Can a 3S10P 18650 pack provide 200A+ peak current for a 12V spot welder?
I want to build a 12V battery pack from 18650 cells and use it with a cheap spot welding board that is normally powered by a car battery.
The planned pack is 3S10P, using cells from a Xiaomi M365 scooter battery. As far as I know, these are LG 18650 cells rated around 10A continuous discharge per cell.
So theoretically:
10 cells in parallel
10A continuous per cell
about 100A continuous total
3S voltage range: around 9–12.6V
My question is about very short peak current, not continuous discharge.
For spot welding, the pulse is only a fraction of a second. Could this kind of 3S10P pack safely provide something like 200A+ peak current for very short pulses?
Or in other words: how much peak current can a 3S10P 18650 pack realistically deliver if the cells are rated 10A continuous?
I understand that this depends on:
cell internal resistance
nickel strip thickness
wiring and connectors
BMS limits, if used (I will use BMS only for charging)
welding board design
pulse duration
cell age and condition
I am not trying to run 200A continuously. I only want to know whether this pack can replace a small car battery for a simple 12V spot welder, or whether the voltage sag / cell stress would be too high.
Has anyone tried something similar with scooter 18650 cells?
Would this be reasonable, or is it a bad idea compared to using a car battery, LiPo pack, or supercapacitors?
Any advice about safe current limits for short pulses would be appreciated.
Posted Jun 7, 2026, 4:36 AM UTC