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How to make a lightweight battery

Featured Replies

Take one Aldi aluminium water bottle and cut the bottom off with a Dremmel:

 

1.thumb.jpg.239f03ad108be72e8acd3f77d2c33663.jpg

 

10 cells will fit in with the BMS alongside, or you can get 12 cells with the BMS on top. The BMS I used is just too big to fit clat, but I think it might fit if you rounded off the corners. 2.thumb.jpg.55fc9b5c015e8d00a63240a4162e353a.jpg

 

4.thumb.jpg.cf8b0ee8d6870f77c076bcfa464632a9.jpg

 

It needs a charge socket.

 

5.thumb.jpg.6a6aac672ebecdcf7af3e48b2ca9cdc2.jpg 8.thumb.jpg.20bff06ba71e753c697dac9e86cbec57.jpg

The socket was epoxied in, then I had to cut down the top a bit:

 

before

6.thumb.jpg.70257c4f22cc47deb8d9024ca0331a01.jpg

 

after

7.thumb.jpg.69662307f656372c1ec3cf686b42f3ce.jpg

cell pack welded and ready to wire up:

20170708_204705.thumb.jpg.58c92707368c2719dc286c87487d0abf.jpg

 

Cell-pack wired and wrapped:

 

9.thumb.jpg.d7796044347d0ad6ce59f1283d875dcb.jpg

 

Finished 36v 6Ah battery with LG HG2 cells - a smidgeon over 1 kg. Cost about £100 in total. It's the first totally waterproof battery I've ever had:

 

10.thumb.jpg.936222b2938cf2db808535a4964e0a48.jpg

 

How it looks on the bike:

 

20170716_183944.thumb.jpg.18f8840d7b36347dd3e9d5d6a413c594.jpg

You have a typo d8veh, 36 V 6 Ah. :)

 

Show us a photo of the bottom please. I guess that is where the wire comes out. Two of those in parallel is still only 2.17 kg ! Would work great with a BBS01 or GSM with internal controller!

You have a typo d8veh, 36 V 6 Ah. :)

 

Show us a photo of the bottom please. I guess that is where the wire comes out. Two of those in parallel is still only 2.17 kg ! Would work great with a BBS01 or GSM with internal controller!

 

The bottom is just a round piece of 5mm plywood with a hole for the wires to come out at the moment. This is what will be printed off out of plastic in the next couple of days:

 

20170716_205850.thumb.jpg.5ef4816a33e0271411da1d55cf94db8d.jpg

Great battery, you make it look easy to build this stuff!

 

Can I ask about the choice of cells? You've gone with high drain IMRs, but I wouldn't think you need high drain, presumably 35w or so per cell which you could get from higher capacity (3500mAh MJ1) cells also.

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Only 2 cells in parallel means that I need a battery capable of 10 real amps from each one. The Xiongda controller is only 11 amps, but I'll probably increase it to 15 or 16A later, just to see how the motor performs. I also want to try 12S and 15 amps, but I'll have to make another battery for that.

The new base is coming shortly;

batterybase.png.3a1fd6769a6dad46935b737828b09b40.png

Love the battery build.

 

Are you sourcing your cells and BMS in the UK, if so would you particularly recommend any supplier? I have just repaired my Sunkko 788 welder so keen to put together a similar pack to this one, though perhaps 10s3p.

they charge £3.95 for p&p.

 

did they send them by post? if they did, naughty, naughty...

they charge £3.95 for p&p.

 

It's the total cost that counts. 20 cells for £86.75. can you find them cheaper?

4.78 € from nkon compared to your 4.83 € so 0.05 E cheaper shipping included of course. I am interested in your battery performance report next! Come on get out there and use the damned thing, the weather is great! :)
It's the total cost that counts. 20 cells for £86.75. can you find them cheaper?

no, but I already have Samsung cells in the workshop. I was looking for ways to make a kit for the Brompton but not interested enough to start anything.

I am only beginning to get really interested since reading your thread on the YTW06 motor.

I

Edited by Woosh

  • 3 weeks later...

 

Hi d8veh

 

My lipo packs are dying and 18650 have moved on so much I won't be replaceing them

 

Instead id like to make two of the bottle batteries. Use one for commutes and use two for longer trips. I still have a huge and heavy 16ah dolphin pack from Jimmy which shows no sign of degradation after 18 months hard use

 

I'd probably go for 3400mah cells which I can get ffrom nkon.nl

 

But would you be able to recommend me a BMS (and where to buy?)

 

Many thanks

This is the BMS I used, which fits in the Aldi bottle next to the cells:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10S-36V-Li-ion-Lithium-Cell-40A-18650-Battery-Protection-BMS-PCB-Board-Balance/32697273276.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.58.DLQ3gY&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10130_10068_10209_10192_10190_5430020_5410020_10307_10301_10137_10303_10060_10155_10154_5370011_10056_10055_10054_10059_100031_10099_5400020_10103_10102_10052_10053_10107_10050_10142_10051_5380020_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_5420020_10112_5390011_10113_10114_10179_10312_10313_10314_10184_10315_10078_10079_10210_10073,searchweb201603_2,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bb543e8c-2aed-42d3-8251-2920ddf33101&algo_expid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b-7&algo_pvid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b&transAbTest=ae803_3

 

