Small portable powerbox

[jbird526]

This is a minimalist box I built with "spare" parts. Consists of 25ah cells, a Daly 40a BMS, Anderson connector for small inverter hookup and BattGo connector.
Externally, 2 usb ports with voltage readout and cigarette lighter port.

 

[BlitzSSS]

Hah nice, where did you get those cells from? I'm waiting for some 10Ah cells to arrive.... Just for fun.

 

[jbird526]

Hah nice, where did you get those cells from? I'm waiting for some 10Ah cells to arrive.... Just for fun.

I got the cells from https://www.electriccarpartscompany.com maybe 6 months ago?

They appear to have good products but the one thing I had an issue with is the shipping. They did not quote a shipping price until after you purchased the cells. The cost seemed a bit high but I was already pot committed. Think the shipping was $68 from Utah to Maryland.

Also the BMS was not with the cells when they arrived. I emailed and they immediately sent the BMS, so that was a positive experience as far as customer support.

 

[Jordi]

Congratulations on the good job! The box looks very nice and probably very practical! What will you do with it in terms of power usage, capacity, etc?

 

[jbird526]

Congratulations on the good job! The box looks very nice and probably very practical! What will you do with it in terms of power usage, capacity, etc?

The box is really a solution looking for a problem.

Instead of just shoving everything in a plastic tackle box I wanted to make something that looked a bit different. I had the scrap wood, hinges and 12volt panel already so figured why not. The bottom is coated with black undercoat to add some water resistance if its used as a charger for camping or such.

The cells are 2C batts so should be able to provide 600watts. The BMS is 40a so with that inline will limit to 480watts. Have a small 500watt inverter if I really need AC and that would connect to the Anderson plug.

For the most part just see using as phone charger and bluetooth speaker charger for outdoors where no immediate plugs are available.

 

[BlueFox]

I got the cells from https://www.electriccarpartscompany.com maybe 6 months ago?

They appear to have good products but the one thing I had an issue with is the shipping. They did not quote a shipping price until after you purchased the cells. The cost seemed a bit high but I was already pot committed. Think the shipping was $68 from Utah to Maryland.

Also the BMS was not with the cells when they arrived. I emailed and they immediately sent the BMS, so that was a positive experience as far as customer support.

From business experience with it, shipping larger lithium batteries is a pain that's for sure. Carrier costs are also higher, and you have to use specialty approved cardboard boxes in some cases that cost more as well.

 

[jbird526]

From business experience with it, shipping larger lithium batteries is a pain that's for sure. Carrier costs are also higher, and you have to use specialty approved cardboard boxes in some cases that cost more as well.

I was ignorant as to some of those items. Need to think about those in the future. I am use to high costs for truck freight for really large items but not thinking about what could be considered hazardous materials.

Amazon next day, free shipping has made me brain dead about shipping costs for small business.

 

[BlueFox]

I was ignorant as to some of those items. Need to think about those in the future. I am use to high costs for truck freight for really large items but not thinking about what could be considered hazardous materials.

Amazon next day, free shipping has made me brain dead about shipping costs for small business.

Yeah amazon has sure made it feel like paying for shipping isn't normal anymore haha.

 

[Jordi]

The box is really a solution looking for a problem.

Instead of just shoving everything in a plastic tackle box I wanted to make something that looked a bit different. I had the scrap wood, hinges and 12volt panel already so figured why not. The bottom is coated with black undercoat to add some water resistance if its used as a charger for camping or such.

The cells are 2C batts so should be able to provide 600watts. The BMS is 40a so with that inline will limit to 480watts. Have a small 500watt inverter if I really need AC and that would connect to the Anderson plug.

For the most part just see using as phone charger and bluetooth speaker charger for outdoors where no immediate plugs are available.

What about attaching a 50W solar panel and use the battery to watch a LED TV a couple hours per day, or charge bigger devices like laptops, etc... Consuming around 200Wh from the battery and thus solar per day would also save you 10-20 euros/dollar per year.

I understand your issue however. I built a tiny powerwall on low budget (= low spec instrumentation) and nowadays I can only use it for 200W applications and for a quite limited amount of time. At the end I barely use it.