I have been waiting for a system like this for a while. Also truly appreciate the honesty and transparency. That made me even more interested in what you had to say.
One thing I think could greatly improve your product is if you would just make half of the connector tops black instead of white or clear. Then it would be really easy to spot your negative and positive ends and would make battery design so much more simple. Maybe you could implement this in your future production?
I've been asking for a product like this for many years. I saw an Indian company stared selling them last year but they weren't spring loaded. I prefer the spring loaded version because it seems like it would be more reliable in making contact with the cells.
I was an early adopter of Vruzend. I've changed out the stainless steel 'bus bars' with copper. Much less heat but still more than I'd like. The 'spring/bolt' combo is also a pretty high resistance material but for what I'm doing 36v 10s 5p it works pretty well. I'm still working on a box that I can quickly remove and replace the 18650s as taking the Vruzend system apart and building it again takes too much time. Still if you want an interchangeable battery pack this is the best one I've found. They also sell a couple of pretty nice BMS if you want to wire them up and balance charge the cells. For me that's lost as I want to charge each battery individually. Thanks for the vid
Thanks for your videos too! And good call on the copper bus bars. I've been doing that as well. We're also working on new spring terminals for higher current, so you should like that version even more, once it gets released!
As a newbie to battery building this kit really makes it easy. A bit of a learning curve on connecting them but once you know the secret..easy peazy. The terminals for the wire contacts though could be beefier and a bit wider. 1 gauge doesn't quite fit IN the connector. The battery comes out less streamlined but it'll be worth it if you don't want to mess with soldering or welding.
this helped me a lot cause I am just learning I hope you will do one for 48volt 20ah battery pack too and also adding the bms to the 48 volt pack I realize it is just adding more cells but being able to watch you do it step by step helps big time and takes away any concerns weather you forgot something or just that you did it right I would really appreciate it anyway thanks for all you have done
And another suggestion, for the BUS BARS, Suggest you make it not a STRAIGHT FLAT BUS BAR but rather a TAPERED BUS BAR or it is very thin at the middle portion, for what purpose? The thin portion will act as the FUSE WIRE, making it not only a BUS BAR PURPOSE but also has FUSE PURPOSE, a thin strip at the middle of those BUS BAR will burn, break or melt just in case 1 cell becomes defective and effectively shorts out.
Two things that caught my eye as you where working. When checking for a connection with a multimeter add a load, a small load will work. If there was a 1000 ohms resistant in your connection it would show good in your voltage test. It would be like a open circuit if tested with a load. Pushing the batteries in with your bare hand. The acid on your skin could affect the battery connection over time. I like your kit, I think it will get many more people into making there own batteries.
These are both excellent points, thank you. And I meant to mention that latex or mechanics gloves would be good to avoid leaving oil from your skin on the contact. That oil can slightly increase resistance, which makes waste heat.
Yeaaahh... I have 2x VRUZEND kits here!! The value you get with these kits is just FANTASTIC! Excellent price and customer service, super easy to build packs, only one small socket driver required! Replacing any faulty cells in the middle of the pack is super easy, maybe the easiest design I have ever seen!! All you need is to locate the faulty series, remove the bus bars connecting to the neighbour series and remove the faulty whole parallel group. Even easier you can just remove few bus bars from one side of the pack and find which cells is killing the group =] Depending on the orientation that the blocks are locked there's no need to use the zip ties that comes with the kit (stationary batteries definitely won't need it). The downside of locking the blocks in different orientation would be replacing a faulty cell in the middle of the pack (it's not impossible but you're just making your life harder when it could be super easy and simple). The thick bus bars also increase the structural strength of the pack, it feels really strong and solid! Yes, it can handle enough current for most applications. *if using recycled 18650 cells, make sure the cell terminals (positive & negative) are smooth and clear enough to offer a good contact between the cells and the spring load inside the block. Love this little DIY battery kit =] AWESOME video Micah, I'm sharing this video right now!!
How would you know if the battery is faulty? or if it a bad connector? Either ways, I am willing to take the risk and build a small pack to try it out myself and see how it holds over time.
Festivejelly never got a cent $$$ to say anything about any product!!! I wish I was getting paid hahaha... if I think something is AWESOME I just like to spread the word and help others out there =] Ohh yeaahhhh
I want to let you know how much I like you sharing your knowledge about building batteries. I would like to see you build a battery that fits inside an aluminum bike battery case. Also your idea of the best alarms for ebikes.
The first video of yours that I saw (DIY E-Bike battery build) was great! I paused this one @3:09 to start purchasing My "Bat Legos"! I have so many uses for these! Very excited! Will "Sub" of course!
I've soldered tags to CR2042 cells. Being thin have to be careful. I tinned the surface with solder then was able to attach the (tinned) copper (or brass) tags with just enough heat. Not everyone will like the idea but it does solve the issue of mechanical loading.
