I also saw that zinc core and amber zinc flux at
http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/?sid=1635236&pgid=bldg
scroll down its there
might work well for the 123's

this might help to Linc.
from Hyperion's website
http://media.hyperion.hk/dn/a123/pac...23packassy.pdf

Does this mean i have to learn how to do my own battery work?:whip:

I tried that,as that is what I use on the al tabs on enerland cells. No chance of me getting the cell hot enough to melt that zinc solder.

I have successfully made 2 of the 5 cell a123 packs now... And am working on the rest. The neg side is not giving me much issue, it is the pos side. The guy in the vid must have a 10000 watt iron to do it that fast. I can barely get the end of the cell warm enough to melt solder... and I do not want to heat the entire cell to liquid hot...

I doubt the packs in the vid could hold up to a screwdriver prying the tabs up, that is my test when I make packs with bars.

Maybe, unless I change my mind. I have a feeling cooler weather will help with that... It is just too damn hot to do anything here.

Guess I'll be ordering some shrink wrap and balance taps! I was hoping to send my pack this week. I guess all good things must come to an end. Linc has done good work for me and many others and I thank him.

Linc - just cause some batteries are pissing you off is no reason to give up on RC all together! Go get a truck and drive it, drive the hell out of it, always makes me feel better.

The large tip is what really helps to as it "stores" more heat energy

I watched a few shamwow parody vids AND FEEL MUCH BETTER.

I have 180 watt iron that has a 3/16" wide tip that is hot enough to push thru a hooker, ask how I know that....

No offense but if your such an expert then why aren't you doing this yourself rather than tormenting James with the task?

cause I'm a quadriplegic and don't feel like shorting out 30+volts (original plan was 10s)trying to get things together. I do all my own Ni-xx cells but was scared of these.
Good enough reason smartass.

If your capable of doing yours why are you sending your stuff to Linc?

Jk on the Smartass deal.
If Linc is having such a hard time on these with all his experience I would surely have made a mess.

I just finished assembling all 4 5s a123 packs, just need to wire and shrink them.

Gimpy, did you want 12 gauge wire and deans on the a123 packs? I know you wanted xh balance taps, but not sure on the wire.

I even glued the cardboard tubes together, felt like I was at some sort of bs craft fair... HAHAHAHA

Next week I plan to build a shitty rocking chair out of wood i found in my yard, then make some sort of christmas decorations out of pipe cleaners, then smoke weed till I pass out. Crafts are so cool, just like hippies (no offense Mike)!

Cool glad to hear it worked out.
Yup,12 gauge w/deans.
And they say Arts&Crafts are relaxing!

Sorry about the comment, great to hear that you can still have such a fun hobby as a quadriplegegic. I don't have the materials to do mine and I'm not sure that I can fix mine, but I would rather try to fix it and learn by mistake or success how to do it than to let a $200 pack go to waste.

No worries guy.

I had every intention on doing the work when I bought the cells but when I saw Linc's thread here I figured I'd leave it up to someone who's done this before rather than me mess up $200 worth of new cells.

When it comes to doing Ni-xx packs or throwing on a deans or wiring up esc's and motors I do great with my trusty Hakko-936. But this kind of Amps/Volts I figured I'd send them out.
Looks like it's a good thing I did since they're such a PITA!

Again sorry for gettin you into this Linc.

He loves it something to bitch and moan about...

No prob dude, just a bit pissed that the ac is down, and my temper is obviously up...

Yeah, I do like to piss and moan about poorly made shit, I feel like I am justified as I do everything I set out to do right, even if it costs more or takes longer than planned...

Maybe I can teach someone here the lipo skillz and have them do the repairs... Scratch that, I do not have the time to teach my employees simple things like wiping their own butts correctly.

I would appreciate it if you could just do a little write up on what solder and flux to use on what and where to get the stuff from. I know the aluminum tabs need special flux but don't know what kind.

At the very least I hope you can still answer questions for us on lipo repair. Such as if all I'm doing is replacing a balance tap can I just heat up the solder thats there and get the new wire to stick? otherwise I'm prolly just gonna solder a new tap on outside the pack.

Linc, what is the main iron you use? I need a new one. I need a good one.

If the tab already has solder you can just add a bit of regular 60/40 and replace the wire. Special flux/solder is only needed if the tab is bare al.

My big iron is a wall 180 watt gun type, you can also get it at sears as their craftsman brand. Now I use a 40 watt pencil type with a wide screwdriver style tip for doing al tabs, as the zinc solder and flux is hard on tips. I also have a 40 watt weller solder station that is great for smaller jobs.

Hi guys, I'm new to RC and new to this forum. This is a great thread!

