Lithium Ion Flight Packs....Making your own packs.

[English Turbines]

3DXR are UK based in North Yorkshire and can provide genuine cells...
Here: www.3dxr.co.uk/product-information/li-ion-batteries/

  The enduro cells are on sale for about £5.25p each if you want to make your own up, which sounds like a good idea to me.
Im not keen on how they have arranged the output lead TBH and think I can make a better job of it.

     


I have a large Soldering Iron capable of soldering them, question is, how viable is soldering them...?

Id like to hear from anyone who has experience of soldering these type of batteries.....Thanks....:)

[BigT]

My research has shown that the best way of connecting the cells is by double spot welding and using a metal tag. Some cells are available with the tag already attached to the cell. With My experience of soldering A123 cells and NiMh I defiantly would agree. There is a plan to build an Arduino based spot welder

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Arduino-Battery-Spot-Welder/

Or prebuilt here

https://malectrics.eu/product/diy-arduino-battery-spot-welder-prebuilt-kit-v3/

[Coyote]

You weld them not solder them.

[English Turbines]

 Yes, Im aware you can spot weld tags on them, however it's not very practical if you dont have one to hand.

I do have a home made spot welder from my Gas Turbine combustor making days, but it's designed to weld thin Inconel sheet metal together, Im not going to butcher it for this job.

  Im sure someone has soldered them, so please feel free to leave some tips on doing it..and dont does.....Thanks..:)

                                                                                                :vulture:

[FlyingRock]

I just solder mine together with a regular soldering iron.

Not as neat as a spot welder but does the job; no issues to date. will post a pic later...

Cheers

[English Turbines]

I just solder mine together with a regular soldering iron.

Not as neat as a spot welder but does the job; no issues to date. will post a pic later...

Cheers

  Cheers m8, Im hoping to make a 3 cell pack in a triangular shape customised for the Z84.

                                                                                                :vulture:

[Schalonsus]

Battery supply: www.nkon.nl
Soldering or welding?: if you have the experience, you can definitely solder these cells. Make sure you use a big soldering iron with a lot of power and use flux, so you can solder very quick and dont add too much heat to the cells (they really dont like it ;))
Or use a spot welder. There are a lot of options available. I use a DIY Arduino spot welder built myself https://github.com/KaeptnBalu/Arduino_Spot_Welder or you can buy it pre-build https://malectrics.eu/product/diy-arduino-battery-spot-welder-prebuilt-kit-v3/
Copper vs nickel: copper has less resistance than nickel http://dgroebe.free.fr/akkuwiderstand.htm but for what we are doing with this batteries, nickel is sufficient by all means. There is also copper band available and the DIY Arduino spot welder, if coupled with the right power source, is able to spot weld these.

Here is a thread from our german forum, lot of info, if you understand german: http://fpv-treff.de/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=8044

[English Turbines]

Battery supply: www.nkon.nl
Soldering or welding?: if you have the experience, you can definitely solder these cells. Make sure you use a big soldering iron with a lot of power and use flux, so you can solder very quick and dont add too much heat to the cells (they really dont like it ;))
Or use a spot welder. There are a lot of options available. I use a DIY Arduino spot welder built myself https://github.com/KaeptnBalu/Arduino_Spot_Welder or you can buy it pre-build https://malectrics.eu/product/diy-arduino-battery-spot-welder-prebuilt-kit-v3/
Copper vs nickel: copper has less resistance than nickel http://dgroebe.free.fr/akkuwiderstand.htm but for what we are doing with this batteries, nickel is sufficient by all means. There is also copper band available and the DIY Arduino spot welder, if coupled with the right power source, is able to spot weld these.

Here is a thread from our german forum, lot of info, if you understand german: http://fpv-treff.de/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=8044

  I have a large soldering iron and a tin of flux, so I will be careful not to overheat them...

They may even turn up tomorrow, making them up yourself works out about the same price as a lower C rating Lipo of the same capacity, but less bulk / weight.
  The other advantage is you get to choose how the cells are configured....
I saved some balance leads from old Lipos, so Im planning on recycling them, I may put some pics up if I dont make a pigs ear of it....lol.

                                                                                                :vulture:

[fpsazerbaijan]

I'd be interested in hearing how you get on, I'm thinking of doing a similar Li-ion pack for my AR Wing

[FlyingRock]

  Cheers m8, Im hoping to make a 3 cell pack in a triangular shape customised for the Z84.

I second what Schalonsus said...

Here's a picture of my packs; I have mainly used 3S on the Wing Wing so far but have now started using 4S as well.

On the picture, left to right: 1) 4S LG HG2, 3000mAh/ 20A continuous work-in-progress; 2) 4S LG MJ1 3500mAh/ 10A continuous; 3) 3S LG HG2 3000mAh / 20A continuous)

Some info on my Wing Wing here: http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php?topic=52398.0

Happy to help if you have any questions!

Cheers

[BigT]

Can a spot welder for LiLon packs really be as simple as this video?
https://youtu.be/o1NFbchHeM8


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[English Turbines]

I second what Schalonsus said...

Here's a picture of my packs; I have mainly used 3S on the Wing Wing so far but have now started using 4S as well.

On the picture, left to right: 1) 4S LG HG2, 3000mAh/ 20A continuous work-in-progress; 2) 4S LG MJ1 3500mAh/ 10A continuous; 3) 3S LG HG2 3000mAh / 20A continuous)

Some info on my Wing Wing here: http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php?topic=52398.0

Happy to help if you have any questions!

Cheers

Hi M8,
           I like the different cell ratings on max current draw. Im not sure what the cell ratings are for mine, but Im sure they will be ok for cruising around, I mean the Z84 will probably fly along on 4 amps or less.
  I have some XT30 connectors Im going to use too, more in keeping with the pack size...My 18650s Did Not come in yesterday's post so maybe they will arrive Monday...
  Spot welders are all well and good....if you have one to hand of course......:)

                                                                                                :vulture:   

[Dillwhacker]

Can a spot welder for LiLon packs really be as simple as this video?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wow, that's impressive.
I was expecting that the current had to flow from one metal part to the other.
Very nice.

[Schalonsus]

Much easier if you use a foot-switch and have both hands free for handling the batteries + welding tips.
Also you should press the welding tips with good pressure onto the welding point, otherwise the metal will sort of "explode" and a lot of material gets torn out.

[rank]

I'm using the LG HG2 batts, on setups, where I want to save weight, by using smaller P number packs, as they do provide the necessary Amps, in most of the cases.

Now, I have seen, that some people are switching over to Sony Vtc6 cells, saying they will never order HG2's again as the Sony cells are more capable, delivering 30A and have quite a bit more juice, compared to the LG cells.

I have checked several test reviews and those VTC6 seem to do very well.

Gearbeat have a sale on the authentic Sony VTC6 now (6 days to go), $33.99 for 8 pieces:

https://www.gearbest.com/batteries/pp_571931.html