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diy solar

Dongguan Lighting: Purchase 280AH LiFePo4 cells. Purchase & Review

cinergi said:
Use Helicoil to repair and stick with M6 but use a stud (which you can even loctite) and nut instead of bolts. That's what I'm doing for all my cells. Because I, too, stripped things by using bolts. The studs are a far superior solution IMHO.
Click to expand...
I've reached the same conclusion, thanks for the advice. Just bought a M6 thread repair kit which consists of a drill bit, a tap tool and a variety of helicoils. I'm planning to glue the helicoil in with superglue and then use the same M6 bolt. I don't have a stud and I would have to cut it out of some threaded rod... I'll decided on that once I get the helicoil in...
 
cinergi said:
Use Helicoil to repair and stick with M6 but use a stud (which you can even loctite) and nut instead of bolts. That's what I'm doing for all my cells. Because I, too, stripped things by using bolts. The studs are a far superior solution IMHO.
Click to expand...
Back in my youth, with air cooled 2 stroke dirt bikes, it was fairly common to Helicoil the head as a preventive item for the sparkplug hole. You'd have to change a fouled plug with the engine hot and it was easy to cross-thread or strip the aluminum threads.
 
Johnolar said:
I've reached the same conclusion, thanks for the advice. Just bought a M6 thread repair kit which consists of a drill bit, a tap tool and a variety of helicoils. I'm planning to glue the helicoil in with superglue and then use the same M6 bolt. I don't have a stud and I would have to cut it out of some threaded rod... I'll decided on that once I get the helicoil in...
Click to expand...

You can get the studs (and nuts) pretty quickly here as I did: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/126/3246
 
I've installed the helicoil last night, followed some youtube videos on how to do it, still it was an adventure :)
I've drilled the blind hole with the bit supplied in the repair kit, but when trying to thread in the helicoil the whole thing was just not going in, was un-coiling as soon as I was putting a bit of torsion using the installation tool. I ended up installing the coil upside down (from what I could see from the videos) but it works and it's all back together now.
I didn't cut a stud, used the same bolts - M6 x 16mm, as I could not find M6 studs of the shelf here in Adelaide, AU and didn't feel like cutting a bit out of a threaded rod.
All is assembled, now i just have to get it in the boat :cool:

Quick question, as there's no clear answer I could find: with the cells fully charged, their resting voltage is around 3,34V. I've allowed for the BMS to ballance in storage, as one of the cells sits around 3,32V. IS this normal voltage or should I read some signs there?
Thanks
 
Johnolar said:
I've installed the helicoil last night, followed some youtube videos on how to do it, still it was an adventure :)
I've drilled the blind hole with the bit supplied in the repair kit, but when trying to thread in the helicoil the whole thing was just not going in, was un-coiling as soon as I was putting a bit of torsion using the installation tool. I ended up installing the coil upside down (from what I could see from the videos) but it works and it's all back together now.
I didn't cut a stud, used the same bolts - M6 x 16mm, as I could not find M6 studs of the shelf here in Adelaide, AU and didn't feel like cutting a bit out of a threaded rod.
All is assembled, now i just have to get it in the boat :cool:

Quick question, as there's no clear answer I could find: with the cells fully charged, their resting voltage is around 3,34V. I've allowed for the BMS to ballance in storage, as one of the cells sits around 3,32V. IS this normal voltage or should I read some signs there?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Did you Parallel Top Balance the cells to 3.65V? It seems most people that have problems or a problem cell haven't.
Also most BMS balance at the top end of the charge cycle.
 
Sgt Raven said:
Did you Parallel Top Balance the cells to 3.65V? It seems most people that have problems or a problem cell haven't.
Also most BMS balance at the top end of the charge cycle.
Click to expand...
I did balance to 3.45V, and then did the final 16S assembly and hooked them to the AC charger and gave them a full charge to 3.65V so I can calibrate the SOC of the BMS too. All cells look good and voltage balanced to that 0.02V difference
They've been sitting for about a week at about 10 to 15 deg C in the shed with the BMS hooked up on the Balance setting ON on storage...
 