Hi Micah: Your book on DIY LITHIUM BATTERIES was the bomb! Well written and super helpful for the beginner. I want to buy your gadget. I also used to live in your neck of the woods back in the late '80s. Cheers!
Great concept , you might even embed electronics in each to manage notification , and manage the cells when they become sick ..use colour plastic to identify pos and neg sides ..red and black tinted plastic .
Ha, had this idea 2 years ago, to 3D Print a system like this that would all interlock to assemble into any size and eliminate soldering! Finally somebody did it!
Very cool. One suggestion: the individual bus-bar ties should have a narrow part that melts at high current and acts as a crude fuse in case of a fault.
I definitely think you made the correct decision in supporting this project. Heck I wish I would have known because I would have tried to help them but I guess I'll help them by buying some now.
Great product and idea! Are you guys planing to make kit for high drain cells? Looking forward to that. Am planing to make 72V battery pack with 18650 20A cells. It would be great to NOT spot welder all 140/180 cells and make life little easier.
Great idea, cant wait to see just how versatile the 18650 will become. This product will set this battery up to work in so many things. Bye bye AA and AAA batts.
You just made my day. I was overwhelmed by the prospect of soldering a pack together, but this works so perfectly. Thank you Also it's awesome that you can change an individual cell that goes bad later down the road. This is a great invention
I am not sure about the battery kit. Okay for prototyping small to medium power but the more power to be drawn out of a battery and in a shorter period of time could be a problem. A real time saver building a battery with this kit. Many have noted other problems so I will not go into them again. I will be buying the kit for quick prototyping projects. I bought your book when it came out. Thanks for the video and good luck with your venture. I hope it is a long time success.
The way you find faulty batteries is with a multimeter for 5gbp and you use a soldering iron for 15gbp to connect the bms because everyone fucking hates those green terminals that cost a lot to implement, take up a lot of space, are unreliable and so on. Don't do electronics without at least a soldering station! Mine cost 15 with shipping and works with 5+ years zero maintenance and I'm an electronics tinkering eng student.
Once pack is assembled use wood blocks with bolts to keep the compression from decompression only true way to be 100% certain contacts between each cell will stay tight
How do you ensure that the terminals and the batteries are making good contact all the time?? It seems to me that there is no 100% guarantee that all the contacts are good, as it might come loose over time..
It all comes down to planning and a good mallet. I have a little bar I put under the contact and bend it upward each time I change batteries. Then I make sure there's proper contact by checking with a multi-meter and smacking offending cells with the mallet. This makes for a very tight fit such that I don't use the big zip ties they send along with the kit.
J Bishop even buildings vibrate, hvac equipment, floor machines, elevator equipment rooms, etc.... it does not take a very big vibration of the right frequency to shake something loose especially if it's only a friction fit. Poor contact in electrical systems causes resistance, resistance =heat, too much heat over time and now you have a fire
very helpful video,,iv watched so many of these due to interest,,yours is very easy to follow and glad the title mentions the name of the kit,,great job
Will be nice if you have a white board on the wall and drew what you are doing electrically with the connections, also these will work on other brand batteries? Like the Chinese made? No all factories will have the same diameter tolerances.
Very cool! You mentioned making odd shapes like a triangle. I can see how you’d do that physically, but how would you wire the busbars to preserve the electrical balance of the pack?
Great option for DIY battery building. At least one small improvement I can see. Use external shake proof washers to ensure really good electrical contact and prevent the nuts from coming loose. Or, change the nuts to Nyloc type.
dear, I have a question, I have a Scooter with 36v with 3 12V batteries, which model 18650 should I use 10 batteries of 2000ma or 2500ma or 3500ma? thank you and congratulations on the channel is very good. From Brazil
Very cool idea and a great price as well. I can't wait for the next video on this project. I did read some of the comments and I think I'll wait for the 2.0 version to come out, where it can handle higher current loads. I'd like to have two batteries that are 48v and 1200 watts. Do you think the next version will be able to do something like that? Thanks and keep up the GREAT work. Oh and where's that video of your two wheel drive bike? haha Seriously, I feel like I'm starting to sound like a kid who was told that we're going to Disney Land and now he asks every hour, when are we going? haha I know you're busy, and I'd rather have a quality video about it, than a rushed video, so take your time.
Question here, not a pro electrician. I do know that 5mm nuts tend to loosen up easily with vibration. Would putting a bit blue Loctite on each screw before putting the nuts would have a bad effect on the power connectivity?
I probably wouldnt use loctite since it seems to connect via the threads into the nut and then into the plate, so you might be semi insulating the threads with loctite. Locknuts might work though, although a bit more money. Id probably just wack some hot glue on all of them and call it a day lul
oh wauw ! ! this is what i need, do they also have kits for 21700 battery's ??? and do they have better/higher bms for battery ?i only got 30amps i want more plz.
