Is it possible to build a battery from cells ?

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James B
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Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:52 pm

Is it possible to build a battery from cells ?

Postby James B » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:43 pm

First off, hello to everyone and what a great site.

I am about to build my first electric bike and have been pondering over what battery type to use for a while now. The lithium polymer looks ideal, but the cost is prohibitive so I had half decided that good old fashioned lead acid would do, but today I spotted some rechargeable NiMH battery packs in the bargain bin of a local hardware shop. They are used for emergency warehouse lighting systems and are rated at 12volt 7Ah. I'm now considering linking half a dozen to make one large battery.

Going by my limited knowledge of electrics, I was thinking that building two banks of three in series would give the required 36v, and joining both banks in parallel would give 14Ah and be much better than the heavy lead acid option. Can anyone tell me if this would be worth doing ?

Cheers,
James.

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ChrisB
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Re: Is it possible to build a battery from cells ?

Postby ChrisB » Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:19 pm

Yes it will work but dont expect anything wonderful, are you sure they are NiMH batteries and they arent 12v 7Ah Sealed Lead Acids, as they are more nomally what I would expect to find in emergency lighting units ???

Personally I would save a few quid up and buy a set of LiFePO4's from China , see this thread for my experence..viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2149

TBH its well worth spending a few quid now on a decent battery pack and reap the rewards later

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

James B
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Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:52 pm

Re: Is it possible to build a battery from cells ?

Postby James B » Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:30 pm

They are NiMH batteries although the assistant did have to ask someone else about the specifics. They did have some lead acid batteries come to think of it, I suppose they could have got the different types mixed up.

I could probably build half a dozen NiMH batteries for the price of one 36v LiFePO4 and I'm finding it hard to justify the extra cost. What sort of difference would I see between the two ?

Thanks
James.

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ChrisB
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Re: Is it possible to build a battery from cells ?

Postby ChrisB » Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:07 pm

Range mainly , they just dont seem to wear out :lol:

Give the NiMH's a go, if they are really cheap then you've got nothing really to lose apart from time, just dont be disheartend with your project if it doesnt full fill your dreams :wink:

Your battery type and selection really does play a huge amount in a project 8)

The LiFePO4 pack that I bought for my little folder has made improved the little bike 3 fold or more, no longer do I even concern myself with thinking if I should do any pedaling to conserve power, pedaling is a thing of the past, along with the concern of will I make it back 8)

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!


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