So your answer is no, you didn't do a full Top Balance. It seems most people reporting a problem cell has skipped that step. It is a one time step, but seems to be an important step.
 
Johnolar said:
I've installed the helicoil last night, followed some youtube videos on how to do it, still it was an adventure :)
I've drilled the blind hole with the bit supplied in the repair kit, but when trying to thread in the helicoil the whole thing was just not going in, was un-coiling as soon as I was putting a bit of torsion using the installation tool. I ended up installing the coil upside down (from what I could see from the videos) but it works and it's all back together now.
I didn't cut a stud, used the same bolts - M6 x 16mm, as I could not find M6 studs of the shelf here in Adelaide, AU and didn't feel like cutting a bit out of a threaded rod.
All is assembled, now i just have to get it in the boat :cool:

Quick question, as there's no clear answer I could find: with the cells fully charged, their resting voltage is around 3,34V. I've allowed for the BMS to ballance in storage, as one of the cells sits around 3,32V. IS this normal voltage or should I read some signs there?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I ordered studs from Amazon for shipping to Australia


Sone time ago I built a DIY actuator out of 3d printed parts, aluminium extrusions and ball screws/bearings. The design was to insert 4 x E Z Lok threaded inserts into the corners of the aluminium profiles

Amazon.com: E-Z Lok Externally Threaded Insert, C12L14 Carbon Steel, Meets AISI 12L14, M5-0.8 Internal Threads, M8x1.25 External Threads, 7.49mm Length, Made in US (Pack of 10) : Industrial & Scientific

Amazon.com: E-Z Lok Externally Threaded Insert, C12L14 Carbon Steel, Meets AISI 12L14, M5-0.8 Internal Threads, M8x1.25 External Threads, 7.49mm Length, Made in US (Pack of 10) : Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com

These did not need tapping of the aluminium profile or helicoil to insert.

Build Process – SFX-100 Actuator Assembly

opensfx.com opensfx.com

These EZ Lok threaded inserts are also popular for wasteboard clamp points with home CNCs.
 
Sgt Raven said:
So your answer is no, you didn't do a full Top Balance. It seems most people reporting a problem cell has skipped that step. It is a one time step, but seems to be an important step.
Click to expand...
I'm not actually reporting a problem...yet. I haven't subjected the bank to high loads yet...
I was looking more for some reassurance that so far things look normal. New batteries, of good quality and in balance, don't need top balancing if when at full charge the resting voltage is quite the same across the cells.
I parallel balanced mine for good 72 hours then gave them a full charge in series then the resting voltage sits in between 0.02V... My semi-professional tools (so i wont call them cheap crap) don't have that much accuracy to rely on :p
Also, I'm not planning to tap into the top 5% of SOC nor the bottom 10% so I'm not going to worry about that until I do the first full discharge under 1C (280A) and then full charge again and then see how they behave...
Anyway, any cracks in my plan? Cheers
 
Hmmm, something maybe wrong ....
I wrote to them 10 days ago and they still do not sent me a price offer. (they write, but irrelevant)
That 1500$ someone wrote earlier seems to be a nice price for 16 cells with DDP delivery to EU ... hoping something near it.
 
I think there was some Holidays in China last week. Should all return to normal this Monday.
 
Luthj said:
Maybe you should listen to actual experts, instead of saying we are wrong. Which is silly given your self admitted "read a few articles" education on the subject.
Click to expand...

A "few" is about 30 different articles.
When is someone "expert"?

How much articles should one have read to be "expert"?

Sure I'm on a learning curve, and for sure have a lot more faith in someone writing an article to explain then a forum user who only say "you see it wrong".

If I see it wrong, please explain it to me like I'm a 6 year old :)

It's easy to say it's wrong without backing up this statement.
As result it's totally discarded as useless comment.
 
cinergi said:
Use Helicoil to repair and stick with M6 but use a stud (which you can even loctite) and nut instead of bolts. That's what I'm doing for all my cells. Because I, too, stripped things by using bolts. The studs are a far superior solution IMHO.
Click to expand...
That's funny.
Please show step by step how you managed to use helicoil in 6mm depth.
The coil itself is already longer, not to mention the middle bar that you are supposed to break out inside the repair part.