I have a question I haven't seen addressed. I have a Losi 2s 1000mAh pack. It has Losi's "Internal circuit protection to prevent over charge and over discharge", to quote from their documentation. Well, that circuitry has bit the dust. I've opened the pack, and the cells still look fine, and their individual voltage is good.

Sure it is a small/cheap pack, but it seems a shame throw it away with good cells. Is there any reason not to turf the protection circuitry (as Losi seems to have done for their more recent 2s packs). I'm running a Tekin ESC (with low V cutoff) and using the Losi wall-wart Lipo charger (LOSB1208), which I assume ha overcharge protection built in, so I'm not sure why I'd need the in-pack protection too.

Has anyone had problems with this circuitry before and/or have reasons not to proceed with bypassing it?

UPDATE:

After sitting for a day the pack is 'fixed', we'll see how long it lasts. I figure either it had a slow to reset thermal cutoff (I let it sit > 2 hours prior to pulling it open and posting the above, so I doubt it, and it was barely warm to start with), or when I plugged it into the charger that reset something in the protection circuitry. I'll keep an eye on it, and if nothing abnormal happens I guess I'll leave it. If it cuts out again, I'll take another look at bypassing the internal curcuitry.

Man I hear you on the heat Linc. Every summer people in Houston start loosing their minds, usually people on the road with a broken AC in their car.

I work on my own lipo packs, but I need help on balance taps. Do you have a link that shows wiring diagrams for the different taps? Also, what is a good place to purchase balance taps?

Thanks in advance. :yipi:

Click on "Lipo pack wiring" - http://www.scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_lipo.html

Or do you need to know abaout the wires going into the connector? With standard JST-XH plugs, the ground goes into the first wire then the other cells go in order after it. If you look at a plug it's easier to do.

i have a few old batterys coming your way. a 5s 3700 polyquest that only makes full power after 4 laps when it gets warm.

a 4s 3700 that has a weak cell in it.( constantlly have to balance it for hours to keep it even)

are you busy? mail them out monday? lemme know ben ( need address also)

Linc is no longer doing lipo repairs or reconfigurations.

I would like to say thanks to LincPimp and BrianG!!! When Linc said he stopped doing lipo repairs I was getting ready to send him a pack. That forced me to order the stuff I needed and I figured I'd rather destroy a $200 pack learning to rewire one than to let it sit there and go to waste! Stuff came in the mail today so it was time for me to grow a pair and cut apart a $200 Lipo! Before I did it though I took a little trip to BrianG's site and looked at the lipo pack wiring diagram. Well I finished and hooked it up to my charger and it's charging as I write this. So for a few dollars and about a half hour of time I resurrected a valuable pack! Thanks guys!

You're welcome. Donations are accepted, paypal and cash are great, along with checks payable to metallover.:lol:

Glad your pack is saved.:great:

Glad you figured it out. Most of the time repairs were easy, but the amount of material to completely redo a pack, and add some of my "tweaks" got costly, as did finding time...

You never know, winter may come around and i will have more time to fool with this stuff again, summer just gets very busy.

And hot as hell in LA.... :no:


Would hate to be in Texas.. Or Mexico during the summer..

Surprising, but China was literally hell..
High triple digits (around 100-120 at least..) with at least 50% humidity evey day.....

Boy was I glad to get back onto the plane.

hey link i remember u posting where u bought the balance leads and the shrink,ect. where was it again?

allerc.com sells most stuff

thanks alot guess its time to stop being lazy and get more hands on for my lipo needs,lol

I couldn't find the shrink from allerc.com, little do dads like this stuff I still go to MA for, prices aren't bad and I get the stuff quicker from them than when I order from allerc

what size shrink do i need for a 2s 5000mah pack? the 54mm?

measure around the pack and divide by 2. Then go up to the next available size, at least thats how I did it. The shrink is measured with it laying flat so a 54mm piece is actually 108mm around it or a circumference of 108mm

I sent Linc a "lipo" package that actually contained a corn and peanut strewn turd. The amazing thing was the density, it felt as heavy as a lipo would be. What the hell had I been eating? (besides peanuts and corn)

I think that was the end of lipo repairs.

thanks

no problem.

also found good prices here www.all-battery.com and seems a better selection of stuff

I use cheapbatterypacks.com, they have always treated me very well, fast shipping and no surprises, like out of stock stuff that is listed in stock. I will not buy from maxamps, mainly cause they are more expensive, and I do not like paying for advertising (not for crappy waterproof lipos anyway).

The lack of a/c in the hobby room and the general business of summer caused the lipo repair to be put on hold... Like I said I may start it up again, so if you really want something done hold onto it. In a few months it will be cool again...