Re-building a NiMh battery pack

[sparky5]

Hi all.
I have a spare battery case for my LAFree and see that "D" cells rated at 11ah are avaliable at just under £9 a pair this would make a re-celled battery less than £100 however they are not "tagged".
Has anyone managed to solder a complete pack using ordinary D cells?
Is it a possibility without destroying the cells?
If so what precautions should I take?
I dont want to waste time and money on a "non starter"!
I see from his brilliant web site that flecc built a pack with 128 AA cells,
the question is it going to be as easy using D cells?

Cheers, Mark.

 

[flecc]

Unfortunately there's not enough width in the Lafree case for using button end cells Mark, especially with solder joins added, and the two case halves wouldn't meet. The existing pack uses flat end cells with spot welded joining plates and with the insulation is a very tight fit anyway.

I'm also very suspicious about those 11 Ah cells advertised on ebay, and I very much doubt they are capable of high discharge rates. The reason for my suspicion is that e-bike manufacturers like eZee and Powacycle are unable to source adequate cells of more than 8.5 Ah currently, and even those don't perform as well as they'd like. If those 11 Ah ones were any good they'd be using them, especially given the very low price.
.