Assembled Hi-Power LiPo battery packs - any interest?

[jonescg]

Some proof these packs are solid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbQx5dpGJVs

[jonescg]

Rodney64 came ofer to my place to have a look at the pack I'd built and we got talking about different configurations. Right now I can do 15 Ah and 25 Ah based on the boards I have, but I'm wondering if 20 Ah (4p) would be useful too?

Couple of pics of layout and size:
Shorter

Longer


15 amp hour varieties:

10s3p - 10 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~38 V, 15 Ah, 570 Wh stored, 270 L x 50 W x 150 H (mm)
15s3p - 15 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~57 V, 15 Ah, 855 Wh stored, 410 L x 50 W x 150 H (mm)
20s3p - 20 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~76 V, 15 Ah, 1140 Wh stored, 270 L x 100 W x 150 H (mm)
30s3p - 30 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~114 V, 15 Ah, 1710 Wh stored, 410 L x 100 W 150 H (mm)

20 amp hour varieties (new!):

7s4p - 7 cells in series, 4 in parallel ~26 V, 20 Ah, 520 Wh stored, 250 L x 50 W x 150 H (mm)
10s4p - 10 cells in series, 4 in parallel ~38 V, 20 Ah, 760 Wh stored, 333 L x 50 W x 150 H (mm)
14s4p - 14 cells in series, 4 in parallel ~52 V, 20 Ah, 1040 Wh stored, 250 L x 100 W x 150 H (mm)
20s4p - 20 cells in series, 4 in parallel ~76 V, 20 Ah, 1520 Wh stored, 333 L x 100 W x 150 H (mm)

25 amp hour varieties:

12s5p - 12 cells in series, 5 in parallel ~45.6 V, 25 Ah, 1140 Wh stored, 270 L, 100 W, 150 H (mm)
18s5p - 18 cells in series, 5 in parallel ~68.4 V, 25 Ah, 1710 WH stored, 410 L x 100 W x 150 H (mm)

Energy density is about 140 Wh/kg.

Cost to customers is going to be about $1.15 per Wh, which includes me paying myself something.

[BunburyJason]

I'd be interested in something in between the 20s3p and the 30s3p - Do you also include a BMS?

20s3p - 20 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~76 V, 15 Ah, 1140 Wh stored, 270 L x 100 W x 150 H (mm)
30s3p - 30 cells in series, 3 in parallel ~114 V, 15 Ah, 1710 Wh stored, 410 L x 100 W 150 H (mm)

Idealy i'm after the most voltage @ 15Ah that I can fit in my front triangle I'm talking to Hyena Industries about his Hadron Mark IV kit but will have to go 72v 10Ah if I want to fit the batteries in the trinagle.

Would be interested to see what other sizes it could be done in - can you also heat wrap the end product?

[jonescg]

Hi Jason,

These packs are really ideally designed for big rectangular boxes, so the triangle will need to be pretty big. It can be broken up into smaller blocks though. Next time you are up Perth way, let me know and you should drop in for a cuppa and have a look at them.

The 15 Ah pack can be made up to 114 V nominal, but the standard size and shape is still pretty big. 1.7 kWh is necessarily big though

[jonescg]

Kits for overseas buyers:

For the keen DIYer, I can send the boards and tinned copper to you. You can order the cells from HobbyKing yourself, and pay whatever shipping it comes to yourself. You will need to know what you're doing with a pair of big soldering irons, and be well prepared. I can guide in this area

For a 38 volt, 15 Ah pack like the one pictured, I reckon I could sell the kit minus cells for XXX plus shipping (which won't be much). Can't get over the high cost of cut copper...

Kits will sell for $60 each, with free shipping! Any size, any destination, $60 per board includes all the tinned copper and balance leads if you want them.

[Rodney64]

Chris I'm ready for you to build my board and harness. 72 volt 25 amps.

[jonescg]

Rod - that's awesome! Now what is the biggest block of cells you can have? Obviously the 1.7 kWh block was too long and too wide, but we might be able to split it into three sub-packs?

If you have the dimensions let me know and we can start planning.

[Rodney64]

Chris-the 72 volt 24 amp pack measures 410/150/100mm. To fit we would need 5 packs measuring 82/100/150 with the frame being 97mm wide this leaves 15mms for padding (corflute sheets) and wires.

Would 5 be possible.

[Rodney64]

Frame dimentsions

[jonescg]

split pack design.JPG

(38.65 KiB) Downloaded 8 times

Hi Rod,

I reckon we can still fit them in, but the cells need to face sideways. You say the inside of the frame is 97 mm? Dammit! Why couldn't it be 107 mm! This is annoying, cause the terminations are not lined up for serial connections. It could be done, but this means a short jumper cable will need to join each sub pack. This would also mean the terminations protrude higher than the 150 mm planned. Maybe 160 max?

An alternative is to go for a 15 amp hour pack, and accept a lower capacity for the same voltage? At least this way the terminations line up in series for easy one-bolt/nut connections.

