High power ~2kW li-ion charger using DC stick welder

Hi,
I am planning an ebike touring trip and would like a high power battery charger. I have a 14s (52v nominal, 58.8 full) 78a/h pack and would extend this if I had a charger able to provide high power to further reduce daytime stops.

I have seen some people (https://youtu.be/2tTV3lBMs9g?t=445) who have customised a DC stick welder. I was hoping for more clear explanation on the process of creating this; and what limitations this system would have; likely doesn't have CV CC modes, would be difficult to fine tune the desired CV, output has ripple which requires capacitors and may require a shutoff relay etc.

Inverter has manyt advantages which would suit this purpose like low weight, low cost, small size.

Can anyone share knowledge on this topic. Thanks

You know 60V can kill you right? YouTube is IMO a dangerous place to educate yourself without known-wise guidance.

I doubt such a DIY contraption would be good in wet conditions, IMO you really want a commercially produced **charger** designed for that purpose, ideally

IP-rated against weather

compact and light.

If you do use the raw power supply approach, make sure it is designed to be current-limiting, and you will need to be the human charge regulator, sitting there with an ammeter ready to stop charging when the pack is full.

People weld in the rain sometimes.

I would be more worried about the CC CV characteristics of the welder. If it limits the voltage and current to levels that are safe for your pack, I don't see why it couldn't work. I routinely use a Meanwell power supply to charge my batteries and it was NOT designed to be a battery charger.

Most welders would need some kind of current limiting as a welding rod resembles a short circuit, so it may work, but you would want to thoroughly test it before using with a battery. Open circuit voltage is easy to check.

With 78AH of battery, I can see why you would want one. But it might not work so well.

My stick welder's output was from like 12 to 35 volts DC, and had a circuit designed to start with a high voltage spike to start the ark, but drop back into a low voltage, high amp mode to continue the weld. That's pretty normal for welders, and wouldn't be good as a charger. For a charger, you need a constant current while it's bringing the voltage up, so it doesn't melt your pack, and a constant voltage once it reaches peak, so you don't over or under volt, and can hold that while the BMS do their balancing job.

If you can get that exact model, you might contact the guy who did it and see if he will give detailed instructions on how he made it work. But I think DC welders most won't.

Try this:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66169

or just order this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33010958877.html?storeId=1797797&spm=2114.12010612.8148356.8.12cb2f22qNyUAg