kinda sorta weld a sandwich of .2 copper and .15 nickle. Not well enough for me to be confident in using that method. It does a decent job of .15 steel on .2 copper, but i didn't want my pack to have steel near the coast.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Hey @paulmryglod4802 , you've been selected as our winner for the 2K Subscriber Giveaway. Send us a message at [e-mail] to claim your prize!

[@paulmryglod4802]

@@ElectricBikeLaboratory woah! That's awesome!

[@erwindeboer6180]

why the musical torture?

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Re-uploaded

[@tomaszradomski9008]

Mate can i ask you. Did you plug that pen to second spotwelder? Cuz i see the cable is unplugged. How it can weld if its unpluged? Did that spotwelder detecting short circuit?

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

It detects when both probes are contacting the surface, and then does a delay before the weld, so no switch needed

[@maxentropy7596]

I notice that you used a 12 Volt battery in one of your test cases. I am curious how you got 800-1500 Amps from a 650 CCA 12 volt battery. Thanks.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

I'm guessing that CCA refers to the amount of current that can be pulled for a few seconds, whereas the spot welder pulls only for a few MS , and can pull a much higher load. When we calibrate the KWeld it shows us what its able to draw from the battery, normally in the 1200A range You can check the KWeld documentation for more info

[@maxentropy7596]

@@ElectricBikeLaboratory thanks

[@73Datsun180B]

Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) is what a car battery can continuously have drawn from it until it is flat without exploding. Batteries in general can have very large amps drawn from them for a few milliseconds

[@AUXITOLED]

Great review, Bro. Can we invite you to do a review on our product? We have reached out to you.

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Thank you , what is the product ?

[@Touwtje]

omfg How do I turn off the music?!??

[@UpInSmoke54]

I bought the Sequre SQ-SW1 2 years ago and will NEVER buy from them again!!

[@stupidsecuritykeyiforgot7499]

The 12v one you should hook a 12v server power supply to it, that should do about 50A lol

[@stickmenwithrayguns]

Good content, but what's the point of this annoying music on a 40 min video? :(

[@megeezer69]

Good video, but as already stated, git rid of that repetitive music. I now have a brain ache !

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Re-uploaded

[@neironasgautamas654]

As i say its worst then its came out like that then u make bike pack u never want that connection NEVER EVER u will ride on forest and all welds will just came out atvsame day

[@neironasgautamas654]

If u rip it with fingers its bad super bad weld good weld u cant do thats IF U PULL OUT WITH FINGERS ITS BADDDD WELD!!!

[@krisgonzo2904]

Thats not a pass! thats a weak ass welds, good welds should not come off when you tear them off with your hand without using pliers!

[@kevinc7252]

DUDE where are your SAFETY GLASSES>!!!!!!!! BAD BOY

[@rickyemmirt4120]

2 months late i only won the knowledge of what spot welder to get 😢

[@repairman2be250]

I stopped watching after minutes, because of the background music.

[@neironasgautamas654]

Awithz that small crap is useless its not holding its failed badly

[@jameskim62]

YOU NEED TO LIGHTLY SAND/ SWIPE ALCOHOL THE AREA YOU ARE SPOT-WELDING.....

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Good tip!

[@shaunmorrissey7313]

I really wanted to watch this but that backgroung music made it unwatchable.