Brilliant invention! Can't wait to build mine! I'm going to be building a battery to power an electric motor for my (large and stable) ocean kayak. I plan to put the batteries in a water tight container with desiccant packs inside to absorb moister, however, I've found that no matter what you do in water environments, moister creeps in and corrosion sets in. In the past I've used dielectric grease to stave off oxidation on electrical connections. I was thinking about using a very small amount to coat the connections when using this kit. Can anyone think of a reason that would or would not be a good idea?
Love the idea. But i have watched some videos where some cells don't connect correctly.. my question i understand the plate is spring loaded - but why have a plate and not a spiral type connector - so if the battery pack moves the spiral will always be in contact with the battery...
How, with the inconsistency in diameter of 18650 cells, does the caps hold them with enough force to make a solid connection at the terminals? Any looseness will result in heat build-up.
Hi! Excellent video! It would be lovely if you had a summer school work shop on how to build a complete ebike!.... It would be an awesome one or two week holiday!!
How much is it for this full kit including the batteries. I just subscribed and really want to do a nice simple portable solar set up to go on road trips.
I like this - Great Idea - things to add also sell stamped copper buss bar in Rolls - then it could be cut to length needed - Looks like pack would be hard to take apart because of tight fit - is it ??
At one point you say that the actual voltage does not matter as long as there is connectivity. I'd say it's pretty important that all batteries that are going to be in parallel have roughly the same voltage BEFORE adding the parallel connection, otherwise you are going to get a HUGE current spike potentially causing skin burns and potentially damaging the batteries.
Terrific product for build your own battery packs. If you are still giving away the "DIY Lithium batteries" book it would help when I purchase a half dozen kits. Also very interested in your BMS video. Been looking for a clean way to service pack that will need a replacement battery.
This is excellent invention. One thing that concerns me a bit that if the spring lose tension over time, the batteries may have intermittent connectivity issues during a jerky ride, but I would still like to try these out and see for myself how it holds up over time. Has this been time and stress tested?
Great system design. Looking to replace my Lead Acid batteries on my 36v scooter 10Ah. Looking forward to your next video on installing BMS to your 10S pack. Do you solder leads to batteries or crimp wire knuts and then bolt to battery terminals tops?
Good idea - can't help but feel the cells themselves could be better designed for this sort of application, but of course they were never designed for mass grouping I don't think. However, there are variations on the 18650 (button or flat top) and I sense the possibility of an EV variant where they are designed better for large batch use. COOLING is the next thing - how about some slim copper ribbon (like a tube but flattened somewhat) and end fittings and junction pieces, so cooling can be taken care of? That would be an important serious next-level step? For allowing mass cooling by threading such hollow-ribbon copper a cooling system could be implemented?
Maybe if the caps came in a rew different colours it would help keep track of the + and - at a glance. Also if the strips came longer that would mean less physical joints and less problems in the future.
When you add the discharge wire connectors (11:30), you place the first on so it is hanging off of the battery pack and left the middle cell unattached? is there any motive behind that? could you move the lowest discharge connector up 1 cell so it doesn't hang off the edge of the pack to save space?
Yes you could definitely move it up. The way I did it meant that the middle cell that isn't connected is sort of 'shared' between the two brass connectors and only has to send half of its current each direction. But your idea also works and saves a bit of space.
For bigger batteries (6 or more cells in parallel), do you have a rule for how many discharge connectors should be attached to those end groups? Should you use 3 for a 6p battery? or 4 for an 8p?
Before parallel connecting cells, you should balance them to have the same voltage at least! Ideally you should measure the capacity of each cell and match the series parts of the stack so you get the most juice out of your battery.
Hopefully, this guy will read the comments on his video. Maybe he will learn something before he - and his team - come up with another product to sell. I doubt that any of them are engineers. If they are, I see no evidence of real world experience there. A train wreck just waiting to happen...
This is awesome! Can these be used for LiFePo4 cells? Cuz I think they have a different diameter.. please let me know if there is a way to use this for LiFePo4
I've seen a video where someone makes a cheap Tesla Powerwall from a load of 18650's. These things would make it a lot easier when it comes to construction and maintenance.
I don't understand, Jehugarcia did something with these things with no luck. They were giving him problems. I think this is an awesome concept. I wanna make sure I don't regret ordering this
In my opinion (as a real engineer with 40+ years experience), watch Jehu Garcia's videos instead. He's not an engineer, but he understands electrical characteristics a LOT better than most of the hacks out there. And no, I am not affiliated with Jehu Garcia in any way.
I assume that you have to take the battery pack apart to find out which cells are no longer performing? Also it looks like you are back ordered on the battery kits?
wow thats pretty cool, nice implementation, though they will have higher resistance than spotwelding. however for the sake of reusability/repair and ease of building that is a good trade off for a few milliohms.
