The new packs were 2 for $50. They have 10-15 cells instead of 5. Given the age, I would probably have to replace all 5 at 3-5 dollars each battery plus the nickel, plus the spot welder. I would save less then zero. I could have bumped the pack up to a max of like 3500mah.
I pulled it apart to see what batteries were in it. They are generic. rh yg18560 OF10C
3.6v. The largest capacity of something close off alibaba was 2200mah, most likely they are 2000mah, and actually have less capacity, so probably a 3a battery when all is said and done. They might go back and I can get a cheaper 5a battery with 10 batteries 2pk for like 40 bucks. . (A case and circuitry without batteries for 16 dollars off amazon). However, since I have them I want to see if they perform any better then the old ones.
You should not solder, the metal gets too hot for too long and can damage the battery and explode. I suspect DC current has the same heat issue. And you would be dead shorting your 12v battery which could also overheat.
The spot welders for even 15 dollars now appear to be doing AC with mosfets and a circuit board, plus a capacitor.
This one for 20 bucks has 9 settings. It is missing a holder for the probes maybe add a big capacitor to protect your 12v battery. From my understanding the smaller ones need a minute between welds to recharge and they can’t weld thicker material. However, that isn’t an issue if you only need like 20 welds.
Found a similar board on Amazon for a little more money, but with a better description. The one feedback entry mentioned that it needed a high discharge rate battery to work right. Your added capacitor could solve that problem. Years ago I welded up thermocouples from thermocouple wire with just a big capacitor. It had heavy screw terminals. I put a small square of 1/8-inch brass on one terminal, and a bent piece of 14 guage wire under the other, so I could press it down to contact the brass plate. Put the crossed thermocouple wires on the plate, and press the heavy wire down on it until you get the flash. Adjusting the voltage on the capacitor let me dial in the welding “heat.” It might work with batteries, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try.
just a warning from personal experience with DIY battery welders - discharge cells before welding and keep a tin bucket or something like that at hand.
battery welding can be very exciting in case if you burn a hole in cell.
lots of flames and smoke and a nice burn mark on the floor. ))
I watched a video, they used a Power planter heavy duty, with a 60v dewalt drill/mixer. and it went straight through heavy clay and they claimed it went through roots up to like 1.5 inches. However, that setup would be like 400 bucks, which exceeds the budget for the entire project. You are correct I just need more HP from the drill, and the better auger would help as well.
The batteries last longer but they are closer to 3-4a then 8a as I suspected. but I have been mostly able to get holes deep enough to where I want them so far. I am just hitting roots and rocks more then the clay.
I also found out I failed at walking off distances through the brush. I figured out I couldn’t find the trees after I planted them to figure out where I should plant next. I planted one from one direction, one from another direction, then from a 3rd direction, I didnt see the first two which were about 6ft apart, and planted a 3rd tree in the middle, then saw the other two. LOL I went back and marked them a bit better. I should have worked a bit harder at a gps solution.
I’m almost embarrass to say that i use just a car battery with a foot momentary switch with 2 bits of copper busbars ground down to a point when i change out cells in my Makita battery packs that i use on my 2x18 volt chain saw and angle grinders ect , not had a problem yet but i guess i have been lucky so far ,and seeing’s the saw and angle grinder draws lots current it seems fine to me .
Dave
That is exactly what I was thinking of doing Dave. Using a relay to control the on/off cycle and have it wired to a switch that only stays on for a moment. I have momentarily dead shorted a car battery by placing a wrench on it and the battery seemed fine. It would be the same with the spot welder.
It defiantly isn’t the right setup for that, but it may work for a while. Maybe I am just to cheap to invest in the proper equipment.
P.S. I’ve also got the Makita chainsaw like you have. So far I really like it. I’ll see if I can post a review about it on the electric chainsaw thread soon.
Last update on the auger bit. I had to put it in ‘drill mode’ which I didn’t know existed. It works good. It doesn’t stop if it hits something. It just twists your arm. It went through a few small 1/2 roots. It works in clay kind of, you have to go slow and lean the drill against your leg and press into it. I need to get these last few trees in. I don’t have enough to finish what I wanted to do, but at least some of it will be done.
Any opinions on using a 1" wood auger bit to drill holes in the dirt to plant seeds?
The drill gets hot after about 20 holes, and I am not up for buying a new drill.
I thought I had one, but I can’t find it at the moment to test.
To answer my own question. It works great -except- it compacts the dirt, I think between the auger flights, so there isn’t enough dirt to fill the hole which is a bit of an issue with the 4" auger as well but not as pronounced. For some strange reason it doesn’t go through rocks either.
The system works but it is taking too long.
Edit: i presprouted the seeds to avoid alleopaths from the grass. They have to be carefully handled, then I need extra dirt to fill in the hole. The drill works fine. The process is tedius for the plot size.
