Iād like to reiterate itās not the current carrying capacity that is the issue here. Itās the fact that once you start going north of 36 volts the spark gap starts to become a factor.
The other issue that I really didnāt like so much was once there was a spark, because the positive conductor is entirely surrounded by the negative conductor the spark easily propagates into a runaway arc-flash.
What Iām saying is that just based on the fault condition of this connector (of runaway frying itself to death), is pretty extreme compared to using the GX16-3. Iāve noticed that chargers that are UL certified on amazon all have the 3 prong connector at voltages above 8s, so Iām not really that far in outer space here.
I think the main reason people are picking at me is because yes the fault condition is initiated by poking things where they donāt belong. But again, the whole reason I posted this was not because I obviously bridged the conductors. It was because there is arc flash potential with this connector.
That is really interesting. I would have not thought an arc flash would propagate at <50v. I suppose once the air in that relatively small gap is ionized it is possible.
The big takeaway here is to always fuse your charge port. An xt60 would be a fine option for a charge port?
Thanks for posting I found it is usefull and a reminder of what can happen if you exceed the manufactures limits and just because most people do doesnāt mean you wonāt have any issues.
In my searches so fare it seems thereās a few options but nothing ideal yet all have done issue
Rosenberger magnetic connector
Perfect if it wasnāt so large.
GX 16 4
(Pins rated to 5amp shouldnāt connect live)
XT 60/30
(Exposes pins on board shouldnāt connect live)
XLR
Large connector
Barrel Connector
Ali exspress takes ratings by playing darts and other people believe itās true an post it online. You wouldnāt trust the 18650 cell rating so why do you trust their barrel rating! (some one pleas prove me wrong with real proper tests over 5 amps)
Iām planing on using the GX 16 6 pin as sensor wire connectors on next build see how I like the connector then decide if Iām going XT30 or GX 16 4pin for charge think the locking part might be annoying in the GX 16
For xt60 what do you mean by exposes pins and shouldnāt connect live? I would suggest female plug. Donāt all of these plugs have exposed conductors?
I donāt worry about connecting a charger to a live battery because it is regulated low current.
I feel like you need MUCH MUCH more voltage to starting arcing across air. The traces on the vescs are sometimes a millimeter or less apart running our max battery voltages, and it doesnt start arcing, let alone the 2-3~ millimeters from DC post to wall
The arc was created by the spark I made when tapping it with the multimeter. It would have created ionized gas itself, and also sent small metal particles flying through the air.
On itās own there is yeah, NO WAY that an arc can form on itās own. Thatās why it has that crazy high AC rating.
Maybe it would be worth SCIENCE to reproduce the problem so yāall can understand this thing was like a blow torch for 5 seconds.
Yes, I was thinking a recreation is in order. I wonder what was the resistance of that plasma circuit. I feel like the circuit would not sustain in open air with that same gap. Something about the cavity and cylindrical shape of the barrel jack probably helps maintain the conductive atmosphere.
Maybe it was just a freak of nature thing, but yeah it was surreal to watch. Well, first I was having a panic attack because I was really concerned that the battery itself was going to blow up because this had created a hard short.
But after realizing I had no way of stopping it, and deciding if I should throw it in the bath tub or not the fire finally went out and it was still smoking. But there was a little purple blue ball in there, and I thought, oh that must be the rest of the plastic melting. Under closer inspection, it just kept going and dancing around, so I blew it out and then had a heart attack and died.
If you have seen a plasma lighter:
It looked exactly light that but a little sphere inside the chamber.
Now that I read own post, you are going to think I was on drugs. I SWEAR MAN.
If I had a safe place to do this, I would totally do it again in the name of science. What even is a safe place to do destructive testing of lipos? Does anyone have a giant parking lot I can use? #mythbusters
The tenderloin I bet we can blow stuff up. If u can shoot up and take a crap on the sidewalk we can get away with a little blown ion cell.
I saw a nasa paper where they were essentially blowing up stuff and got cells to a super high voltage and want to do that. Too exciting not to.
Oh, I mean, Iām sure we could do it once, but Iām thinking of actually doing this proper where we could have scientific instruments like a TABLE or SAFETY GOGGLES. I actually mentioned #mythbusters because they got to use the old decommissioned oakland airfield.
Hah Iām actually gonna be in SF tomorrow meeting up with a friend. Once Iām done with her Iād actually be down to set some shit on fire but idk when that timeāll come around. Also thanks for the tip about noisebridge, that place sounds cool.