I have an Ancheer ebike. The battery is inside a metallic tube that people often mistake for a water bottle. Would something like this work for my setup? I'd need to stack the batteries on top of each other, not make a brick.
Hi Mikeh (spelling?), it would be cool to make these in a round form factor. Designed in such a way that they connect off set in a zigzag pattern, it would make it easier to build non square packs. Also, please add global shipping for these, or at least shipping to Australia. Thanks!
The website says the cap's are out of stock. The forum doesn't exist. There is no way to contact them, even after registering, unless you placed an order. So, unless I'm missing something this product does not exist. This is so frustrating.
Neat idea, best of luck with this project, ignore the doom-and-gloom-we-are-all-gonna-die spooks, it works, it sells, it works, it sells more. Brilliant.
I want to build these for a 36V Golf Cart Battery and it appears I probably need at least 4 of these in parallel. I will probably start with one and get it running. Can the BMS that VRUZEND has handle 10s 10 P and do you have a video to put these in parallel so it make better sense to me. I would think going parallel I would attach each pos to pos and esch neg to neg to each other from each battery as well as then each battery would go to one single point to both the load and the charging post. I would also get a smart charger that could recognize the battery voltage, max recharge and series and parallel set up. Any help would be great and if you have a video that would be good too. I just got the book and I am reading it but I am very visual so the video was perfect.
Yea, avoid doing that. Jehu has an on-again, off-again relationship with following directions. Doing that wears out the dovetails and also makes it harder to align the caps correctly.
Like the NO spot weld or soldering idea. One quick question, does the spring loaded contact good enough for high amp current usage like ebike battery? My only concern is the resistance between the battery terminals and the spring nickel disc. Any advice would be helpful.
Spring loaded contacts of any kind will lose the spring force (temper) if heated, resulting in an avalanche effect. It goes downhill from there (no pun intended). Carry a fire extinguisher and wear fire-proof clothing.
How is it you are not getting shocked when touching all the exposed terminals? This is new to me. Also, shouldn’t there be fuses in here somewhere, like between the cells?
Shocks are supplied by alternating current (AC). Batteries are direct current (DC). You will start to cook yourself at very high voltages DC, but you won't shock yourself. Because you have thick calloused skin acting as a high ohm resistor, you won't actually cook yourself unless you wet your fingers and hold tight at both opposing terminals. You probably need around 90 volts minimum to start risking danger to yourself. I think this is a 36 volt pack without rewatching the video. Battery packs aren't usually fused internally, but you could do so to prevent a critical meltdown from damaged cell sets causing uneven and high discharge currents within the pack.
I have been waiting for a system like this for a while. Also truly appreciate the honesty and transparency. That made me even more interested in what you had to say.
Wow these are awesome! Just bought some and I gotta say, the price of $44 US, is just the right price. Thank you for this product!
One thing I think could greatly improve your product is if you would just make half of the connector tops black instead of white or clear. Then it would be really easy to spot your negative and positive ends and would make battery design so much more simple. Maybe you could implement this in your future production?
I've been asking for a product like this for many years. I saw an Indian company stared selling them last year but they weren't spring loaded. I prefer the spring loaded version because it seems like it would be more reliable in making contact with the cells.
This kit in the video has spring contacts
Can you please tell me something about the Indian company
I just got my first couple of kits. This is perfect for guys who don't want to spot weld!! Thank you!
I was an early adopter of Vruzend. I've changed out the stainless steel 'bus bars' with copper. Much less heat but still more than I'd like. The 'spring/bolt' combo is also a pretty high resistance material but for what I'm doing 36v 10s 5p it works pretty well.
I'm still working on a box that I can quickly remove and replace the 18650s as taking the Vruzend system apart and building it again takes too much time. Still if you want an interchangeable battery pack this is the best one I've found.
They also sell a couple of pretty nice BMS if you want to wire them up and balance charge the cells. For me that's lost as I want to charge each battery individually.
Thanks for the vid
Thanks for your videos too! And good call on the copper bus bars. I've been doing that as well. We're also working on new spring terminals for higher current, so you should like that version even more, once it gets released!
EbikeSchool.com for those who purchasing kits now, how can we get updates. I have an account with Vruzen.
yea, i thought the steel bars were a bad idea all so (cheep) why not stamp a better contact metal?
really nice kit but insanely expensive unfortunatly
As a newbie to battery building this kit really makes it easy. A bit of a learning curve on connecting them but once you know the secret..easy peazy. The terminals for the wire contacts though could be beefier and a bit wider. 1 gauge doesn't quite fit IN the connector. The battery comes out less streamlined but it'll be worth it if you don't want to mess with soldering or welding.
this helped me a lot cause I am just learning I hope you will do one for 48volt 20ah battery pack too and also adding the bms to the 48 volt pack I realize it is just adding more cells but being able to watch you do it step by step helps big time and takes away any concerns weather you forgot something or just that you did it right I would really appreciate it anyway thanks for all you have done
It's good knowing how to build a battery and have fun doing it saves you some money.i appreciate your how to battery building and charging videos.
