Custom battery pack
Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 7:59 am
So I was having some trouble with my batteries. I could not find anything that fit in the space I had left. So I bought 3 1200mah lipo cells (with integrated control circuit) and linked them in parallel.
After some research, I realised that this does not work properly and the Powerboost does not charge them properly when you do that(The Powerboost was not even getting warm, I was careful to get protected cells thankfully). I was getting 1hr20 of use before I got low batt warnings. So I decided the best option would be to properly make up a pack with a properly rated lipo protection circuit.
Dismantling the batteries
Be very careful if you attempt this.
I was aware of the risks of fire and damage if a short between the terminals occured
I then connected the cells in parallel and connected them to the protection circuit rated 4A and masked it all up with kapton tape.
I then went about finishing the pack with some padding for the part of the circuit that was overhanging and doing a full tape wrap.
Initial tests on a second powerboost showed the pack worked and charged all the way. I then did a runtime test with supermario64.
Before pack assembly:
lowbatt after 1hr20min and shutdown at 1hr26min.
After pack assembly:
lowbatt after 2hr20min and shutdown after 2hr35min.
So yeah not bad, considering I have a screen a 1w amp and speaker and a Pi3 running at the same time.
After some research, I realised that this does not work properly and the Powerboost does not charge them properly when you do that(The Powerboost was not even getting warm, I was careful to get protected cells thankfully). I was getting 1hr20 of use before I got low batt warnings. So I decided the best option would be to properly make up a pack with a properly rated lipo protection circuit.
Dismantling the batteries
Be very careful if you attempt this.
I was aware of the risks of fire and damage if a short between the terminals occured
I then connected the cells in parallel and connected them to the protection circuit rated 4A and masked it all up with kapton tape.
I then went about finishing the pack with some padding for the part of the circuit that was overhanging and doing a full tape wrap.
Initial tests on a second powerboost showed the pack worked and charged all the way. I then did a runtime test with supermario64.
Before pack assembly:
lowbatt after 1hr20min and shutdown at 1hr26min.
After pack assembly:
lowbatt after 2hr20min and shutdown after 2hr35min.
So yeah not bad, considering I have a screen a 1w amp and speaker and a Pi3 running at the same time.