Welding from your battery is a bad idea for you battey's health - the massive voltage discharge can warp the internal plates eventually shorting them out - however bear in mind useful in an emergency situation.

Running a 12v drill directly of your car battery will not cause any harm to it. As long as the alternator is not over loaded (this situation can arise from extended jumpstarting - massive current draw- from a depleted battery) you can get down to some serious drilling. Sometimes you can get these combination 12v sets including a drill, torch, saw, sander etc for a resonable price - give cabinet making lessons enroute.

Good move to take a cordless drill with you. I took one solely because I had the room but it turned out to be the one piece of kit that I used more than anything else. Just remember to take ample spare bits especially the 2mm ones which always seem to break-at least when I'm in charge. We charged ours (a B&Q Chinese made jobbo) off both a 600W inverter and genny. Former took a while but did the job.

Q

My advice would be to stay away from the really cheap no-brand drills. They might be the same voltage but you don't get the same power / work out of them. They take forever to charge and then don't last that long.

A 14v Makita or other decent make should be fine for what you need. I can't think there is anything on a vehicle it wouldn't cope with. Drill bits need to be decent quality as well though; Dormer are pretty good jobber bits.

Forget 12V. Aldi has a pneumatic drill for less than a tenner. Twice smaller and more powerful than an electric drill.

Richard,

Sorry pal, wrong advice. :nono:

Battery welding does not require "massive voltage discharge". If anything, it's "current discharge", but for welding it's not as massive as, e.g. for winching. Ever heard of ReadyWelder?

Pneumatic?
 

OK - just quickly before I head off. Thanks for the many replies so far. I didn't think this would attract much attention. Wrong again !

Anyhow, I will search at a later date, but just quickly, how much roughly for an entry level compressor that would allow me to go down the pneumatic route ?

What other uses except the tyres also?

thanks :) As always,very grateful

blowing out blocked fuel lines and cleaning air filters for a start

Wow
 

A quick search gives me

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ght=compressor

I have only got to 2003 in the answer, but that is 6 pages! No nearer to knowing really. I think maybe I will just settle to an electric drill. I probably just need to leave before the Landy is too heavy to get out of the UK!

Anyhow, if anyone knows of a simple, beginner level compressor let me know, but I think I'm still more interested in just sorting out a electric drill of sorts.

I'll sleep on it.

thanks

Just to add a bit more fuel to the fire ;an electric [ or pneumatic] impact would be a very handy thing to have along !

Quote from ReadyWelder website:
"2.) We highly recommend the purchase of good quality ,12 volt deep-cycle marine/RV batteries ranging from group 24 to group31, which is our preference............ Regular auto batteries and other batteries not designed for deep cycle discharging and recharging will have a shorter life span if drawn too low too many times. ...."

"4. I've got two 12 volt batteries under the hood of my vehicle. Can I hook up the Ready-Welder II to these batteries with the motor running and batteries cable still connected? Answer: No. The batteries are normally wired in parallel for these applications (assuming your vehicle operates ion 12 volt) and the RWI-II normally uses 24 volt for welding and requires these batteries to be wired in series. Be sure to read the operating instructions page for some exception to the 24 volt rule! Leaving the batteries connected to the vehicles electrical system while the RW-II may cause severe damage to the vehicles electrical system. Don't do it!..."

In the context of over landing you would need to bring 2 x 12v deep cycle batteries for welding applications which IMO is too much extra weight in a these trips.

You are correct about my wrong use of the term "voltage" discharge, it is the current discharge that I meant to refer to. Point taken the the current discharge is not probably not as "massive" as I stated. Thanks for correcting me - I'm here to learn too.

Using compressed air with a jet nozzle is also a great way to get your camp fire roaring if the fuel is a bit damp - acts like super belows.

Bellows
 

If I don't have to pack the bellows then I have room for a compressor :) Jeez might even leave the poker set at home ....

Richard,

For welding you need appropriate voltage and current, say 24V and ca 40A. Your quote from ReadyWeld literature is correct in the sense that prolonged use of starter batteries will run them flat and possibly cause damage.

But then two deep cycle batteries, like Optima yellow top, while excessive for weekend greenlaning, are quite useful on an overland trip - try running a fridge for two / three days on a single battery. On top of that, you can use this capacity for all sorts of other jobs requiring constant load, including welding. All you need is to reconfigure the batteries from a parallel to a series setup (24V).