Great, this makes things much easier for people who do not have access to a welding machine and can create a battery pack as needed.
And another suggestion, for the BUS BARS, Suggest you make it not a STRAIGHT FLAT BUS BAR but rather a TAPERED BUS BAR or it is very thin at the middle portion, for what purpose? The thin portion will act as the FUSE WIRE, making it not only a BUS BAR PURPOSE but also has FUSE PURPOSE, a thin strip at the middle of those BUS BAR will burn, break or melt just in case 1 cell becomes defective and effectively shorts out.
Two things that caught my eye as you where working. When checking for a connection with a multimeter add a load, a small load will work. If there was a 1000 ohms resistant in your connection it would show good in your voltage test. It would be like a open circuit if tested with a load. Pushing the batteries in with your bare hand. The acid on your skin could affect the battery connection over time. I like your kit, I think it will get many more people into making there own batteries.
These are both excellent points, thank you. And I meant to mention that latex or mechanics gloves would be good to avoid leaving oil from your skin on the contact. That oil can slightly increase resistance, which makes waste heat.
Love these, built 2 4x12 packs. Amazing how simple and easily arrange in to limited space. Drone ground station runs forever on 200,000+ mah
Yeaaahh... I have 2x VRUZEND kits here!! The value you get with these kits is just FANTASTIC! Excellent price and customer service, super easy to build packs, only one small socket driver required!
Replacing any faulty cells in the middle of the pack is super easy, maybe the easiest design I have ever seen!! All you need is to locate the faulty series, remove the bus bars connecting to the neighbour series and remove the faulty whole parallel group. Even easier you can just remove few bus bars from one side of the pack and find which cells is killing the group =]
Depending on the orientation that the blocks are locked there's no need to use the zip ties that comes with the kit (stationary batteries definitely won't need it). The downside of locking the blocks in different orientation would be replacing a faulty cell in the middle of the pack (it's not impossible but you're just making your life harder when it could be super easy and simple).
The thick bus bars also increase the structural strength of the pack, it feels really strong and solid! Yes, it can handle enough current for most applications.
*if using recycled 18650 cells, make sure the cell terminals (positive & negative) are smooth and clear enough to offer a good contact between the cells and the spring load inside the block.
Love this little DIY battery kit =]
AWESOME video Micah, I'm sharing this video right now!!
Its BRUNO YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHM SO MUCH POWER.. LOL
papagino007 yeaaahhh so much POWAAAAAAAAAAHHHH... hahahahahaa =]
How would you know if the battery is faulty? or if it a bad connector? Either ways, I am willing to take the risk and build a small pack to try it out myself and see how it holds over time.
Festivejelly never got a cent $$$ to say anything about any product!!! I wish I was getting paid hahaha... if I think something is AWESOME I just like to spread the word and help others out there =]
Ohh yeaahhhh
Sonnet Gomes j
I want to let you know how much I like you sharing your knowledge about building batteries. I would like to see you build a battery that fits inside an aluminum bike battery case. Also your idea of the best alarms for ebikes.
just purchased your Ebooks to support your efforts. Thanks
The first video of yours that I saw (DIY E-Bike battery build) was great! I paused this one @3:09 to start purchasing My "Bat Legos"! I have so many uses for these! Very excited! Will "Sub" of course!
I've soldered tags to CR2042 cells. Being thin have to be careful. I tinned the surface with solder then was able to attach the (tinned) copper (or brass) tags with just enough heat. Not everyone will like the idea but it does solve the issue of mechanical loading.
Hi Micah: Your book on DIY LITHIUM BATTERIES was the bomb! Well written and super helpful for the beginner. I want to buy your gadget. I also used to live in your neck of the woods back in the late '80s. Cheers!
Best li battery pack I av watch so far
Great concept , you might even embed electronics in each to manage notification , and manage the cells when they become sick ..use colour plastic to identify pos and neg sides ..red and black tinted plastic .
pay this man
if ur a fool, indeed - do it
Nice to see you acknowledged my idea of coloured terminals in your new release ... Sarcasm
Red and black is a good idea
Ha, had this idea 2 years ago, to 3D Print a system like this that would all interlock to assemble into any size and eliminate soldering! Finally somebody did it!
Very cool. One suggestion: the individual bus-bar ties should have a narrow part that melts at high current and acts as a crude fuse in case of a fault.
I definitely think you made the correct decision in supporting this project. Heck I wish I would have known because I would have tried to help them but I guess I'll help them by buying some now.
Great Video! Do you have a video on building a 48V 20Ah battery. What cells and how many do you recommend? Thank you!
