theChaz

I want to try soldering my own packs - save a few$$ - my Primary Sponsor (wife) would appreciate it.

I know it's possible to totally screw up a pack while soldering.

I also know it's possible to put a bad/useless pack together.

So If I'm gonna do this, can anyone offer any guidance? Soldering, matching howto's? Suggested equipment?

Thanks

</chaz>

kt racing

As far as the soldering goes. You need a hot soldering iron probably atleast a 60w. Also buy a battery jig. This will help you in building the batteries. Any of the battery bars will work doesn't really matter. Then clean the surface of the battery. put a little solder on the battery then the bar. The big thing is not to have the soldering iron on the cell for a long period of time. Because you could damage it. The is why you use a hot soldering iron. It doesn't take a whole lot of solder to mount the battery bars. Don't go crazy with it in another word. You can also use shoe goo to glue the cells together. it will help keep the battery bars from bending when you crash.
As far as the matching thing goes. I would leave that up to the pro's. it takes thousands of dollars to get all of the equipment to match cells right. So just buy your cells and put them together.
hope that helps.

koabich

I agree with KT. It will take a lot of money and time to be able to match your batteries. And in most cases your cells will not be as good as those from a good matcher. It would just be easier to buy cells already matched. You will know the quality of the cells and the numbers. You woun't have to buy a hundred cells to be able to assemble several good packs.
To assemble the cells, I would first recommend you purchase a good soldering iron and the Deans solder jig. You want to make sure that you do not rest the hot iron on the cells for too long exposing them to too much heat. If you want to take care of your cells and the matchers label on them I would buy the protective heat shrink wrap and wrap each cell. I take a dremel (sandpaper will work fine) and scuff up the ends of the cells so the solder has something to suck into and hold onto.
I do not presolder the cell of the bar. I feel this process uses too much solder and doesn't give you as good of a connection. Place the cells in the jig, heat your iron to as hot as it will go and place a bar onto the top of the cell you with to solder.
Place the tip of the iron on the battery bar and hold the solder to the side of the battery bar. The solder will melt around the bar and provide the best conductive joint. Only use enough solder to hold the joint together. Once mastered this method will allow your cells to perform at their best and look professionally assembled.
Hope this helps!
Joe

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

Pretty straight forward.

Get a GOOD soldering Iron, easily worth the $100 for a good Hakko. Get one from a Hobby shop though.....stay away from soldering irons from hardware stores. I am sure one of the dealers on RCtech could get you a good iron at a good price.

Next, get a GOOD battery jig. So far, the Dean's one is the best I have seen.

Buy some matched cells from a good matcher. You can find many on the RCtech boards here or companies like Reedy or SMC have good packs. The only device to get for matching batteries is the Turbomatcher 4/35, but they cost around $700 or so, not counting the powersupply and printer. By the time you get it all set up, its over $1000 and your batteries still won't have any voltage enchancement

Next, prep the cells. I use a nail file to scuff the surfaces the solder has something to adhere to. I then clean them with rubbing alcohol.

Put them in the jig and use a quality battery bar......either silver or copper. Stay away from Gold or Platinum bars.

I then tin each cell with a little bit of solder. I let my cells rest for an hour or so after tinning them so they have a chance to cool down.

The key after this is getting a good bond, but keeping down the time you have the iron on the cell. I get my iron nice and hot so it flows well and quickly. USE FLUX.



I use CA to hold my cells together, just make sure the labels are facing up.

Later EddieO

theChaz

Cool!

The two preveious replies are right along the line I was looking for.

I guess trying to match my own isn't practical, so that's out.

So I get pre-matched packs, that's fine.

I've also seen that Epic (for one example) offers a 24-pack of what I'll assume are unmatched cells. It would be cheaper than buying 4 six-pax. Would this be a good idea or should I just bite the bullet and buy pre-matched sets?

</c>

TC3er

It depends on what you are planning to do, the Epic battery brickl would be great for bashing but once you start racing you are going to want matched cells.

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

Don't waste your money on the epic cells, they are grossly overpriced because of the pretty shrink wrap and the over marketing by trinity/epic. Save yourself some cash and buy a battery brick from one of the battery matchers on this board. You can find them in the new advertising index on the main page.


Later EddieO

SalvadoriRacing

why stay away from gold and/or platinum battery bars???

i was thinking about build my packs with gold bars....

theChaz

What do you consider "hot"?

Also I've found a pretty good deal on a Hakko 936 (50w). Will that do?

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

Because Copper and Silver are better conducters of electricty. Gold and Platinum bars are simply a style thing.

I would get an adjustable temp hakko, they typically sell from 75-125.....easily worth it and a good soldering iron can be used for numerous other things around the house(assuming yer somewhat handy)


Later EddieO

Grizzbob

iTrader: (2)

While it's true that copper & silver have slightly lower resistance than gold, there is still one reason to try gold, corrosion resistance. Gold doesn't rust or corrode like copper or tarnish like silver, so it remains a good conductor for a longer period of time(that's why NASA & the military use gold in all of their electrical connections), & in truth the resistance of gold isn't that much higher than the others. But the choice is up to you, to be honest, I don't think you'll immediately notice a difference in how your packs perform either way(at least not until you've gained a fair amount of experience driving, where you can "feel" the effect of such minor changes).....

schurcr

iTrader: (6)

Try Promatch Racings web site for all your battery needs. They also have a very well written how to on pack assembly

KoE

iTrader: (6)

thanks for the tip

kt racing

The iron that you have should work but just remember not to leave it on the cell forever. or you will damage it.

Also DO NOT buy any batterys from trinity. They are overpriced and there numbers on the packs aren't close to what the real numbers are. Like said before if you are just bashing then get a brick. But if you are going to race. Then you have to get the matched numbers. Try promatch, fukuyama, or fusion, or kinetics.

jleibund

I built my own 3300 GP battery pack and was planning on soldering it directly to the speed control. I have two questions, both of them probably obvious:

1) If the wires from the ESC are not long enough, can I extend them using wires of the same guage and solder the ends together, cover the connection using the shrink wrap, or is this a no-no? I imagine that I'll want the overall length of the wires to be as short as possible.

2) when running a direct connection to the ESC, do you just charge the batteries by attaching clips from the charger to the -/+ terminals and just leave the electronics off? I'm worried about inadvertently damaging the components. I'm running the Novak Brushless 5800, which I believe is already setup with a shotkey and the correct capacitors as is.

Thanks!
jleibund