12 or 24 volt welders

I just found my own answer , MOBI ARC on a past post . Why am i talking to myself . Next question is has anyone ordered one of these from the states .

I am a Crap welder but have tried this method at home. I was amazed at how long the battries lasted.
The weld was OK even with my welding abilty
Vince

Yes I've welded on and off for several hours repairing stuff outback and the batts would still start the truck.
anything that breaks and immobilises a vehicle in the bush is likely to be pretty heavy/thick so the stick on the batteries will give a better weld than the 12v mig. As you have discovered DC welding is better than the AC at home.

Over the last 20 years we have had several AutoArc welding systems fitted to vehicles in our family. I am yet to see a vehicle powered welding system work as efficiently or as effectively as these. From what I know they were built by Goddards Auto Electrics in Western Australia. Some of the earlier models were quite simple comprising of a 100 amp alternator, a knife blade switch (to isolate battery from the vehicle so that you could weld your own vehicle), and a regulating system, and finally a 240v dc inverter. The later models (which I still have in a box in the shed because I don't have enough room in the engine bay of a diesel GQ Patrol to fit it) used a printed circuit board to control the regulating and switching system. This part of mine blew up about 8 years ago and I chased up Goddards in Perth who were a different company to the original manufacturers but had someone available who knew the system and repaired and modified the system to make it more simple that if I ever had problems again it could be repaired by any auto electrician.
As far as performance goes, I have never had an easier weld as with this DC system. You can.t do anything wrong. The stick for some reason actually whistles as you weld. The amps are controlled by the revs of the engine. A green light comes on when the revs are high enough to operate either the welder or the 240v box. I had it installed on a couple of F100,s, a Bronco, and a Sahara Landcruiser. The alternator has a very small pulley and usually was sufficient to run the engine at 1000-1500 rpm's.
The booklet that came with my last AutoArc states that it will run a 1500w motor continuously and a 3000w motor intermittently. As a builder I have run drills, power saws, and even a compressor a couple of times on this system. As a general rule, because the power supply is DC and not AC I have only ever run electrical motors or element type appliances on the AutoArc and would never plug anything in that is electronic or has a circuit board in it. You have to be careful because even some of the simple variable speed drills have electronics in them now.
Good luck to anyone who can track one down second hand. There are still a few out there.
P.S. - Broke a main leaf on the rear spring on my Sahara on the Plenty Highway. Lined it all up and ran the stick welder around it on the side of the road. Sold the vehicle 3 years later with the same springs under it. (Don't tell anyone)