Great product and idea! Are you guys planing to make kit for high drain cells? Looking forward to that. Am planing to make 72V battery pack with 18650 20A cells. It would be great to NOT spot welder all 140/180 cells and make life little easier.
Great idea, cant wait to see just how versatile the 18650 will become. This product will set this battery up to work in so many things. Bye bye AA and AAA batts.
You just made my day. I was overwhelmed by the prospect of soldering a pack together, but this works so perfectly. Thank you
Also it's awesome that you can change an individual cell that goes bad later down the road. This is a great invention
I am not sure about the battery kit. Okay for prototyping small to medium power but the more power to be drawn out of a battery and in a shorter period of time could be a problem. A real time saver building a battery with this kit. Many have noted other problems so I will not go into them again. I will be buying the kit for quick prototyping projects. I bought your book when it came out. Thanks for the video and good luck with your venture. I hope it is a long time success.
Why not make the BMS a no need to solder, plug in and bolt part of this kit? AND make it easy to FIND and replace bad batteries....
The way you find faulty batteries is with a multimeter for 5gbp and you use a soldering iron for 15gbp to connect the bms because everyone fucking hates those green terminals that cost a lot to implement, take up a lot of space, are unreliable and so on. Don't do electronics without at least a soldering station! Mine cost 15 with shipping and works with 5+ years zero maintenance and I'm an electronics tinkering eng student.
Omg this is so amazing. This is life changing. I'm going to buy so many of these thank you so so much.
George Knowles loool.
hey man let me know how it worked out
Awesome video... love those kit. Question, can I build battery banks for my rv solar system using this kit...like 4 100 amp hour...?
Once pack is assembled use wood blocks with bolts to keep the compression from decompression only true way to be 100% certain contacts between each cell will stay tight
How do you ensure that the terminals and the batteries are making good contact all the time?? It seems to me that there is no 100% guarantee that all the contacts are good, as it might come loose over time..
It all comes down to planning and a good mallet. I have a little bar I put under the contact and bend it upward each time I change batteries. Then I make sure there's proper contact by checking with a multi-meter and smacking offending cells with the mallet. This makes for a very tight fit such that I don't use the big zip ties they send along with the kit.
I think the contacts are spring loaded.
that works great until it gets a tiny bit of vibration and the caps slip apart
I don't know how well it would stay together under high-vibration environments, but as a "powerwall" type of setup this would be great.
J Bishop even buildings vibrate, hvac equipment, floor machines, elevator equipment rooms, etc.... it does not take a very big vibration of the right frequency to shake something loose especially if it's only a friction fit. Poor contact in electrical systems causes resistance, resistance =heat, too much heat over time and now you have a fire
very helpful video,,iv watched so many of these due to interest,,yours is very easy to follow and glad the title mentions the name of the kit,,great job
I'm curious about the spring contracts. Under what acceleration does the battery disconnect?
Will be nice if you have a white board on the wall and drew what you are doing electrically with the connections, also these will work on other brand batteries? Like the Chinese made? No all factories will have the same diameter tolerances.
Brilliant! But how does one quantify "a good amount of force"?
Fantastic product. Will try find it here in South Africa
Super system, but why not make those terminals in blue and red to avoid misshaps?
Hans Bächtold they made new version. Check website this video is old
@@tsuyang4173 Will do. Thanks.
Very cool!
You mentioned making odd shapes like a triangle. I can see how you’d do that physically, but how would you wire the busbars to preserve the electrical balance of the pack?
I appreciate you disclosing your affiliation with the company. Not enough people do, even though it is technically illegal not to.
Great option for DIY battery building. At least one small improvement I can see. Use external shake proof washers to ensure really good electrical contact and prevent the nuts from coming loose. Or, change the nuts to Nyloc type.
Can't use nyloc's with battery.
dear, I have a question, I have a Scooter with 36v with 3 12V batteries, which model 18650 should I use 10 batteries of 2000ma or 2500ma or 3500ma? thank you and congratulations on the channel is very good.
From Brazil
Very cool idea and a great price as well. I can't wait for the next video on this project. I did read some of the comments and I think I'll wait for the 2.0 version to come out, where it can handle higher current loads. I'd like to have two batteries that are 48v and 1200 watts. Do you think the next version will be able to do something like that?
Thanks and keep up the GREAT work.
Oh and where's that video of your two wheel drive bike? haha Seriously, I feel like I'm starting to sound like a kid who was told that we're going to Disney Land and now he asks every hour, when are we going? haha I know you're busy, and I'd rather have a quality video about it, than a rushed video, so take your time.
Question here, not a pro electrician. I do know that 5mm nuts tend to loosen up easily with vibration. Would putting a bit blue Loctite on each screw before putting the nuts would have a bad effect on the power connectivity?
I probably wouldnt use loctite since it seems to connect via the threads into the nut and then into the plate, so you might be semi insulating the threads with loctite. Locknuts might work though, although a bit more money. Id probably just wack some hot glue on all of them and call it a day lul
This is a SWEET kit! I ordered mine today!
