need to protect my turnigy lipos...

[steveo]

Hey Everyone,

I'm looking at a easy way to protect my lipos.. I currently have them inside some battery bags with some soft foam protecting them..

this particular pack which is from my x6 Kmx Trike.. the pack consits of 2 groups of 4p 12s packs...

i've seen a pack that doc has done somewhere with a nice aluminum case and some very thin ruberized material that was put around the entire 3p24s pack he built...

the space i have is very limited with my new battery location.. i was thinking some nice strong duct tape wrapped around the cells.. with this ruberized protective stick on coating... (where do i fine this stuff ? or whats it called?

thanks
-steveo

 

[Punx0r]

Hard casing is essential IMO. I expect the bik to be able to fall over and hit battery-first onto a rock and the battery be undamaged. The idea of a simple drop resulting in a dented/punctured cell (and probably a fire) just isn't acceptable to me, despite all the corners I cut elsewhere This could be due to my propensity for falling off my bike and being too cheap to ever stand seeing £-hundreds go up in flames...

 

[Ypedal]

rigid plastic is a must imo to keep the surfaces of the packs flat, just using tape results in rounded corners when the cells expand and contract during cycling... rigid plastic, compression, and filament tape that will not stretch then, whatever you want over that.

 

[steveo]

rigid plastic is a must imo to keep the surfaces of the packs flat, just using tape results in rounded corners when the cells expand and contract during cycling... rigid plastic, compression, and filament tape that will not stretch then, whatever you want over that.

what plastic have you used and thats worked for you

thanks
-steveo

 

[Ypedal]

http://ypedal.com/Chaos/Chaos6.htm

http://ypedal.com/zippy/zippy.htm

http://ypedal.com/Cyclone/cyclone4.htm

http://ypedal.com/kmx/kmx2.htm

for starters.

8)

 

[gwhy!1]

I use these to put 2x 5000mah 6s lipos in its a very snug fit.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diecast-Aluminium-Project-Box-187x118x57mm-/300943494244?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item4611a14c64


I have 4 blowout blank grommets in the sides (20mm) just in case one of the batterys should want to let go.

you can also get this size of box in ABS.

 

[nicobie]

I make mine out of leftover bits of Formica and strapping tape.

 

[John in CR]

I use electrical tape for nice even compression and the shell of hard case packs at the ends of each series string to give them good corners. I remove the heat shrink from non-hardcase packs, because I don't like the way they deform the cells. It depends how and where the pack will be installed for what I use as a protective skin over the electrical tape. Metal is a last choice if I can avoid it....call me weird but other than necessary wiring I prefer to keep electrically conductive materials away from batteries. Fiberglass board like used for pcb's is one thing I've used, as well as fiberglass cloth.

 

[dogman dan]

Lots of good suggestions. Mixing hard packs and soft is brilliant.

I have not worried quite so much about compression, but I do want a protective box that is very tight, and does not crush the corners like a tight wrap of just tape. I want some more puncture resistance, but the way I have seen naked packs get damaged right away is from chafing around in the bag or box.

If I have space for it, I find the quickest easiest way to fold up a box is to use coroplast sign material. Not as protective as a sheet of metal, but light, easy to fabricate, and free if you hunt in the bushes alongside a road.

Another material that is pretty stiff and cheap, is the plastic sheet cut from storage boxes. Like the coroplast, it cuts easy, and can be folded into a stiff tight fitting box. Like the coroplast, you just tape the corners and the result is just as tight as tape, but keeps the corners square.

My very first box was aluminum. I cut and folded a cookie sheet into a box with 5 solid sides.

Currently, I am using a coroplast box around the packs I carry in an EM3ev triangle bag. Adds only 1/4 inch to the total width, and completely prevents chafing the cells as they bounce in there just a bit. I suppose it compresses some, but not much. If a pack puffs, I have to cut the box off the cells. I make these boxes VERY tight. I also make them fairly small, no more than about 500w per box. Mostly that's so I can carry a smaller pack for shorter rides, or power two bikes at once. But the smaller size keeps the box rigid, when using semi flexible materials.