Sounds like a cluster phuck. Let me come and drink some beers and shoot some video.

Yours goes by amps? What do you got

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Yes a factory MOT is high V / low A. That is why you have to cut out the secondary and rewire with 4awg or better to convert to Low V/ High A

Well, I just had to try it in the interest of science.

I successfully attached the coupling back onto the trailer and I don't think it is gonna come off again. I used a couple of 8 yr old deep cycle marine batteries to make 24 volts, and a set of heavy duty jumper cables. I set the batteries as far away from the trailer as the cables would allow and made sure they were attached tightly to the posts. I think the biggest risk would be if the connection was loose and it sparked; that could blow up the battery. Other than that, I don't think there is anything more dangerous than any other kind of welding.

But the bad news is that the arc was very unstable and I was never able to get it to run a solid bead the full length of the coupling. It would splatter and lose the connection, and then I'd have to strike a new arc and then I would quickly lose that one. So the result was quite ugly, but it's all melted together and I expect it to work. I guess a transformer would stabilize the arc?

I was really interested in knowing if this method of welding would work well enough for emergency use on the farm. With the set up I had, I would say no. But I suspect there is a combination of voltage and electrode that would be acceptable for welding plows and such if I could figure it out. I think it's too much trouble, so that is my contribution to science for today.

Irishguy, do you know the make and model of the welder you have? It would be worth it for me to buy something that would work on 120 volts if it isn't too expensive. My shed isn't wired for 220, and it doesn't make sense to spend $400 on a welder I might use once a year.

Row Tide Preacher!!!....

Irishguy is talking about a wire fed (mig) welder, from the sound of it you just need a stick welder. I had the cheap 120v stick for about 10 years and it works fine for small jobs. I ended up burning it up running it on a generator and extension cord on a camp gate.

I've got a 120v wire welder but it's definitely not adequate for most jobs on the farm. It's great for modification of a cheap ladder stand, and light duty steel, but I go to the arc welder for anything over 1/8" thick.

I like that attitude! Don't worry, that's the way 99% of non professionals and 50% of professionals welds look. LOL

Did you by chance use DC rods? If not that would make a huge difference.

I got some Sh!t I'm wanting to try too...

Good deal glad you got it patched up and didn't let folks here scare you.

The will blow up . I fired off a JD 6030 one morning and I was proud there was a 1/4 inch steel plate between it and my foot . 6 volt went boom real good lol

Yeah it does. It has a high and a low setting High is about 80-90 amps and low is about 60-70 amps. I don't think Harbor Freight even sells this model any more, but apparently Amazon still does. I think with my coupon and some other discount the day I was in the store, I think they actually paid me to take the thing home with me.

Seriously I think I paid about $49 for it. I think my auto darkening helmet was about $45.

Like I said, one you get things figured out, it welds surprisingly good for what it is.

Link to Welder

What kind of trailer is this?

Yeah, the link he sent below is not what I would want, but thanks Irishguy. If I am gonna buy a welder, I think I want a 110 volt arc welder. Back when I had access to a welder, I usually used it on low amperage anyway, so I'm thinking I could get by with 110 volts. Anyone have a suggested model?

The YouTube videos I watched seemed to most often use e6011 on the negative side, so that was what I tried. Something else might have worked better, but that was all I had. I was hoping someone on here would tell me specifically what rod and voltage to use, but all I got from you guys was "you'll shoot your eye out!" type posts.
Ok, that was hyperbole, and Goatkiller did tell me it worked, but I would have needed to spend $850 to get all the stuff he said I needed. The whole idea was to see if I could weld with stuff that I already had - jumper cables and a couple of batteries.

This is on a 5x8 utility trailer, and one of the couplings that holds the gate up had broken off. The other side was still holding it, so the part wasn't critical. Thanks for all the ideas.

https://www.harborfreight.com/80-amp-inverter-stick-welder-61749.html

Preacher, if you sign up for the emails you can get a 20-25% off coupon,, I don't know much about stick welders so i would ask Fur if it is strong enough for what you will be using it for...

I've had 2 batteries blow up on me. One was a marine battery that blew up during the night while it was being charged. It was inside a building, so I guess the fumes accumulated and it somehow got a spark.

The other time was on a JD diesel tractor. I had been running it all morning and shut it down to eat lunch. It had been shut down about 5 minutes when I heard it go off. I thought someone had fired a shotgun, and it took me a minute to realize what happened. I have no idea what caused it.

Sparks can blow up a battery for sure. I have heard of a bad connection jumping a vehicle causing a spark and explosion.

Thanks, something like that would make sense for my use. That would have been fine for my trailer repair, and that's the sort of jobs I have.

Lol that 6 volt blew all to hell too . It was a 12 volt system using two 6 volts batteries . I hit the switch and it went off.

High demand x low voltage = high amperage (resulting in brighter sparkles)