An honest salesman! Unheard of😎
oh wauw ! ! this is what i need, do they also have kits for 21700 battery's ??? and do they have better/higher bms for battery ?i only got 30amps i want more plz.
Brilliant invention! Can't wait to build mine!
I'm going to be building a battery to power an electric motor for my (large and stable) ocean kayak. I plan to put the batteries in a water tight container with desiccant packs inside to absorb moister, however, I've found that no matter what you do in water environments, moister creeps in and corrosion sets in. In the past I've used dielectric grease to stave off oxidation on electrical connections. I was thinking about using a very small amount to coat the connections when using this kit.
Can anyone think of a reason that would or would not be a good idea?
Love the idea. But i have watched some videos where some cells don't connect correctly.. my question i understand the plate is spring loaded - but why have a plate and not a spiral type connector - so if the battery pack moves the spiral will always be in contact with the battery...
You can't beat a good old soldering iron. With a nice fat tip!!
18650 cells are all over the place. Diameters and lengths vary +/- .5mm or more. Is that accounted for?
How, with the inconsistency in diameter of 18650 cells, does the caps hold them with enough force to make a solid connection at the terminals?
Any looseness will result in heat build-up.
Hi! Excellent video! It would be lovely if you had a summer school work shop on how to build a complete ebike!.... It would be an awesome one or two week holiday!!
Great! It helps innovators on all rungs of the ladder. Bravo.
How much is it for this full kit including the batteries. I just subscribed and really want to do a nice simple portable solar set up to go on road trips.
Liked how u were honest from the gate.. 👍
great wark bud can i have a description link on where to get this pleas ty keep up the good wark.
sory my bad did see the link im gona go ahead and order thwm ty agen for the great video.
I like this - Great Idea -
things to add
also sell stamped copper buss bar in Rolls - then it could be cut to length needed -
Looks like pack would be hard to take apart because of tight fit - is it ??
So I need 8 of those cells with the kit together ..how much volts do I need to make E-Bike ?
hello tanks for the information.... how many batteries i need for 72v 20ah
At one point you say that the actual voltage does not matter as long as there is connectivity. I'd say it's pretty important that all batteries that are going to be in parallel have roughly the same voltage BEFORE adding the parallel connection, otherwise you are going to get a HUGE current spike potentially causing skin burns and potentially damaging the batteries.
Terrific product for build your own battery packs. If you are still giving away the "DIY Lithium batteries" book it would help when I purchase a half dozen kits. Also very interested in your BMS video. Been looking for a clean way to service pack that will need a replacement battery.
This is excellent invention. One thing that concerns me a bit that if the spring lose tension over time, the batteries may have intermittent connectivity issues during a jerky ride, but I would still like to try these out and see for myself how it holds up over time.
Has this been time and stress tested?
Great system design. Looking to replace my Lead Acid batteries on my 36v scooter 10Ah. Looking forward to your next video on installing BMS to your 10S pack. Do you solder leads to batteries or crimp wire knuts and then bolt to battery terminals tops?
Good idea - can't help but feel the cells themselves could be better designed for this sort of application, but of course they were never designed for mass grouping I don't think. However, there are variations on the 18650 (button or flat top) and I sense the possibility of an EV variant where they are designed better for large batch use. COOLING is the next thing - how about some slim copper ribbon (like a tube but flattened somewhat) and end fittings and junction pieces, so cooling can be taken care of? That would be an important serious next-level step? For allowing mass cooling by threading such hollow-ribbon copper a cooling system could be implemented?
Maybe if the caps came in a rew different colours it would help keep track of the + and - at a glance. Also if the strips came longer that would mean less physical joints and less problems in the future.
Will this system work for a 48v array that will fit into a Hailong battery box?
what is the total cost of connectors, batteries, and bms what is the order number thank you for your assistance
When you add the discharge wire connectors (11:30), you place the first on so it is hanging off of the battery pack and left the middle cell unattached? is there any motive behind that? could you move the lowest discharge connector up 1 cell so it doesn't hang off the edge of the pack to save space?
Yes you could definitely move it up. The way I did it meant that the middle cell that isn't connected is sort of 'shared' between the two brass connectors and only has to send half of its current each direction. But your idea also works and saves a bit of space.
For bigger batteries (6 or more cells in parallel), do you have a rule for how many discharge connectors should be attached to those end groups? Should you use 3 for a 6p battery? or 4 for an 8p?
Before parallel connecting cells, you should balance them to have the same voltage at least! Ideally you should measure the capacity of each cell and match the series parts of the stack so you get the most juice out of your battery.
Hopefully, this guy will read the comments on his video. Maybe he will learn something before he - and his team - come up with another product to sell. I doubt that any of them are engineers. If they are, I see no evidence of real world experience there. A train wreck just waiting to happen...
