Making BusBars And Nickel Plating

I put together a couple of 25 ah 24 Volt 8S Packs and made my own busbars for this.

I chose 1/8" X 3/4" 110 Copper bus bars. •https://www.ebay.com/itm/303841271273 These are rated for a little over 200 amps. Way more than these 25 ah cells will push. I'm deciding to learn how to make my own busbars at $1 per inch.

I ended up getting two copper flats, 12" each. Each 12" section made 6 busbars for my cells, so 12 total. I only need 7 for each battery. THis is the E-Bay pic. Slightly cleaner than the ones that showed up in the next pic.


Of course I am not tooled up for this, so here is my drill press, simply a 2 X 4 with two drill bits to hold the bar steady as I drill:

I had a pattern I used to mark where to drill holes and then used a screwdriver to make an indentation to drill on:

I found that if I drilled the M6 hole with the perfect size first, 15/64" the bit would wander. This is why I wish I had access to a real press. First was a smaller 3/32" Hole and then with a 15/64" hole, and then after each pair of holes was drilled, saw if they fit on the batteries. Some were drilled too far apart, again whish I had a drill press:

Then was marking and cutting. You can see the holes are not perfectly centered. I marked with a hacksaw where this was going to be cut. Final Cutting done with a power tool. Also note the oxidation on the copper that needs to be cleaned off:

Had to clean the bus bars off prior to nickel plating. Used
•Rubbing Alcohol
•Acetone Better
•Paper Towels
•800 Grit Paper on sanding block
•Various Files
•180 Grit Sanding block (Not Pictured)



First came the filing:

Then sanding with 180 grit block which got rid of the last of the burs from the drilling and then finishing with 800 grit. Much Shinier, but still needed cleaning with alcohol or acetone:

Last Part was the nickel Plating.
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First, make the Green Nickel Solution
•Home Made Production
•30% Vinegar and Salt (any vinegar supposed to work; 30% not necessary)
•Nickel Strip from amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KP3M4LP/
•Put each strip in Vinegar in jar
•Connect DC Power Supply Positive side to one Sttrip; Negative to other strip

4 Hours Solution will be green when finished

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Plating Basics
•Nickel strip on positive lead
•Use Copper wire on negative lead to hang bus bar
•Turn around to coat evenly

Finally the plating:

Dip In Solution
•Power Supply 5 – 10 Volts
•.5 amps – 1 amp
•Put Copper Wire through busbar hole and Dip
•Bubbles
Will Coat within 5 Seconds but leave in 15 seconds then repeat:
•Reverse; turn upside down; Reverse

Before shot of them being cleaned one last time prior to installation:

After Picture of them installed.

The BMS to finish this may arrive tomorrow.

I did something stupid when I was putting my battery that caused a large-enough spark on one of my lugs that it pitted.

In the process of sanding/filing to assure the lug has a flat surface, I removed most of the tin plating.

I’ve purchased an ingot on tin and plan to re-plate the affected lug before final assembly.

Your post and pictures have motivated me to follow-through .

Did you do anything to clean your aluminum terminals before assembly?

Did you use any product like oxGuard on your aluminum terminals before final assembly?

(I’ve got my battery working for several weeks now but am planning a disassembly and final assembly before considering the project completed.

fafrd said:

Did you do anything to clean your aluminum terminals before assembly?

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I used a Q-Tip and Acetone.

fafrd said:

Did you use any product like oxGuard on your aluminum terminals before final assembly?

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I should have. I have Oxgauard, but did not use it because the bus bars were not aluminum. I did not think of the terminals though.

To clean copper, put it in a bath of vinegar and salt. It cleans right up - quite amazing to see really.

upnorthandpersonal said:

To clean copper, put it in a bath of vinegar and salt. It cleans right up - quite amazing to see really.

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I will certainly try that next time. Thanks.

chrisski said:

I used a Q-Tip and Acetone.

I should have. I have Oxgauard, but did not use it because the bus bars were not aluminum. I did not think of the terminals though.

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you need to mechanically clean the aluminum terminals (the contact surface not the threads) as they form an insulating layer (rather quickly actually as in seconds after cleaning), a dremel with a fine wire brush will do fine quickly followed by some noalox coating. I use penetrox brands.

