How to puff a lipo

[Hillhater]

Hey Hillhater, I have a pair of 6s packs that have done the same thing. They were only "slightly puffed" compared to Dogman's picture, the lowest cell was @ 2.1 volts. I have 15 cycles on it since and it's working fine. Maybe we caught them just in time before irreversible damage was done? Mark

Thanks Mark, I didnt fancy junking a $50 pack after only one cycle !!
And yes, mine was not really puffed like dog's, just a little "bloated" and warm ( 50 deg C)
... but i guess i will not be riding with it near my crotch for a few more cycles at least ! :wink: :lol:

 

[dogman dan]

The slightly puffed pack can be used if it still charges. Charge it in a safe place for sure. The gas that is puffing it is both flamable and highly toxic. But it's likely not to go 500 cycles. I have one that puffs slightly when charged, but if it sits long enough, it goes back down.

 

[fabiograssi]

maybe:

http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/accessories/110G12-blok-lok-clamp-4-sets.html

 

[dogman dan]

I had tape on the anderson housing, but the contact backed out. I read on another thread where it was said you should have the andersons able to float a bit to make the best contact on the inside. So out goes my idea of just gluing the anderson into the housing.

Just gotta get those things clicked in right, sometimes they click, but can wiggle too much and back back out. gotta have em shaped right, and sometimes crimping bends em some. Fussy fussy fussy. Concidering soldering the kind of connector that comes with em now. By spring I'll be leaving the power level of 45 amp andersons behind anyway. I'm starting to think buss bars and stuff.

 

[Ykick]

'had a few Anderson contacts back out of housing but luckily only on my low current stuff. I now always use a sharp pick to push those contacts into the housing. If you don't get the "click" don't trust it!

I crimp and solder each one while making sure it's not deformed before "click" assembly into the housing.

 

[fabiograssi]

I don't know if my experience is enough to give advices, but my method with andersons is:

- I just solder. Lost to many pieces trying to crimp. I know that is much faster crimp, but.... (and Dogman: I hate to solder anything too, but in this case I prefer...)
- I have to hear the "click" when I am inserting the wire+metal piece inside the housing, and I noticed that when I crimp, because of some kind of deformity in the metal piece (I think), it is harder to this "click" occurs
- I always use a small screwdriver to install the wire and contact inside the housing

-- Fabio

 

[dogman dan]

It's the deforming during crimping that is the problem, and I am using a cheapie crimper, not one designed for andersons. A bent one can click, and then come undone later. And you sure can bend one stuffing it in, so the screwdriver or pick is good advice.

 

[fabiograssi]

Weel, the powerwerx sell a cheap tool to put the contactors inside the housing. For me, living in Brazil, all things becomes expensive due the freight costs.... But for you, maybe worth the money:

http://www.powerwerx.com/tools-meters/anderson-powerpole-insertion-removal-tool.html

Best Regards,

-- Fabio

 

[geoff57]

Weel, the powerwerx sell a cheap tool to put the contactors inside the housing. For me, living in Brazil, all things becomes expensive due the freight costs.... But for you, maybe worth the money:

http://www.powerwerx.com/tools-meters/anderson-powerpole-insertion-removal-tool.html

Best Regards,

-- Fabio

Hi
Thanks for that link I will order one with my next order from powerwex.

Geoff

 

[zukster]

Also, to keep them from backing out. Use Krazy glue gel on the back where the
wire goes into the housing. Or Super glue dollar store equivalent. I've never had
one back out yet. I read somewhere that Anderson recommends crazy glue to
keep them from separating when you lock two together. If you try this, make
sure you get them even quickly before it hardens.

 

[dogman dan]

Odd, I heard that the andersons need to float in the housing, so they can properly align with the opposite contact when connected. If you think aobut it, that makes perfect sense.

What I have found, is that if the contact is bent up too much, the lip doesn't grab the spring well. So when crimping, make sure you don't deform them, and if you do, bend em back down a tad.

 

[itchynackers]

I always chime in when Andersons come up. I used to think they were great. They are not. I have the proper crimper too. I will say, they are easy, but for lipo, or any other connection that NEEDS to be reliable, they are worthless and as Dogman showed, can be dangerous. Don't risk it. This "backing out" issue is common, even when you hear the click. Bottom line: don't use them except for low current, non-critical connections, such as an on/off key switch. Worst case, the bike shuts off.

 

[zukster]

I've built many harnessess with Andersons with the wires glued in that get daily use and I've never
had a contact problem yet. Not with the floating issue or backing out anyway. Maybe they're not as
tight as Dean's or Dean clones, but with my 15 dollar crimpers from The Source, they sure are easy
to work with. I never bother to solder them. The only thing I've worried about is them coming loose.
I resolved this with either the plastic Anderson locks or little zap straps. I figure its worth the
effort because they're so easy to color code and key so you never plug anything in the wrong way.
The only thing I don't like is that they're not easy to waterproof. I've got around this with liberal
use of silicon dielectric reapplied monthly. Here's some examples. Red-Black for power. Red-Green
for charging. Note how I can't possibly get these mixed up. They are colored and keyed differently.

 

[dogman dan]

A great deal depends on how much current you are pulling. I couldn't agree more, for really high power current, you need something better than 15-30-45 andersons.

I stopped having problems with contacts backing out of the housing when I started paying attention. I tape the connector housings when it's critical, like a paralell connection. If series comes loose the bike stops. In a race, everything is taped.

Like others, I still like the andersons for the flexibility. I don't need special adapter harnesses to swap back and forth from series to paralell, and the connection spark on the controller doesn't ruin em.

 

[liveforphysics]

I like to hardwire LiPo. Solder the discharge leads, solder the balance leads, and forget about having inter-pack connector related failures (which are fairly common).

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, the stuff you are up to, I would too. Loved the bussbar design you recomended to the drag racer.

Me, I'm just dorking around with controllers that max at 40 amps and cheap hubmotors. Yawn. For me the most important thing is being able to change my pack configurations in seconds to run on any bike in the stable. So nothing is permanently wired on my stuff. But I have learned to tape those andersons together.

I'm doing ok, six months into lipo now, two defective packs recieved out of 20 but the two slightly puffed ones are working for awhile. Only one pack destroyed out of wiring a pack stupid. The lesson learned, think about where the lvc buzzer is, and don't put it where a disconnect leaves it's partner still running.

The real lipo carnage is the motor I melted down. But 3600 watts was sure fun on the dirtbike for one day.

 

[AussieJester]

Loved the bussbar design you recommended to the drag racer.

I liked it so much i made a mini version bus bar setup for my new bike. Finished shortening all the wires on my 8 packs this evening... step closer to testing time

KiM

 

[dogman dan]

Man, is that ever better than my 100v 10 ah birds nest of wires and andersons. 8)

 

[docnjoj]

Damn AJ! I hate that you can talk to metal and it just does what you want! I finaly gave up most of my chewing bevers for store bought but I still dabble in hand grips and such from bent alloy. My beavers are always ready to chew on alloy at my commmand. Really fine professional work comes out of your shop! Wah!
otherDoc