This is awesome! Can these be used for LiFePo4 cells? Cuz I think they have a different diameter.. please let me know if there is a way to use this for LiFePo4
Where do get the kits, and how much does it cost to make a 48 volt battery using the Vruzund kit?
this would be cool wonder if they are gonna make them for the 26650?
I'm going to grab a kit. Cheers from Aotearoa NZ.
Would you need some kind of regulator on this? I have never built a battery pack before and don't have any battery knowledge.
I've seen a video where someone makes a cheap Tesla Powerwall from a load of 18650's. These things would make it a lot easier when it comes to construction and maintenance.
What a great product. Do you think the 18650 would be powerful enough for an RC like a Traxxas Summit?
Great video but when you click on the link it's always say out of stock is there a link that you can go and buy this stuff
Thanks for the great instructional video. I joined to learn and you are a good teacher.
I don't understand, Jehugarcia did something with these things with no luck. They were giving him problems. I think this is an awesome concept. I wanna make sure I don't regret ordering this
In my opinion (as a real engineer with 40+ years experience), watch Jehu Garcia's videos instead. He's not an engineer, but he understands electrical characteristics a LOT better than most of the hacks out there. And no, I am not affiliated with Jehu Garcia in any way.
Hello you can make a video about how to make triangular batteries or other forms?
Can you make a video on how to assemble a 100ah 12v? There’s a huge market for that in the travel van / rv market, thanks!
I assume that you have to take the battery pack apart to find out which cells are no longer performing? Also it looks like you are back ordered on the battery kits?
wow thats pretty cool, nice implementation, though they will have higher resistance than spotwelding. however for the sake of reusability/repair and ease of building that is a good trade off for a few milliohms.
I have an Ancheer ebike. The battery is inside a metallic tube that people often mistake for a water bottle. Would something like this work for my setup? I'd need to stack the batteries on top of each other, not make a brick.
Hi Mikeh (spelling?), it would be cool to make these in a round form factor. Designed in such a way that they connect off set in a zigzag pattern, it would make it easier to build non square packs.
Also, please add global shipping for these, or at least shipping to Australia. Thanks!
I have the kit, it's pretty amazing!
Is it much cheaper to build your own?
The website says the cap's are out of stock. The forum doesn't exist. There is no way to contact them, even after registering, unless you placed an order. So, unless I'm missing something this product does not exist. This is so frustrating.
Will this fit into a hailong case? Hoping to make a 48v 17a pack. Thanks for the info.
Doubtful huh? What's the best way to make a waterproof hard case?
I bought two of these kids I can't wait to try them out.
Neat idea, best of luck with this project, ignore the doom-and-gloom-we-are-all-gonna-die spooks, it works, it sells, it works, it sells more. Brilliant.
I want to build these for a 36V Golf Cart Battery and it appears I probably need at least 4 of these in parallel. I will probably start with one and get it running. Can the BMS that VRUZEND has handle 10s 10 P and do you have a video to put these in parallel so it make better sense to me. I would think going parallel I would attach each pos to pos and esch neg to neg to each other from each battery as well as then each battery would go to one single point to both the load and the charging post. I would also get a smart charger that could recognize the battery voltage, max recharge and series and parallel set up. Any help would be great and if you have a video that would be good too. I just got the book and I am reading it but I am very visual so the video was perfect.
Jehu Garcia pushed the caps together straight instead of sliding them from the side. It seemed to work properly. Any thoughts on that method?
Yea, avoid doing that. Jehu has an on-again, off-again relationship with following directions. Doing that wears out the dovetails and also makes it harder to align the caps correctly.
Like the NO spot weld or soldering idea. One quick question, does the spring loaded contact good enough for high amp current usage like ebike battery? My only concern is the resistance between the battery terminals and the spring nickel disc. Any advice would be helpful.
Spring loaded contacts of any kind will lose the spring force (temper) if heated, resulting in an avalanche effect. It goes downhill from there (no pun intended). Carry a fire extinguisher and wear fire-proof clothing.
How is it you are not getting shocked when touching all the exposed terminals? This is new to me. Also, shouldn’t there be fuses in here somewhere, like between the cells?
Shocks are supplied by alternating current (AC). Batteries are direct current (DC). You will start to cook yourself at very high voltages DC, but you won't shock yourself. Because you have thick calloused skin acting as a high ohm resistor, you won't actually cook yourself unless you wet your fingers and hold tight at both opposing terminals. You probably need around 90 volts minimum to start risking danger to yourself. I think this is a 36 volt pack without rewatching the video.
Battery packs aren't usually fused internally, but you could do so to prevent a critical meltdown from damaged cell sets causing uneven and high discharge currents within the pack.
is there something similar open source for 3d printing?
Great idea. If the battery is expandable could it be used in a larger scale for solar power?
Absolutely