A friend shared this on Facebook and I couldn't resist posting it here. I'd like to know who tried this one first. If I was going to give it a whirl I'd have the batteries around the corner behind some concrete.

Welding with jumper cables and a pair of batteries - YouTube

 

There's another one out there with a Chinese guy doing that while wearing sandals and sunglasses. Lead acid batteries release explosive gasses during charge and discharge, I wouldn't want them sitting right there either.

 

There are quite a few YouTube vids out there that give instructions for how to do this. The good ones I've seen were made by and for the guys who offroad a lot and would need to know how to do this so they can get their wheels rolling back down the beaten path.

Stewart

 

Optima batteries are pretty much required unless you want to blow yourself up or cover yourself with acid! Trust me an exploding battery like I had an experience with on a 83 Chevy truck with a stuck starter isn't fun.... I was insanely lucky to be 10 feet form a creek one that blew, I jumped in the water and rolled around and splashed my eyes for what seemed forever, one of my eyes was red for a week and the truck had some nasty acid burns on it but I was okay in the end.... The dumb things still scare me today with but being a Farmer I have to deal with them all the time. You'd have to pay me an insane amount of money to try it but I've seen it done on Portable Welder Shootout: Battery Power 101 - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine