Model Boat Mayhem

Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips => The "Black Arts!" ( Electrics & Electronics ) => Topic started by: Timmer on March 29, 2010, 02:57:00 pm

Title: Home made battery packs
Post by: Timmer on March 29, 2010, 02:57:00 pm


   Hi everybody. Has anybody got any useful tips on making my own battery packs?
Title: Re: Home made battery packs
Post by: andyn on March 29, 2010, 03:11:50 pm
Easy enough to do with Nimh's so long as you buy cells with solder tags. This way you can use an ordinary soldering iron to connect them together.

I chopped a 1700mah nicd apart that came in my heng long tank and made a 1.2v 10200mah pack for powering my glowstart for IC engines.
Title: Re: Home made battery packs
Post by: PMK on March 29, 2010, 03:25:46 pm
For those NiMHs and NiCDs without the solder tags, you can buy a double-headed bit that attaches to the soldering iron, designed to apply heat to the terminals of two cells at once. The idea is to apply heat to the negative of the first cell and also to the positive of the second cell, then quickly push both cells together while the solder is still molten.
The only other tip I'd recommend - especially in the case of NiMH cells - is to use a hefty-wattage iron and not to linger with the heat on the terminals for any longer than necessary.
Title: Re: Home made battery packs
Post by: Timmer on March 29, 2010, 04:20:58 pm
Ah.......easy then :embarrassed: ill let you know how i get on
Title: Re: Home made battery packs
Post by: DickyD on March 29, 2010, 05:21:02 pm
They let you take your computer into the General then  {-)
Title: Re: Home made battery packs
Post by: malcolmfrary on March 30, 2010, 11:23:22 am
When soldering non-tagged cells, breaking the plating with emery helps, as does using flux to help with tinning.  I had to re-learn this sort of thing after many years of using pre-tinned wire.  Using a BIG iron is vital to ensure that the time spent heating the cell is minimised.