Spot Welder Question

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I found this at a garage sale several years ago. It operates off of a 12-volt deep cycle battery. A push button operates a solonoid which makes the circuit. Hold the button as long as you need to, not very long. The lever operated mechanism "cams-over" to hold the work pieces for welding. I mounted it on a small hand truck. Works well on light gauge for small projects. It's not for production use". Question: Can I disconnect the battery and connect the welding leads from my Champion 16 (engine drive) for heavier gauge steel & SS?....Say, up to 3/16" total thickness? I can use DC or AC, which would be better? Now the real question is: Do I run any risk of damaging the welder? Thanks! Dave Attached Images"Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant"
Reply:2nd pic. Attached Images"Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant"
Reply:Last pic. Attached Images"Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant"
Reply:I don't think it would hurt your welder ....be same as sticking a rod .....but i'm not to sure if the spot welder will take it ... if i was to try it i would stay with d/c ....it was made to run on 12 volts and you want to try it with 40 volts ... IF i was to try it i would start out at the lowest volts (fine tuneing) and work up from there till i would get what i wanted .  NOTICE I SAID IF IT WAS MEDo you want to do this just because or why?????
Reply:Dave, I don't think you're going to hurt the welder trying it, but you may not get the amps you need out of a welder.When the points of the spotter are together, it won't be any different to the machine than a stuck rod is.Spot welders suck big amps, and I have a hunch you might be surprized what is actually flowing from the battery with that setup.  Such a device isn't a whole lot different from shorting a battery with a piece of bar stock, and that can be very dangerous.Give it a try on the welder, and see how well it welds.  I'd like to know too.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:BM, the welding volts on the Champion are going to drop very quick from the 40 ocv when the points close.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Thanks guys. I'm just interested in being able to spot weld thicker material than I can presently.I notice Hobarts HSW-25, which has an input of 220 VAC, 30 amps, has a rated output of 2.5 KVA and OCV is 2.5."Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant"
Reply:Dave, it occurrs to me if you do hook that device to a welder, you will probably need to have a seperate power source to the switching solonoid or you could let the smoke out of the coil.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Franz,Thanks. I've pretty much given up on the idea. I'm not in the mood to burn up anything. I'm looking at other spot welders."Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant"