How to use plastic fence post covers as cases for BatteryBlocs.
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- čas přidán 3. 02. 2016
- Let's take a look at how to use readily available 4" plastic fence post covers as cases for a range of BatteryBloc sizes. These fence post covers protect 4"x4" wooden posts and are commonly available at the big box home improvement stores. End caps for these posts are sold there too.
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The Idea is good, But I mis the single cell protection as you se on a Tesla Battery pack, so when 1 cell good bad it just blow a fuse = burn a little piece of wire to protect the rest of a battery pack and prevent fire ore something bad to happen, but I still like the idea, but maybe some more development are needed to implement that Fuse....ore am I total wrong ......... best to all ....keep on sparking...... Jørgen Thomsen Denmark DK
I don't deny it is a safety feature. I have never seen a modern battery fail because a single cell shorted. I have seen cells die, which makes the other cells in parallel feed them, which drags down that parallel group. But that is not enough to trigger a fuse.. So it is a question of tradeoffs- a little bit safer but with a large increase in complexity and cost.
I really like the cost reducing ideas behind your BatteryBloc design, like this post! :-)
1) In DK it seems hard to come by 4" x 4", but 10 cm x 10 cm fence posts are available, which according to google ~ 3.937" A tight fit?
2) What about the heat dissipation in case of heavy load? Especially with the end caps attached to the post. Could that be a problem?
Thanks for the videos!
Hi Jan,
1. Yes, 10 by 10 cm would work as Battery Blocs side by side are 90 mm.
2. Heat buildup is a non issue if you are running cells anywhere within specs. Cells heat up from within when really drained hard, and they take a while to dissipate that heat even in open air. But when used within their C rating, they will not get hot. The fence post tubes will restrict airflow, but so does shrink wrapping.
So if you are pushing cells beyond their c rating as a matter of course, then you need to have fans and cooling- and to have a good reason for it, to know what you are doing.
But for normal use, there is no heat buildup problems with any battery pack case.
Just wondering how the side to side connectors actually fit and are attached. I never thought about using the fence post protectors for boxes. I haven't done any battery blocks, but that is a very useful idea. Thanks
The side to side connectors are like the front to back connectors except, well, they go side to side. There are slots in the sides of the cases that they pass through. They have are metal strips and have holes in them. The nylon bolts pass through the holes and make the electrical connections and hold them together. www.batteryblocs.com
Thanks. Didn't notice the slots in the sides.
Hi Shawn and everyone! I like the idea of protecting the battery in a fence enclosure. Really neat. The 10P-1S is perfect for that but might not be the perfect block for certain battery configurations. My question is related to the possibility to use 2 battery blocks side to side like you show at round 5:00 into the video. It clearly fits. But what about the wiring? Since you will need to connect different wires on the battery terminals (power and balancing wires)....it doesn't seem to leave any space to route the wires out of the fence enclosure. Especially for larger gauge wires. I would like to be able to open the enclosure and slide the battery out easily for maintenance as well. What do you suggest someone would do for that? Is the space left on the same side as the bloc's triangular tabs and zip ties enough in your experience? Or would one need to create a hole on the top of the last bloc (where the side connector opening is located)? I would be interested in ideas for that. Cheers!
I make pieces just for that. They are called "side to side" connectors. They are on my website. You use the slots in the sides of the Blocs. When you order write me a note telling me what you are doing and I will swap them for front to back connectors as needed.
The "side to side" and "front to back" connectors would indeed be used to connect the blocs together inside the enclosure. But you might have misread my previous comment. I was rather asking how one would lead or route the required wires (power, balancing, BMS) towards the outside of the enclosure. Since the blocs are tightly inserted sideways ....I don't see a clean way out for the wires hooked to those ring terminals. But I might be missing something. The gap on the same side as the triangular tabs and zip ties seems a bit small for that...But if it's enough for 10-12 AWG ...I'll be damned!
Hi Luc,
Ahh, gotcha. Yes, you can put BMS wires through the slots on the sides. The power wires, 10 awg, would not fit or be a tight squeeze so they would have to be routed out each end of the battery. But I have a better idea. Since you won't be running threaded rod through the standoffs, I can print you out some that have a 1" gap in the middle. You could run all your wires through there. Gotta love the verstility of 3d printing!
WOW! It's impressive indeed! I definitely got to get me one of those 3D printers some day. I work in video games and I can already model stuff in 3D so the learning curve should not be too steep. Although I would need to keep that a secret otherwise my kids would constantly be bugging to print them new toys everyday! LOL
When using side to side connectors isnt the nylon bolts too short?
Shawn, love your instruction but I'm confused, in both this vid and "BB Overview" you hold up a 10P 5S assembly and refer to it as having a 36 volt output. Surely I'm missing something.
must be half of a 36v?
What about countries that are metric can we use 100mmX100mm?, only US, Burma and Liberia are still Imperial :-(
Yes, more than ever now I feel I live in a backwards nation! Sorry about that!
Yes. if the inner diameter is 100x100mm then the Blocs will fit.
Where can i bye these do you have a link
or even an sti file so i can print my own
Do you mean the BatteryBlocs? You can get them on my website www.batteryblocs.com.
Metal rods are not smart ways to hold the battery packs. Excessively unnecessarily heavy
You are right they add some weight. They also add a lot of structural stiffness. Once tightened you can heft the battery in the air like a barbell! But if saving ounces is critical for your application you want to go with a spot welded battery! Thanks for commenting!
+Shawn McCarty Thanks for your reply and video ! Very innovative.
Cosmo John aluminum rods are a bit lighter but a bit more expensive as well.