A123 - Less Voltage = Less Power?

[BritCrawler]

Like I said above, in this day and age I never expect things to do what the maker says, unless I can see it happen.

I'm just a twisted cynic though, so you are permitted to ignore me ;)

[Rubbaneck]

Originally Posted by BritCrawler

I am seriously considering using A123 rather than conventional LiPo

I have a battery for you to look at.

Here's what I run CLICKY. Make them into a 3c and your Rig will be very happy. You can find them in Milwaukee Tools (part number 48-11-1815) .

Here's one that's next on the plate to tear down. Dewalt

[BritCrawler]

It's a beefy LiPo battery... where's the big deal?

[Rubbaneck]

Originally Posted by BritCrawler

It's a beefy LiPo battery... where's the big deal?

Huh?

[BritCrawler]

Sorry, it's very hard to read the label, and even if I can I dunno wth the cells are ;)

The spec sheet just describes them ad Lithium-Ion, no mention of what they are or what's so special about them. Pardon my ignorance.

EDIT: I looked em up on Google, s this is supposed to be better than A123? That's great, but what do you charge it with? Will a normal LiPo charger work with it? Is it as safe as A123?

EDITED EDIT: Oh and can someone explain the significance of these graphs you keep posting? They show the output voltage at a mAh in the battery's life, right? Does that mean that under heavy load the cells shown above drop to 3.5V? And I assume the basis of Chris's argument is A123s don't do that, they sag down below 3V per cell?

[Rubbaneck]

Originally Posted by BritCrawler

Sorry, it's very hard to read the label, and even if I can I dunno wth the cells are ;)

The spec sheet just describes them ad Lithium-Ion, no mention of what they are or what's so special about them. Pardon my ignorance.

EDIT: I looked em up on Google, s this is supposed to be better than A123? That's great, but what do you charge it with? Will a normal LiPo charger work with it? Is it as safe as A123?

No worries bud.

They are smaller then the A123's and are just as safe. I charge mine on a Duratrax ICE charger. It takes a little while if it's really dumped, plus I don't balance my packs. These are perfect for a 2.2 crawler but not enough for a super. I ran the li-po's for about two charges and started running these because of the price value.

[Joat]

Originally Posted by Rubbaneck

I have a battery for you to look at.

Here's what I run CLICKY. Make them into a 3c and your Rig will be very happy. You can find them in Milwaukee Tools (part number 48-11-1815) .

Here's one that's next on the plate to tear down. Dewalt

Is there 10 cells in the Milwaukee v18 pack?
I had one of my makita ion packs drop 3 cells recently, so of course I tore it apart and got 7 good cells to play with, I think they are sony's ? but seeing as the mil packs are $10+ cheaper for the same amount of cells might pick up on so I can have 2x 2s2p and use the rest of the loose cells to convert some cordless stuff over from nicad/nimh to ion.

[BritCrawler]

Forgive my lack of knowledge of these codes, what is a '2P' setup?

[ironkey]

Hi
2p refers to two cells wired in parallel to give double the run time. 2s2p means two cells in series (more volts) and 2 cells in parallel (more run time) total 4 cells

[BritCrawler]

Ah, right so, for A123, a 2s2p pack would only put out 6.6V but last 2x as long? What about 6s2p, for example, is that 3 sets of 2 parallel cells, mated up to give double run time, and 11.1V?

Those MOLICELLs look great but I've no clue how I'd get hold of them in the UK. I think I'll stick to A123s for now and if any of those crop up in the UK I'll switch over. I'd like a properly made up, balanced pack really, I'm a bit of a kacker when it comes to soldering, I can just about manage to solder on Deans plugs :P

[ironkey]

Hi
Think my explanation was not as clear as it could be. If we take a single A123 cell that is 3.3v and has a capacity of 2200mAh. If we make a 6s2p pack from these cells we would have a pack that has a capacity of 4400mAh (2p) and a voltage of 19.8V (6s). Total number of cells used is 12. Hope that makes it clearer, I'm typing on my phone and it makes it a little hard to go into detail :-)

[Rubbaneck]

Originally Posted by Joat

Is there 10 cells in the Milwaukee v18 pack?
I had one of my makita ion packs drop 3 cells recently, so of course I tore it apart and got 7 good cells to play with, I think they are sony's ? but seeing as the mil packs are $10+ cheaper for the same amount of cells might pick up on so I can have 2x 2s2p and use the rest of the loose cells to convert some cordless stuff over from nicad/nimh to ion.

In the Milwaukee 18V there is only 5 cells. It's a compact drill not the big boy so they are saving weight with the smaller cells. The milwaukee cells are EMOLI brand from Canada.

The Dewalt cells are from the 18V 1100mah nano pack. There is 12 cells in this pack.

If you guys are having trouble soldering these just get a good Stainglass window iron with a chisel tip about 1/4" wide or bigger, some 60/40 rosin core solder. When your ready all you have to do is tin the batteries with a little solder. This will help the battery bar stick really well. It will also show where the solder is not sticking to so make sure you have a circle of solder for your contact. With a good iron all you need to do is TOUCH it real quick and let off. Too much heat will destroy the cells in a matter of seconds. Good luck and be safe.

[Joat]

Originally Posted by Rubbaneck

In the Milwaukee 18V there is only 5 cells. It's a compact drill not the big boy so they are saving weight with the smaller cells. The milwaukee cells are EMOLI brand from Canada.

The Dewalt cells are from the 18V 1100mah nano pack. There is 12 cells in this pack.

If you guys are having trouble soldering these just get a good Stainglass window iron with a chisel tip about 1/4" wide or bigger, some 60/40 rosin core solder. When your ready all you have to do is tin the batteries with a little solder. This will help the battery bar stick really well. It will also show where the solder is not sticking to so make sure you have a circle of solder for your contact. With a good iron all you need to do is TOUCH it real quick and let off. Too much heat will destroy the cells in a matter of seconds. Good luck and be safe.

After doing some research there are to 18v ion packs from mil, one has 5 cells 1500 mah, or 10 cells and 3000 mah, just like the makitas.
And thanks for the tip on soldering them

[Joat]

Originally Posted by BritCrawler

Ah, right so, for A123, a 2s2p pack would only put out 6.6V but last 2x as long? What about 6s2p, for example, is that 3 sets of 2 parallel cells, mated up to give double run time, and 11.1V?

Those MOLICELLs look great but I've no clue how I'd get hold of them in the UK. I think I'll stick to A123s for now and if any of those crop up in the UK I'll switch over. I'd like a properly made up, balanced pack really, I'm a bit of a kacker when it comes to soldering, I can just about manage to solder on Deans plugs :P

Just buy the milwauke ion packs and spilt them apart

[OldShovelhead]

chiming in-
I just got 2 4cell packs in 2s for my Fastech and think they're great. This is a jump from NiMH to a123, never had lipo so can't comment on them.
Also using a 2 cell 1100mAh a123 pack in my Scorpion and have a pack in my sons 2.2 tuber. I really like the performance of the a123 cells.
My mad scientist neighbor is using them in his Scorpion and a SuperVee27. He's the one that turned me on to these a123 cells. Doubt I'll ever buy another NiMH again and for sure won't buy a lipo if just for the danger risk.
We're not all going to agree on what's best but I can atest to the a123 cells they are punchier, longer run times, much cooler operating, and faster charging than what I'm used too. I don't think you can go wrong with the a123 cells.