A123 CELLS

[teamtanglefoot]

Hi Everyone, Am finishing off the new tanglefoot build. Still have some weight issues. So rather than use my heavy Pb cells (at over 10Kg for all 3) It seems like many people are going over to A123 cells. Have been reading John reids section on these - thanks for the info John really useful. Can anyone recommend a good source for these?. I read somewhere that dewalt dont use these type anymore in their 36V packs
See this thread
http://www.astecmodels.co.uk/bb3/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=433http://www.astecmodels.co.uk/bb3/vie...php?f=21&t=433
Have come across some cheap individual cells on ebay from china and Hong kong but not sure if those would be any good. I know with the nicads only the SANYO type were really suitable for our purposes. I dont mind building packs from individual cells. I would very much appreciate any advice in this area. Thanks Chris

[woody]

A123 CELLS

http://shop.ebay.com.au/merchant/olympics2000888_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZhttp://shop.ebay.com.au/merchant/oly...Z1QQ_fromZQQ_m doZ

Youll need to enquire about Worldwide shipping.

NOTE:- Ive never used this supplier or know anything about them.

[typhoon_driver]

A123 CELLS

wow cheers woody, gonna need to buy some new A123s for hornet after this event

[craig_anto]

A123 CELLS

just bought 2 lots nice find

[woody]

A123 CELLS

Your welcome ...the link actually originated from the Robowars Forum.

[glen]

A123 CELLS

theres also another one on ebay from china selling them even cheaper again, they come in some real shoddy looking green heatshrink, but i dont think they are the real deal.

definitely hoping these ones are genuine too, havent heard of any counterfeit cells going around so hopefully they arent too good to be true!

anyone tried those hyperion battery bars? thinking of using them this time just to make battery construction a little quicker.

[craig_anto]

A123 CELLS

I use them in my featherweight

[terrorhurtz]

A123 CELLS

From the photos of those ebay A123 cells, it looks like they have had the spot welded tags broken off. So they may have come from DeWalt packs.
uk version:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370170490737http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=370170490737

The cells you get from Hyperion are just the bare cells - never been tagged.
Shouldnt be any difference in the cells, just makes it slightly easier to solder if you dont have the remnants of the spot welds.

[teamtanglefoot]

A123 CELLS

Thanks woody for spotting them. I have emailed him a couple of times and he said they have been used once. Has anyone had any experience of these cells from this seller. I am very tempted to order a load to make up some packs. I can see a few chargers on the market for the A123 cells but based on experience can anyone recommend one? Tanglefoot is running on 2 X 750 Watt 36V motors so I am planning on using 2 packs of 10 cells. By using these cells it is the only way I am going to have any weight left over for amour.

[woody]

A123 CELLS

John has a nice webpage up on the A123 Cells.
http://www.terrorhurtz.com/a123/http://www.terrorhurtz.com/a123/
also more info here...
http://www.first-products.de/specsenglisch.htmhttp://www.first-products.de/specsenglisch.htm
here...
http://www.flyelectric.ukgateway.net/lithium-a123.htmhttp://www.flyelectric.ukgateway.net/lithium-a123.htm
and here..
http://www.slkelectronics.com/DeWalt/anecdote.htmhttp://www.slkelectronics.com/DeWalt/anecdote.htm

[teamtanglefoot]

A123 CELLS

Thanks woody for the info. Johns web-site is great for this. Ive ordered some cells to make up a couple of packs. Im looking at the charger that technobots do for this. Cheers Chris

[terrorhurtz]

Re: A123 CELLS

I would recomend at least three packs for a heavyweight. 4.4Ah is pushing it.
Note that to balance a 10 cell pack with the Xtrema charger, you need the charger, two balancers and the Balancer Interface Module.
The FMA Cellpro 10S does it all in one box: http://www.aurorra.co.uk/aurv2/productDetails.php?id=11
Personally I still prefer the MegaPower Infinity 960SR, because it graphically shows you the balance - you can see how bad the balance is and you can turn down the current if they are badly out, to give the balancer time to work. Seems to be tricky to get in this country though.

[psycho_fling]

Re: A123 CELLS

Can someone tell me if these cells semm good? and the price? i'm looking at using some in my featherweight but seeing as this topic is still on ging might aswell post here

cheers alex

[terrorhurtz]

Re: A123 CELLS

Yes, the cells are good. We have been using them in THz for some time now with no problems.
Compared with the three packs of 24V 9Ah Sanyo NiCads we were using, changing to 33V 8.8Ah A123s saved us 2 kg.
The Chinese seller on ebay is doing them for a good price at the moment.
e.g. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0186827742

[big_nipper]

Re: A123 CELLS

We recently got one of those FMA chargers off ebay for the standard 10C lithiums and they are easy to use (once you have set it up with your PC). Not used them with A123s but never finished a charge with more than 1mV out of balance yet.