Car Alternator Welding (DC Welder)

[@goofypettiger]

Dude, this is awesome! Giving me so many ideas for my next project. As someone else mentioned, you need a more powerful prime-mover :) The one-horse motor is giving only 746 Watts of mechanical power. Surely that has to affect the quality of the weld. BUT this is an excellent proof-of-concept! I have a 6-horse gas engine that will drive the alternator I end up using. Keep making these videos, bud! It's appreciated!

[@perrymattes4285]

Some constructive ideas to make it better I could see alternator staling and the belt slipping. Use a bigger motor like a 13 hp gas engine at least. Use reactance on the output of the welding cable. Wrap welding cable around a pipe 25 turns. It helps reignite the plasma. Also stick welding is constant current not constant voltage Instead of the variable resistor you need a controller that controls the current on the output

[@diylithiumguy]

how does that reactance work on the cable?

[@christophermccourry]

Awesome job you were a great help! Keep making more videos!

[@cristianpopescu78]

Nice! You have to consider your alternator by 50 v 100 amp will " eat" at least 50×100 = 5000w= 5kw. Add effieciency looses,50% you need 10 kw engine,whatever mechanical source you have available. That rheostate is cool!

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thanks for the tips!

[@Alwaysbusy300]

Great work list you trying. Keep up the good work.

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@Jon-ko3vv]

Good idea for an onboard Vehicle welder. Need the drive belt tighter. I thing without any capacitance when you first strike an arc or it sputters your gonna have big drops that you won't see with a normal meter but you can probably just practice through that learning curve. Cool vid

[@harryburford6629]

not bad for first time keep doing it then get advice from a cool welder . good viedo

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thank you! I'm not quite sure how the professional welders could see through those dark welding shields! I had to get so close "inches close" to see anything 😂😂😂

[@GeorgiaBoyJake]

You need at least a 5hp electric motor. An alternator draws anywhere from 5hp to 10hp or more depending on the size of the alternator!!

[@flir67man84]

Those dc numbers on output are very good.. you pulled about 90 amounts.. not bad.. 200 amp welder off 110 volts

[@epictales1307]

Let me start by saying that I'm a welder. I have seen lots of "first time welds" and honestly I give you a D, but it passes none the less for this use case... Work on maintaining your ark distance as your welding rod is consumed. That should give you a more consistent weld bead instead of the bugger welds you got here. This is done by using about a 45 deg angle with the welding rod to work surface relationship. Once your rods stop sticking and you get the feel of it down you will start to hone in on the targeted voltage and current output needed for the work piece you need to make repairs or modifications on, but just remember that the rule of thumb is the thicker the material the "hotter" (professional welder commonly used term) your welder will need to be to penetrate deep into the grain structure because complete penetration is the goal when possible during welding. This is because as the neighboring grains are heated and disturbed, they join their grains to the rod material which is what actually joins the 2 parts together permanently. Best of luck in the future bud!

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thank you! I've since tried welding several more times using similar techniques you mentioned. Still have a lot to learn. Perhaps, a new auto dimming welding helmet could help.

[@littlekingcobrasden4217]

​@@mrmightytiger7385can you please provide a link for the heatsink?

[@newageautotechnology]

Nice build.

[@jesusisalive3227]

the welds aren't necessarily bad due to you but the motor stalling out. thanks for the build!

[@brandonnufer3670]

Would I need the Volt regulator? The reason I ask is I wanna run a welder off a truck with using an alternator from the engine. I was hoping just to make it simple and get an Ac to DC convertor and figure out the welding technics later. If it theoretically works.

[@Welder-zo7ju]

for me it's not worthy, you can buy some cheap flux core mig welder or some stick for about $200 and weld much easier. Anyway video is still interesting

[@flowtime8673]

That is good to know and for some reason i always get car alternator with 4 or 5 wires and it pissing me Off

[@cobrasvt347]

all you had to do is pull back the rubber boots only welding leads there's an allen screw you can loosen to remove the wire from the welding lead ends

[@commonsensejudgement797]

Seems ingenious, but what abouts is the total cost for all the components to actually make?

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thank you! Those parts costed well over a few hundred dollars. They worth every penny because I had so much fun building this project.