The Aldi bottle is 80mm O/D. I have since bought some similar bottles from Ebay, but it turns out that they're only 73mm O/D, which means that there's no room for that BMS, though you can still easily get 10 cells in. I found this BMS, which might just fit, so i will order a couple to see. They're only 16 amps, so only good for up to 15A controllers:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-10S-36V-37V-16A-Li-ion-Lithium-Battery-BMS-PCB-PCM-Suitable-For-Ebike-Electric/32823734788.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.95.DLQ3gY&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10130_10068_10209_10192_10190_5430020_5410020_10307_10301_10137_10303_10060_10155_10154_5370011_10056_10055_10054_10059_100031_10099_5400020_10103_10102_10052_10053_10107_10050_10142_10051_5380020_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_5420020_10112_5390011_10113_10114_10179_10312_10313_10314_10184_10315_10078_10079_10210_10073,searchweb201603_2,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bb543e8c-2aed-42d3-8251-2920ddf33101&algo_expid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b-

 

Here you can see the problem:

 

20170811_143914.thumb.jpg.36a7e9508d9f2d31a969a8b8dcb13d08.jpg

 

20170811_144013_001.thumb.jpg.4323b1af5aad398e0e3fe956138e244a.jpg

This is the BMS I used, which fits in the Aldi bottle next to the cells:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10S-36V-Li-ion-Lithium-Cell-40A-18650-Battery-Protection-BMS-PCB-Board-Balance/32697273276.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.58.DLQ3gY&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10130_10068_10209_10192_10190_5430020_5410020_10307_10301_10137_10303_10060_10155_10154_5370011_10056_10055_10054_10059_100031_10099_5400020_10103_10102_10052_10053_10107_10050_10142_10051_5380020_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_5420020_10112_5390011_10113_10114_10179_10312_10313_10314_10184_10315_10078_10079_10210_10073,searchweb201603_2,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bb543e8c-2aed-42d3-8251-2920ddf33101&algo_expid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b-7&algo_pvid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b&transAbTest=ae803_3

 

The Aldi bottle is 80mm O/D. I have since bought some similar bottles from Ebay, but it turns out that they're only 73mm O/D, which means that there's no room for that BMS, though you can still easily get 10 cells in. I found this BMS, which might just fit, so i will order a couple to see. They're only 16 amps, so only good for up to 15A controllers:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-10S-36V-37V-16A-Li-ion-Lithium-Battery-BMS-PCB-PCM-Suitable-For-Ebike-Electric/32823734788.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.95.DLQ3gY&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10130_10068_10209_10192_10190_5430020_5410020_10307_10301_10137_10303_10060_10155_10154_5370011_10056_10055_10054_10059_100031_10099_5400020_10103_10102_10052_10053_10107_10050_10142_10051_5380020_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_5420020_10112_5390011_10113_10114_10179_10312_10313_10314_10184_10315_10078_10079_10210_10073,searchweb201603_2,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bb543e8c-2aed-42d3-8251-2920ddf33101&algo_expid=df1593c6-cae5-4035-8815-274c94e5401b-

 

Here you can see the problem:

 

[ATTACH=full]20728[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=full]20729[/ATTACH]

 

Thank you , really useful stuff. And that bms is also on eBay. Had you said you just had in stock it's the one I would order. Your better fitting 16a doesn't work for me sadly. My GSM pulls more and I'm after interchangeable packs across my bikes (like lipo but without the hassle and risk)

 

10s2p of cells works for me but I'll be sure to measure the donor bottles very carefully first

Edited by KirstinS

cell pack welded and ready to wire up:

[ATTACH=full]20273[/ATTACH]

 

Cell-pack wired and wrapped:

 

[ATTACH=full]20274[/ATTACH]

 

Finished 36v 6Ah battery with LG HG2 cells - a smidgeon over 1 kg. Cost about £100 in total. It's the first totally waterproof battery I've ever had:

 

[ATTACH=full]20275[/ATTACH]

 

How it looks on the bike:

 

[ATTACH=full]20276[/ATTACH]

Is that your soup in the other bottle or the controller? So 2 for not much more than 2 kilo and my 10amp battery weighs 4.6kg! I wonder why commercial batteries are so much heavier? Better start looking if Aldi still have any bottles left!

Is that your soup in the other bottle or the controller? So 2 for not much more than 2 kilo and my 10amp battery weighs 4.6kg! I wonder why commercial batteries are so much heavier? Better start looking if Aldi still have any bottles left!

 

They often use more cells of lower capacity (ie cheaper)

 

But age is amassive factor. High drain 3000mah cells or more simply didn't exist a couple of years ago

 

Nkon are doing Samsung 30q on a discount. 73 euro delivered for 20 cells (so 36v 6ah)

  • 7 months later...

Going to have a go at building one of these packs for both mine and my partners ebikes.

 

I am running an electricbikeconversions rear hub kit with the standard controller '36v – 15AH Max-7AH rated Fully Matched Intelligent Controller', she is running a panda pro kit which I think uses a similar spec'd controller.

 

I have looked in to batteries and I think with a 36s2p setup cells that give ~10amp continuous would be sufficient for both of us now and would give slightly more (20amp cont) if we wanted to upgrade controllers slightly in the future.

 

From that I assume going for higher mAH batteries to get closer to 36V@7ah would be the way to go?

https://eu.nkon.nl/rechargeable/18650-size/samsung-inr18650-35e.html

 

Or is it a better bet to go for a 3000maH but 15amp continuous cell for the additional peak?

 

Thanks

Ian

I am thinking of a small battery and really like the Sony VTC6 - 30 A and 3100 mAh. I also like the Sanyo 20700 - 15 A and 4100 mAh.

 

The more Amps discharge the better in my neck of the woods.

I am thinking of a small battery and really like the Sony VTC6 - 30 A and 3100 mAh. I also like the Sanyo 20700 - 15 A and 4100 mAh.

 

The more Amps discharge the better in my neck of the woods.

 

Those look like some expensive cell options! What supplier were you looking at?

Nkon - putting 20 high Amp discharge cells in a battery for 95€ or 40 lower discharge cheaper ones in a bigger battery to get up the same hill my vote is for small and light weight powerful option.

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