Hi everyone,
I have been thinking about making my own battery packs, but would love to know what everyones thoughts were to building them vs buying pre made. Also any recommendations of cells to use or recommendations of pre made packs.
I would want a minimum of 10S2P pack.
You’ll need a spot welder. Soldering cylindrical cells just isnt a good idea IMHO. It transfers too much heat to the cells and tends to degrade them.
Going to start making my own packs pretty soon. I’ve got a Kweld, a case of lifepo4s and most of the supplies here to get started. Just waiting on that one package from the one vendor. Dang USPS.
Spot welders tend to be a bit expensive. Usually $200 and up. I did see one on amazon for $50 but havent seen much in the way of reviews.
Recommend binge watching battery spot welder and diy battery making videos on youtube. Lots of good information there.
One thing that I think is very important is cell dividers for any cells in series. At a bare minimum use barley paper or fish paper. Just 2 layers of shrink wrap between cells is asking for trouble. Look for the insulating rings for cylindrical cells as well if you’re going that route.
Thank you for your insights. It sounds like an interesting project and I wish you luck with your own battery build.
I can vouch for the 50 dollar amazon welder. I am thoroughly impressed by it’s performance. It’s not a kweld by any means but it’s built 3 packs in the last few days. 12s4 10s6p 10s5p… 148 cells 12 welds per. I’ll be damned 1776. 
Merica
I will have to check it out and see what’s what.
What battery Cells are people using? Samsung 30Q seem popular.
They are popular but there are better.
What would you recommend?
Molicel p42a or 26a or some Tesla 21700 or some 50e or idk. Depends on your budget. There’s a big 12s6p 30q for 400 right now from one of guys.
Wow, 6p. Thats a lot of p.
Well hydrated. Im finishing up a 10s7p 30q for a personal board. Not going to lie I had it finished the other day. Rushed the end because it was way too nice to be in the shop, threw it in and hauled ass. Made about 5 miles total before it quit. Somehow a little piece of nickle trash caused a quick short and that’s my story.
Packus Destructus or is it fixable?
Dayum. A valuable lesson for all. And thankfully only one cell and not the whole factory.
Did you use the round barley or fish paper insulators? Thats all I’m waiting on to begin pack building. Only saw 1 or two battery build vids recommend them but its a good idea.
Ok if I share this pic on another site? I’d like to post over on Helifreak.
Go for it. I have a couple others too.
Yes I used rings, and the cells were siliconed together. On another pack I did, used to thin of nickle. That will cause a fire quickly. Thankfully it wasn’t 30q cells too. They burnt super fast
I have been doing research on building my own battery as Im interested in the process and learning new skills, but I understand this will be more expensive than buying a pre made pack due to the extras required such as tools and materials etc.
Encase I decide to buy pre made packs due to time restraints etc, does anyone have any recommended sellers of batteries? PS I live in the UK if this affects things. I’m looking for a minimum 10S2P up to 10S6P
Not sure in the UK. Apex boards maybe?
i built my own battery on my first e-skate. iff you only build the one battery it is indeed much more expensive then buying one. after that it shuild get much cheeper quite quickly. i would be willing to build you a pack iff you don’t mind the wait. ( I don’t have any components lying around atm so you would have to wait for me to order the parts and those to arrive). otherwise i do think apex boards should do you alright.
What thickness of nickel did you use? I saw one battery build video explaining the max current draw and how to place extra layers of nickel strip for areas that would see increased current.