[@ryanbeard1119]

What year and make ia this alt. You know ac stick welding is a thing. And no magnetic blowout on ends of members. Can you do a video where you take out the full bridge rect?

[@drewskiakg2719]

Hi Tiger, great video. I was wondering if you have anything on the alternator stator to make into a 230 voltage generator? Bypass all diodes and rectifiers and just have ac voltage? Thanks again 🤙

[@MiG21aholic]

it would be 3 phase and a silly high frequency

[@jesusisalive3227]

​@@MiG21aholic you don't have to use all the phases and you can fix the frequency.

[@mrmightytiger7385]

We use 120v AC in the US. Here's a video that I modified a car alternator to make 120v AC kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZuYXo2tYtCFoaM

[@greasezert2228]

How hot does the alternator get? I know those AD244 alternators are rated well above 100 amps but I was just wondering. I think the fields need more amperage to make full output. Most 12 volt alternator fields ohm out around 2 ohms. 2 into 12volt supply voltage would equal 6 amps to full field it. Your 1 hp driving motor would not pull it though. Also the open circuit voltage on Lincoln SA200 pipeliner portable welders is around 93 volts. The higher open circuit voltage will strike the arc easier. Very interesting to see what you have done and actually explaining the results.

[@mrmightytiger7385]

The alternator was rated at 250A. It had no issue with 78Amps output. It was warm to touch, but it was normal... You were right, the 1HP motor could not handle more load.

[@greasezert2228]

@@mrmightytiger7385 I would like to see it at 120 amps or so burning some 1/8" rod

[@mrmightytiger7385]

@@greasezert2228 I'd need to get a motor with more HP to drive it. I don't see an issue of achieving 120A with a 2 HP motor or better.

[@pl747]

@@mrmightytiger7385 get a 6 1/2 hp Harbor Freight Predator engine and gear it to run the alternator around 9000 rpm. Much cheaper than getting an electric motor and will make it portable too. Use a battery in place of the power supply to the fields. They should draw 6 amps or a little more. I bet it will fry 1/8" rod then and weld.

[@greasezert2228]

Did you ever get a gasoline engine on it and gear it about 2 1/2 to 1? And run 12 volts from a battery into the fields through the rheostat. Then you will get full output and see what it does.

[@harryburford6629]

go to a welding shop and buy the right lens for welding

[@mrmightytiger7385]

I will definitely take your suggestion when I do more welding.

[@OpenSourceZero]

My alternator is here! Where did you find the pulley fit the alternator?

[@mrmightytiger7385]

It's in the description, Parts List

[@isaacwhite7411]

dont know why he put bigger pully on the motor for dont really need to speed the alt up looks like it was doing fine you do not need that much voltage unless your showing off the alt capability but you just need 28 to 30 max putting bigger bully will bring the power of the motor down =less current

[@mrmightytiger7385]

Thanks for your comment. I should of explained more in the video, but I was trying to push the limit of the 1HP motor. It did have a limit about where I was anticipated.

[@KevinSmith-os5yz]

I think he is trying to get more power out by upping the open circuit voltage. He is still limited by the power available from his driving motor, maybe half horsepower I guess. Same thing could be done with a simple transformer. But thus could be usefull as a retrofit on a vehicle. I know a lot of four wheelers weld in the field, but I think they just use the power available in 1 or more batteries.

[@isaacwhite7411]

@@KevinSmith-os5yz im 30year combination welder and production repairman he will have alot blowing welds cause of the high voltage ,its hard to balance each other

[@isaacwhite7411]

@@mrmightytiger7385 it may weld just fine if you play with the pulleys to get the right ratios

[@KevinSmith-os5yz]

@@isaacwhite7411 at least it isn't in a free energy machine...yet.

[@mikeh3559]

i dont believe its your first time welding. looks ;like your 3rd. :-) i cant stick weld. so im not punching down.

[@fredbritt5394]

Bill shit u took out the emf it don't work like that

[@fyodorautistoesky990]

For a first timer I'd give you a 5/10. Try using thinner 6013 rods and maybe a bit more chooch from the motor. Btw you think I can make something similar power by a 2 stroke 5hp chainsaw?