Hey guys; I put this short video together demonstrating jumper cable/battery stick welding. A few of you guys might remember, I used this method at Moon Rocks at Naches several years ago (during a ZW trip) to weld together an XJ's broken steering linkage.  The guy wheeled the rest of the day on it...with no more breakage. 
Thought it might come in handy for those of you who would like to try your hand at welding but don't want to spend tons of $$ on a welder, or just as another "trail skill" for those that already know how to weld...

Welding with jumper cables and a pair of batteries

I read a web page a couple years back that described this process using 3 batteries and their welds didn't look nearly as good. Now that I saw your results I'll have to try this out for myself. It really would have come in handy when my friends rear suspension mount on his rusted Buick Century decided to detach from the unibody about 200 miles from home. We made it back home with a ratchet strap under the car to keep it driving somewhat straight but welding it in a parking lot would have been epic.
Thanks for sharing!

There is certainly a technique to stick welding with a constant voltage supply; it doesn't act the same a your standard "buzz box" at all.  But I've used this trail repair method a lot and, with a little practice, you can lay down some good quality welds with it.  Polarity is REALLY important...you must use the positive cable to ground the workpiece, and the negative cable on the electrode.

I've also tried 3 batteries; you do get a hotter arc, and if I was trying to weld something thicker than 1/4", I would need the extra heat.  But, most trail rigs don't have anything that thick on them...so 24v is sufficient for 99% of the repairs that you would be doing. 

I experimented with welding some 16ga (thin) sheet metal with one battery...didn't work out so well.  Even with tiny welding rods, the arc still got too hot.   

I have used a much smaller ATV battery to weld up a seam on the exhaust pipe.

Heard about it, but never have seen it demonsrated so simply. Great tutorial and vid, Thanks!

wow great video and instructions but what type of welding rods i didnt heard what type and its something i definately will try this at home first

wow great video and instructions but what type of welding rods i didnt heard what type and its something i definately will try this at home first

The proper welding rod depends on the material being welded...but I typically carry 1/8" 6011 rod.  It's a good general-purpose rod that works well with the jumper cable/battery method, and works with most types of steel that would commonly be welded in the field.