DIY Multi Battery Charger

[Pedals2Paddles]

And I'm over here like "I can duct tape one of these into a cereal box with some wires hanging out..."

 

[divemasterphil]

Yes, but eat the cereal first, it's like a battery for humans!

And I'm over here like "I can duct tape one of these into a cereal box with some wires hanging out..."

 

[Jubalr]

Here is a nice finished charger Grant Connery made that will charge 5 Solo batteries at a time. Well Done Grant!

 

[PdxSteve]

Glad to help you out there, Grant "my design" lol. ok. Where did you find out about the Yeeco's? Who told you it was possible and gave you the link to them when others were saying it wouldn't work? Funny how you use "Steve" as the example on how people should be naming their design different than yours. I'll name my charger that I've been researching (and you've greatly benefited from those 2 months of testing and research) how I want, thanks. Not that I would have used that name anyway. All you've done is took exactly what I've done and said you came up with it. Brilliant. Anyone can go look at the timeline here and on the facebook groups...

 

[Maddog]

Glad to help you out there, Grant "my design" lol. ok. Where did you find out about the Yeeco's? Who told you it was possible and gave you the link to them when others were saying it wouldn't work? Funny how you use "Steve" as the example on how people should be naming their design different than yours. I'll name my charger that I've been researching (and you've greatly benefited from those 2 months of testing and research) how I want, thanks. Not that I would have used that name anyway. All you've done is took exactly what I've done and said you came up with it. Brilliant. Anyone can go look at the timeline here and on the facebook groups...

That guy sounds like a real low-life, taking credit for your work.

 

[PdxSteve]

And ask for donations on top of it lol. The only thing original here is the 3d printed box, which is the simplest part of the system and has nothing to do with the actual device.

I certainly didn't figure it all out on my own. There have been several people on the forums that have helped along the way ( @Jubalr @RolandS888 @Maddog @franknitty69 ).

 

[Maddog]

There's one in every crowd.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

When I build my version, I'm going to call it "The ugly cheap version of Steve's really nice charger that Grant Conery copied" and see if I can get some donations as well

 

[STMPNGRND]

If you don't have a multimeter or don't want to go through the hassle you can buy a step up converter that has a voltmeter/ammeter built in for about $10 more. There's one linked in the first post "digital step up booster". It's a lot easier to set up and more like a traditional lipo charger where you just input the volts/amps and it shows on a display.

@divemasterphil Thanks for saving me the time on all of these write ups lol. I was planning on detailed writeups after my project was complete. I've been working on this for about 2 months now and have tested many different components and then re-bayed some of the ones I didn't end up using.

These cheap Chinese made boost converters leave a lot to be desired and are all over the place as far as build quality, quality of components used, solder quality, etc. I'd carefully inspect any board used before plugging it in. I received one with a cold solder joints around the transformer coil. I had another one go sparky after about an hour of use. Not good. Buy extra and test thoroughly before leaving unattended. Also, these things get burning hot and a fan is really needed if using above like 4 Amps. It will burn.

@PdxSteve , what did you use to put load on the converter to test the current? I'm hesitating to hook up to a battery for the load to test/set current.

 

[PdxSteve]

A partially discharged 12V car battery

 

[STMPNGRND]

A partially discharged 12V car battery

@PdxSteve , I'm fresh out of spare car batteries...
What is your opinion about using it to power a ThunderPower 820 lipo charger? That would be tolerant of a wide range of input current.

 

[SurfnSkate81]

@PdxSteve When can I buy it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Klepper]

so how do you set it up with your multimeter once it's all mechanically setup?

 

[Rusty Jones]

So..... what is the charge time for the batteries now?

 

[PdxSteve]

About 30 minutes to go from 10% to 100% using 16.8V@6A, which is the max the smart battery can handle.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

So..... what is the charge time for the batteries now?

In my experience, you can go from dead at 5% to 100% full in about 50-55 minutes.

 

[Rusty Jones]

In my experience, you can go from dead at 5% to 100% full in about 50-55 minutes.

That is better than the almost 2 hours I get with stock charger......

Need to start putting parts together....

 

[PdxSteve]

I'm sorry, it is an hour to charge. I was thinking 30 minutes faster than stock.

 

[Drone_Dude]

Would this be suitable? DC-DC CC CV Buck Converter Step-down Power Supply Module 7-32V to 0.8-28V 12A SY

 

[PdxSteve]

Would this be suitable? DC-DC CC CV Buck Converter Step-down Power Supply Module 7-32V to 0.8-28V 12A SY

Yes, but that's a step-down converter, so you'd need a 24v power supply (or anything higher than 18V)