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Thread: DIY Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack

  1. #1
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    Default DIY Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack

    Don't remember if I posted this here... well here it is anyway

    This is how I make [most of] my Li-Ion packs. I get the ones that are already protected, so they're easy to deal with.

    These are Ultrafire 18500 (18mm x 50mm) with the integrated protection circuit. And I solder them directly. No problems (yet, of course).




    First, these have a little coating (silicon, I think) on the positive knobs, you'll have to sand this coating off otherwise the solder will roll right off. It's kind of hard to tell, but these have been sanded down... might be able to see the marks...




    With a hot iron, melt a little drop on the knob. Hold it for just a second or two so the battery tip can heat up and grab the solder. Do this for the positive poles one each cell. *The negative sides don't require sanding, but be careful not to hold it for more than a split-second... you'll see that it flows right on.




    For the connection between the batteries, I use a little scrap of 22g to bridge the two.






    And some leads for the ends as well.




    Lastly, it all gets heat shrunk'ded together.



    A few tips:
    - Make sure your iron is ready to go (I use a 30w radio shack - works great for my purposes), and rosin core solder makes it easier too

    - The wrapping around the battery is heat sensitive -shrink tubing- so if you heat the negative pole too long, you'll see the edges of the wrapping receed

    - This is for PROTECTED CELLS ONLY!!!

    - I highly recommend that you use a recharge port of some type with this set-up

    - Funny thing about those protection circuits: they cut power off entirely when they deplete to a certain level - so don't freak out when your saber shuts off without warning... just plug it back in!

    Good luck!



    eastern57

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    Great tutorial eastern. Thanks.

    Live long and...I mean May the force be with you. http://saberconcepts.50.forumer.com/index.php

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    Thanks a lot! you did a great job!
    Got a Question? There's a thread for that...
    ~Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.~Teddy Roosevelt

    SollusVir everywhere else... FXsabers, Youtube, etc...

  4. #4

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    Great job, but it sure isn't silicon. That would be non-conductive, and thus be counter intuitive for a battery.

  5. #5

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    Great tutorial. I was about to add that 1) you can make the pack with the batteries side-by-side rather than end-to-end, and 2) that the low mAh (900) of the 14500s limits the LEDs they can be used with...

    ...and then I reread your post and realized you are using the 18500s.

    As Emily Litella would say, "Nevermind."

    I haven't worked with the 18500s: only the 14500s and bulky 18650s. Looking at your post and noticing that the 18500s put out 1600 mAh, it occurred to me that they would be perfect for a project I am working on. Last night I made a butt-ugly pack from six AAA Ni-MHs, but the heatshrink keeps it from fitting into my MHS hilt. I think I'll get me a couple of those 18500s and make a pack exactly like yours. What size heatshrink did you use?
    There's always a bigger fish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Thorn View Post
    Last night I made a butt-ugly pack from six AAA Ni-MHs, but the heatshrink keeps it from fitting into my MHS hilt.
    Matt, I made a pack from 6 AAA Ni-MH batteriesw and they fit just fine in a MHS hilt. Look at post number 6 in this thread: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=9386

    Live long and...I mean May the force be with you. http://saberconcepts.50.forumer.com/index.php

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rhyen Skytracker View Post
    Matt, I made a pack from 6 AAA Ni-MH batteriesw and they fit just fine in a MHS hilt. Look at post number 6 in this thread: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=9386
    Thanks, Rhyen. Yeah, I had thought about end-on-end, but was too clever by half and decided to make it into a "roll." That would work fine if I was using seven AAAs and extremely thin heatshrink, but, well, as you can see my little Frankenstein's monster did not turn out quite as well as I had hoped. BTW, that's hot glue on the ends, not "abstract expressionist soldering."

    There's always a bigger fish.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Thorn View Post
    ... the low mAh (900) of the 14500s limits the LEDs they can be used with...
    No, it doesn't. "h" = hours... Not the same as current output. The only thing that's "restricted" is runtime.

    "Miles are NOT the same thing as Miles Per Hour..."
    - Novastar



  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by eastern57 View Post
    No, it doesn't. "h" = hours... Not the same as current output. The only thing that's "restricted" is runtime.

    "Miles are NOT the same thing as Miles Per Hour..."
    - Novastar


    You're right, of course. My bad. Just forgot my ABCs there. Must be early-onset Alzheimers.
    There's always a bigger fish.

  10. #10

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    One of my favorite tuts.

    good job, Big Ez.

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