Probably if you modify the helicoil to have less then 6mm thread and insert it by hand, it might work.

Standard it needs atleast 10mm deep for 6mm.

Question:
Is a stud the same as headless bolt?
To my understanding a stud is without thread.
Non native English here, always eager to learn. :)
 
fhorst said:
That's funny.
Please show step by step how you managed to use helicoil in 6mm depth.
The coil itself is already longer, not to mention the middle bar that you are supposed to break out inside the repair part.

Probably if you modify the helicoil to have less then 6mm thread and insert it by hand, it might work.

Standard it needs atleast 10mm deep for 6mm.

Question:
Is a stud the same as headless bolt?
To my understanding a stud is without thread.
Non native English here, always eager to learn. :)
Click to expand...
A stud in this case is a threaded rod. A headless bolt is not a bolt. A "Grub Screw" could be used as a stud.
 
BiduleOhm said:
You forgot the acid vapors with the LA batteries, big factor.



Zinc isn't to avoid corrosion, it acts like a sacrificial anode so the other metals are safe but doing so it corrodes itself.



That's not a problem, see just above ;)



Nope, you'll not reduce galvanic corrosion that way. As soon as the metals are in contact they create a voltage which is the cause of the galvanic corrosion, the surface area doesn't matter. You'll reduce contact resistance however, always a good thing ;)



You need water for the corrosion to happen, Plating is so well attached water can't get under, hence no corrosion.



Please explain more, I'm curious to know why it would make a difference.


NB: my 0.02$ on this problem: I'll use aluminium for the busbars, studs, washers and nuts so that way I completely avoid galvanic corrosion on the cells (the expensive non-repairable part of the battery) and then the only place it can happen will be between the last busbars and the battery cables (but easily replacable, not expensive) ;) if you can't avoid a problem then move it where it'll be minimal and make the least amount of damage.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your explanations!

And I totally agree on the part where moving the problem toward a point that is easier to repair.

I'll try to find the article back where they explained that increase of surface reduce the impact.

To my understanding Galvanic corrosion doesn't need air or water to occur.
Just the 2 metals is enough.

I can be wrong!
(Love to be wrong)
It's fairly easy to keep (squeeze) moist out, and make air tight seal.
This way copper and aluminium with petroleum jelly or so pressed together will remove all moist air / water, and simple paint will prevent the petroleum jelly to dry out and create possible air (moist / water) leak.
 
fhorst said:
That's funny.
Please show step by step how you managed to use helicoil in 6mm depth.
The coil itself is already longer, not to mention the middle bar that you are supposed to break out inside the repair part.

Probably if you modify the helicoil to have less then 6mm thread and insert it by hand, it might work.

Standard it needs atleast 10mm deep for 6mm.

Question:
Is a stud the same as headless bolt?
To my understanding a stud is without thread.
Non native English here, always eager to learn. :)
Click to expand...
Perhaps I can explain... the M6 repair kit I bought had a lot of various lengths of M6 helicoils, from 5mm to 15mm long.
https://www.repco.com.au/en/safety-...read-repair-kit-m6-x-1-00-ctrk6100/p/A9491817
The actual depth measurement on my stripped cell terminal was 7mm, so I drilled with 6.5 to 6mm depth. Then used a thread bottoming bit to rethread the hole to 6mm. After that I've screwed down the 5mm long helicoil, with the middle bit at the bottom and left it there as I could not break it and was afraid to give a good wack with the hammer.
And that's how it's been done :cool: all for just $49,99 plus rum
 
Thanks both for explaining!

Stud = threaded rod in this situation.

For helicoil, I only know about the 10mm length for 6mm.

Hence my confusion on how to do :)
Make sense that they have different lengths for different types of repairs.
I was still in the phase of being amazed of having this solution to make repairs...
Inventions often are amazing, especially they ones who repair common problems, like losing the threads...

When I was younger (that sounds old) about 35-40 years ago I played a lot with small motorcycle (50 cc) young and inexperienced..
Killed a few engine blocks that way with no real solution to fix.

Pre-internet.. time, it was hard to gain knowledge.

Yeah...
I'm old if I'm look forward back at those days ??
 
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