WTB: Spot welder/spot welding service

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Forums › Offers and Wanted › WTB: Spot welder/spot welding service

Hatch

816 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 57

#270544 14-May-2020 11:11

I have a dual 18650 diving torch battery pack which has pretty much died. The cost of replacement is US $150.

Does anyone have a spot welder, or can recommend a cheap spot welder from the likes of ebay or aliexpress?

Looking at building one from a 12v car battery if that is my only option.

tripper1000

1648 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1176

#2483625 14-May-2020 11:50

If there is sufficient space, you might be able to solder the tabs. I rebuilt my drill battery with solder instead of spot welding.

I find that the nickle is a bit harder to solder that other metals, so make sure you sand it and use additional flux. Silver solder also works better than regular solder on nickle. A grunty iron also helps - my 20 watt was too weak, but with an 80 watt I could get in and out quickly so as not to overheat the batteries.

Hatch

816 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 57

#2483648 14-May-2020 12:12

tripper1000:

If there is sufficient space, you might be able to solder the tabs. I rebuilt my drill battery with solder instead of spot welding.

I find that the nickle is a bit harder to solder that other metals, so make sure you sand it and use additional flux. Silver solder also works better than regular solder on nickle. A grunty iron also helps - my 20 watt was too weak, but with an 80 watt I could get in and out quickly so as not to overheat the batteries.

Thanks, but really not confident (for safety reasons) in soldering batteries, even if I discharge them to a low level, I'd prefer to spot weld, no real rush with this project so I'm ok to wait weeks for delivery via Aliexpress etc. Or hopefully I can make something from locally sourced parts.

1101

3141 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1143

#2483650 14-May-2020 12:14

Why not just buy 18650's with solder tabs pre-welded .
That seems the best/safest option (?)

Hatch

816 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 57

#2483653 14-May-2020 12:20

1101:

Why not just buy 18650's with solder tabs pre-welded .
That seems the best/safest option (?)

Yeah that's a good option I didn't think about. I have a ton of 18650s at home so I'd still keen to get a spot welder.

bmoff

159 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 36

Trusted

#2483895 14-May-2020 17:02

I have a battery tab welder. Where are you?

Hatch

816 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 57

#2483942 14-May-2020 18:34

bmoff:

I have a battery tab welder. Where are you?

@bmoff, I'm in Auckland. If you recommend your spot welder and it is not very expensive I might look at the same one. Regards.

Lego

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bmoff

159 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 36

Trusted

#2484502 15-May-2020 15:39

I'm in Hamilton. My welder was home built a few years ago using various guides on the net. The controller is arduino based.

I see you can now buy controller boards relatively cheaply on Aliexpress, these might work with a battery powered unit and would make building one much simpler.