Impax 140

[Pajero]

Hi All
I bought a used Impax 140 arc welder some time ago for reviving dead car batteries. I didnt get around to using it until today.
I first just switched it on without connecting the leads just to see if it was alive. It was so i turned it off immediately and disconnected the mains supply. I then proceeded to connect the leads and then hook it up to the car battery.
The first thing that struck me as odd was when I connected both cables to the car battery, it created a spark. I was not expecting sparks when the welder was not connected to a power supply and the power switch was in the off position.
I assumed that maybe there was some residual power in the unit but then I noticed that the water in one of the battery cells was heating up and bubbling. It was only one cell, the one nearest to the positive terminal.
I then decided to plug it in and power it up with the unit set at 55 amps. It ran for about 10 seconds and then died. There was also some minor smoke from the front of the unit, but hardly noticeable.

I tried it again after 3 hours to see if it had reset itself but it is still dead.

Can anybody guide me on whether it is repairable and how to go about it please ?

Tanks in advance
Paj

 

[eddie49]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

Hi All
I bought a used Impax 140 arc welder some time ago for reviving dead car batteries

I wonder what caused you to think that an arc welder could be used for this task?

The Impax 140 is basically a transformer in a box. The input is AC mains, and the output is about 50 volts AC.
Far from reviving a car battery, that output would just about be guaranteed to ensure the battery is ruined.
With the output leads being the secondary winding of a low-voltage high-current transformer, the resistance will be low, so with the welder's power switch off, the car battery will effectively be short-circuited, hence the bubbling.
When the smoke gets released from an electrical or electronic device, that normally indicates that it is all over. However, you could open the case ( with power off and unplugged ), and check whether maybe only a connecting cable is burnt, rather than the whole transformer.

 

[Erie Fred]

Was the battery still in the car ?

 

[Pajero]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.


I wonder what caused you to think that an arc welder could be used for this task?

The Impax 140 is basically a transformer in a box. The input is AC mains, and the output is about 50 volts AC.
Far from reviving a car battery, that output would just about be guaranteed to ensure the battery is ruined.
With the output leads being the secondary winding of a low-voltage high-current transformer, the resistance will be low, so with the welder's power switch off, the car battery will effectively be short-circuited, hence the bubbling.
When the smoke gets released from an electrical or electronic device, that normally indicates that it is all over. However, you could open the case ( with power off and unplugged ), and check whether maybe only a connecting cable is burnt, rather than the whole transformer.

Hi Eddie

Thanks for your reply.
I have watched a number of videos where a welder is used to revive a car battery. Please see link below. At about 5.30 he hooks up the welder to the battery and performs the procedure.

Please let me know what you think.

 

[Pajero]

Was the battery still in the car ?

Hi Fred

Thanks for your response.
No the battery has been lying in my garden for years.

 

[Erie Fred]

Hi Eddie

Thanks for your reply.
I have watched a number of videos where a welder is used to revive a car battery. Please see link below. At about 5.30 he hooks up the welder to the battery and performs the procedure.

Please let me know what you think.

"welders" come in many flavors.

Here is the only Harbor Freight Titanium stick welder being offered currently:

https://www.harborfreight.com/stick-225-inverter-welder-with-electrode-holder-64978.html

You will note it is a DC machine.

You will also note that there was NO sparking when attaching the leads from the welder to the battery.

 

[Turbo]

Please don't try this with a lead acid battery. It doesn't work and it is dangerous!

Generally speaking if a youtube video contains the word hack in the title it is usually unsafe and doesn't really work.

You have just wasted money buying that welder to fix batteries. You would be better bringing the battery to a scrap yard and getting a few quid for it.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i used to make, and then later on ran the final testing department of a major large battery manufacturer, everything from reserve power batteries to tank batteries, fighter jet ejector seat power systems, high end car batteries, extreme weather resistant and sealed leakproof batteries and all i can say is im glad im not your neighbour...

a welder is 100% not the correct bit of equipment for 'reviving' car batteries. given how cheap most car batteries now are given their life span, its not even worth trying to drag an old dead battery back to life anyway.

 

[Barking Mat]

Better off buying a battery charger with a recondition function, however in my experience, when a battery is dead, it what generally dead.

 

[Pajero]

"welders" come in many flavors.

Here is the only Harbor Freight Titanium stick welder being offered currently:

https://www.harborfreight.com/stick-225-inverter-welder-with-electrode-holder-64978.html

You will note it is a DC machine.

You will also note that there was NO sparking when attaching the leads from the welder to the battery.

Hi Fred

I had no idea that welders come in AC and DC flavours. Is there an easy way to check which type it is?
Below is the spec plate on my welder. What indicates that it is an AC machine? The only thing that stands out is the squiggle on the left.

 

[Erie Fred]

Please re-read post #2

 

[Pajero]

"welders" come in many flavors.

Here is the only Harbor Freight Titanium stick welder being offered currently:

https://www.harborfreight.com/stick-225-inverter-welder-with-electrode-holder-64978.html

You will note it is a DC machine.

You will also note that there was NO sparking when attaching the leads from the welder to the battery.

Just found this in the instruction manual

 

[Erie Fred]

Just found this in the instruction manual

View attachment 503527

You can cite all kinds of internet information sir, but the fact remains
that your machine didn't work, and you could have gotten very hurt in the process.

I would stop any further work on this.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Hi Fred

I had no idea that welders come in AC and DC flavours. Is there an easy way to check which type it is?
Below is the spec plate on my welder. What indicates that it is an AC machine? The only thing that stands out is the squiggle on the left.

View attachment 503523

All that spec plate tells me is that you aren't going to revive anything with it...either buy a battery conditioner/charger or take up welding...providing you haven't already killed the welder of course

 

[eddie49]

Just found this in the instruction manual

View attachment 503527

To the best of my belief, that information in the instruction manual is incorrect.
As I stated in Post #2, your welder is "just a transformer in a box", and the output is AC, not DC. I based that assessment primarily on the weight - 16kg - and the location and type of the current adjustment control.
Further, Page 11 of the manual

https://www.free-instruction-manuals.com/pdf/pa_1403511.pdf

shows a long sliding current indicator scale, typical of the moving iron core in an "AC Buzz Box" welder.
Finally, Page 20 explains the symbols used on the Data Plate ( which is perhaps not shown fully in your Post #10 ), and the symbol with two overlapping circles, indicating a transformer, is not followed by a diode symbol, i.e. there is no rectifier.

 

[Turbo]

All that spec plate tells me is that you aren't going to revive anything with it...either buy a battery conditioner/charger or take up welding...providing you haven't already killed the welder of course

Or killed himself by blowing up a battery!

 

[Turbo]

I wonder how many people have been seriously injured or killed trying out the stupid hacks posted on you tube.
Made worse by not understanding what they are doing like the op.
I don't think he realises how dangerous it was to short out that battery with the welder.
Had it any charge left in it there could have been an explosion!
Even worse had the welder been switched on!

 

[Barking Mat]

Ever since I clicked on his linked YouTube video, I've had half a dozen similar videos come up on my YouTube feed.

Makes you wonder.

 

[Tangledfeet]

Ever since I clicked on his linked YouTube video, I've had half a dozen similar videos come up on my YouTube feed.

Makes you wonder.

Delete them your history. Now.

 

[Erie Fred]

I wonder how many people have been seriously injured or killed trying out the stupid hacks posted on you tube.
Made worse by not understanding what they are doing like the op.
I don't think he realises how dangerous it was to short out that battery with the welder.
Had it any charge left in it there could have been an explosion!
Even worse had the welder been switched on!

...and if was still attached to the car....there goes the computer(s) as well....