DIY Battery Pack

[MaverickNH]

View: https://youtu.be/YgKE8C_V1Y0


I built this 14.8V battery pack following OH8STN’s video using 4 x 3.7V 8800 mAh 26650 cells and a CF-4S30A-A Battery Management System (BMS) board. The cells are spot-welded together using nickel strips using a mini spot-welder. It will get covered in a clear heat shrink-wrap bag for weather resistance. I have a Genasun GV-5-mod solar charge controller on order to interface for charging.

It should work well with my Icom IC-705 and (tr)uSDX radios.

 

[ToddDubya]

I saw that video the other day and really wondered what makes it better than this? You can get more current I suppose, but there's not much capacity, so you wouldn't use it for high current applications.

Bioenno Tech LLC / Bioenno Power BLF-1203AB

12 Volt, 3 Ah LFP Battery (PVC, BLF-1203AB)

www.hamradio.com

 

[MaverickNH]

I saw that video the other day and really wondered what makes it better than this? You can get more current I suppose, but there's not much capacity, so you wouldn't use it for high current applications.

Bioenno Tech LLC / Bioenno Power BLF-1203AB

12 Volt, 3 Ah LFP Battery (PVC, BLF-1203AB)

www.hamradio.com

Good question there. The Bioenno has a PCM Protection Circuit Module vs a BMS (Battery Maintenance System), with PCM functions a subset of BMS functions. For the use here, it seems a PCM would suffice as additional features of a BMS that can feedback to the device and/or user detailed battery information is not utilized.

Once you buy a mini spot-welder, the costs of build are lower than buy, if you buy bulk quantities of cells. The “best” cells are more costly (as I used in my build) but “good” cells (5000 mAh vs 8800 mAhr) are much cheaper.

I’ll keep the Genasun charge controller separate in a 3D printed case rather than wrapping with a battery unit, so I can use it with different battery units. I’m not a super-minimalist ultralight sort of guy. If I wanted to shred ounces, I’d lose 10lb on a diet before going gear-crazy (17lb is my goal in 2023).

Low Profile Housing for Genasun GV-5 MPPT Charger by EelAudio

I needed a lower profile holder for my Genasun GV-5, so I came up with this flat housing that allows connection the inputs/outputs with Anderson Powerpoles. The part number for the 6-32 threaded insert is 93365A132 from McMaster Carr. I should have taken a picture before blobbing on all that...

www.thingiverse.com