[Rodney64]

Yes I think we will go with the 15 amp pack and if needed at a latter date we can add another. I'm sure theres enough room in the frame for 2 of these. How will this affect with bulk charging. When I come round today I will bring the drawing.

[deVries]

Kits for overseas buyers:

For the keen DIYer, I can send the boards and tinned copper to you. You can order the cells from HobbyKing yourself, and pay whatever shipping it comes to yourself. You will need to know what you're doing with a pair of big soldering irons, and be well prepared. I can guide in this area

For a 38 volt, 15 Ah pack like the one pictured, I reckon I could sell the kit minus cells for $80 plus shipping (which won't be much). Can't get over the high cost of cut copper...

Sweet.

Please do an assembly instruction video including soldering the tabs and post a link to it here. If you need help converting or editing the video for posting, then I could do that for you no charge to help out.

[Rodney64]

Chris with the 24s what was the length. Provided that we can slide the packs up as well as down then we should be able to get the 24s in the frame do you agree.

[jonescg]

Rod,
With a 15 Ah, 24S pack we're looking at 400 mm long, 81 mm wide and still about 150-160 mm tall, depending on the terminations. Squeezing the last couple of 3P packs in will be the only real challenge, but like I said, you might be able to nibble a notch into the frame a bit to manoeuvre the last pack in. For an LVC / HVC setup you can use 4 of Method's boards.

I will try to make a purchase of 180 cells in 2 weeks time, provided some more folks join in with the purchase.
CHRIS

[Rodney64]

Thanks Chris, ready to purchase

[jonescg]

Update guys; I have placed an order for a stack of 4P boards to be made. This would yield a 20 Ah pack, so you would be able to get the voltage up pretty high and still have a decent capacity battery. They won't be in my hot little hands for another month, but I just thought I'd let you know the option was there.

Cheers,
CHRIS

[jonescg]

4P boards are in!

What does this mean? I can build you a 14s4p battery which weighs about 8 kg, stores 1 kWh and is just 252 mm long, 100 mm wide and 150 mm tall. It can be balanced effortlessly with a Hyperion 1420 balancer, and can be charged with a standard 58.4 volt KingPan style charger from Cell_Man or the like. You can even get 3 of method's 5S "Complete HobbyKing LiPo Protection Kits" and they solder right onto the packs.

All I need is for HobbyKing to stock more 40C cells...

[DALBYNATOR]

4P boards are in!

What does this mean? I can build you a 14s4p battery which weighs about 8 kg, stores 1 kWh and is just 252 mm long, 100 mm wide and 150 mm tall. It can be balanced effortlessly with a Hyperion 1420 balancer, and can be charged with a standard 58.4 volt KingPan style charger from Cell_Man or the like. You can even get 3 of method's 5S "Complete HobbyKing LiPo Protection Kits" and they solder right onto the packs.

All I need is for HobbyKing to stock more 40C cells...

Hi mate, just wondering where you source your Hyperion 1420's from?

Cheers, Tom.

[jonescg]

I don't stock them, but there are a few kicking around on ebay. There are a few hobby shops around the traps who sell them too, but from what I have read ebay stores are about as cheap as they come. You still need a decent power supply for them though, and these aren't cheap - at least another $80 for a high power 24 V supply.

[jonescg]

DeVires will be happy

All of Rodney's 40C cells have arrived so I will be able to start putting together a little video on how to assemble the packs from scratch. Perfect for those poor folks outside of Australia who wish to avoid double shipping costs.

I'm going on an overnight motorcycle trip next weekend, but the one after will be a good time to start.

Cheers,
Chris

[Rodney64]

Ordered and paid today for my elcon charger. 24S lipo fully charged on the bike in 1 hour. Exciting

[Spacey]

Kits for overseas buyers:

For the keen DIYer, I can send the boards and tinned copper to you. You can order the cells from HobbyKing yourself, and pay whatever shipping it comes to yourself. You will need to know what you're doing with a pair of big soldering irons, and be well prepared. I can guide in this area

For a 38 volt, 15 Ah pack like the one pictured, I reckon I could sell the kit minus cells for $80 plus shipping (which won't be much). Can't get over the high cost of cut copper...

If you made up some boards for A123 Cells you would make some money.

[jonescg]

Agniusm has already made up some sweet boards for A123s in a 1P setup. Tough to beat them. I have my own ideas for EIG cells, but they will be 2P, maybe 3P depending on the application.
On the LiPo front I hope to make a start next weekend

[amberwolf]

I have my own ideas for EIG cells, but they will be 2P, maybe 3P depending on the application.

EIG already makes hardware for their cells/packs that should let you parallel or series them, and stack them neatly and bolt into packs, from what I could see of the few pics posted here and there. When you next try to get an answer from them about 1000+ quantities, you ought to ask about the pack-making hardware, too.

[jonescg]

I don't think their system is as space efficient as it could be. Sure, to have a nice box to put them in is handy, but their terminations are bulky. I reckon I can do a better job