I use finished copper bar stock from Online Metals. Same process, drill holes on measured centers, cut to length with bench mount plate shear, sand/file edges. I then use a Prestolite torch, heating the copper. Using a small acid brush with tinning flux to plate the copper with tin. no polishing or cleaning. The tinning flux does that. I clean the finished copper with detergent and water. I used Oatey Company Tinning Flux, but there are many brands available, such as Nokorode 95/5.

Diysolar123 said:

you need to mechanically clean the aluminum terminals (the contact surface not the threads) as they form an insulating layer (rather quickly actually as in seconds after cleaning), a dremel with a fine wire brush will do fine quickly followed by some noalox coating. I use penetrox brands.

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How much of an impact can that have on contact resistance? I’m just using a disk of fine sandpaper and doubt I’m getting NoAlox on there in less than a minute. I’m trying to understand how important it is to clean with a Drexel & wire brush and quickly enough to get NoAlox in place within seconds.

Are we talking a 10x difference? (Tenths of mOhms versus mOhms?)

If you use an oil when cleaning the terminals you seal the oxygen out. I don't have any tests with/without on this, but it's what I did with mine last year (together with adding MG Chemicals 847) and no issues so far.

upnorthandpersonal said:

If you use an oil when cleaning the terminals you seal the oxygen out. I don't have any tests with/without on this, but it's what I did with mine last year (together with adding MG Chemicals 847) and no issues so far.

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So use a wire brush or fine-grit sandpaper to clean an oiled terminal - great idea.

And then if you are clamping down a terminal, do you also add NoAlox or will a coating of oil alone for the trick?

Is MG Chemicals 847 a NoAlox equivalent?

MG Chemicals 847 prevents oxidation, so it can be used instead of NoAlox - don't mix them! It also has better conductivity. It's more expensive, but I think it's worth it especially if you're worried your bus bars aren't flat or are perhaps dented.

upnorthandpersonal said:

I did with mine last year (together with adding MG Chemicals 847) and no issues so far.

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I thought we were cleaning the oils off the terminals with the acetone or other solvent.

chrisski said:

I thought we were cleaning the oils off the terminals with the acetone or other solvent.

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MG 847 contains oil itself. The main reason to clean the terminals is to remove the aluminium oxide from it, since it's an insulator.

upnorthandpersonal said:

MG Chemicals 847 prevents oxidation, so it can be used instead of NoAlox - don't mix them! It also has better conductivity. It's more expensive, but I think it's worth it especially if you're worried your bus bars aren't flat or are perhaps dented.

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Interesting, thanks. So whether NoAlox or MGC 847, you just apply it onto the oiled surface of the terminal?

I’ll probably be sanding the oiled terminal surface meaning the oil will likely be dirty with aluminum dust - do I wipe that off or just leave it there?

My 560Ah 8S battery is working well but I’m getting higher IR than I expected - about 0.5mOhm using he delta_V / delta_I method. I’m wondering whether my untreated connections could be contributing and thinking it may be time to start gearing up for my final build (disassemble, clean, treat, reassemble)…

upnorthandpersonal said:

MG 847 contains oil itself. The main reason to clean the terminals is to remove the aluminium oxide from it, since it's an insulator.

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Oh, so you are applying the MG 847 before you deoxidize the surface using a wire brush or sandpaper?

Can the same be done with NoAlox (does it contain oil as well)?

fafrd said:

Oh, so you are applying the MG 847 before you deoxidize the surface using a wire brush or sandpaper?

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No, I just use some synthetic oil, sand it, clean with some more synthetic oil, then add the MG 847 (which also includes synthetic oil).

fafrd said:

Can the same be done with NoAlox (does it contain oil as well)?

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NoAlox contains Polybutene, zinc dust and silicon dioxide - no oil.

upnorthandpersonal said:

NoAlox contains Polybutene, zinc dust and silicon dioxide - no oil.

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Got it - thanks.

But if I follow your process of sanding with synthetic oil and then cleaning with fresh synthetic oil, do you see any issue applying NoAlox rather than MG 847 at turn point (other than the inferior conductivity you’ve already mentioned)?

I wouldn't mix the oil with the NoAlox. It might be better to clean it off with acetone and quickly add the the NoAlox, or skip the oil altogether. Don't worry about it too much...