Battery re-cell with Maplins Hybrid D cells

[chazpope]

Hi

I have been looking for good value D-cells for some time and Maplins seemed like a good deal.

So far performance is quite strong - better than the original battery when brand new.

Click oh this to see how I did it

 

[NRG]

Good stuff! Did I read that right...you solder'd each cell together with a short metal tab?

It will be interesting to read about how you get on with these after a few weeks use.

Thanks for posting.

 

[chazpope]

yes I soldered them, I did not have an old microwave to make a spot welder from. Good thing I bought them when I did - these batteries have now gone up to 9.99. So far the pack performs better than a new stock 9AH pack that came with the bike and still costs 199. Hopefully this will last for more than a few weeks

 

[jerrysimon]

That's some nice work there.

Looking at the pictures I assume this is a 24v pack ?

Also I assume they are not soldered in the strips end to end just a press fit connection ?

Ah I think I see now the tags are soldered to each end then bent flat when they are stacked ?

Its certainly a neat job and if they prove reliable great value!

Regards

Jerry

 

[eddieo]

Ingenious! Well done

 

[derrick7]

A D cell rated @ 10Ah

This local (near Bethesda) company sells these D cells at almost the same price.
At £5.91 for 10+ (£118 for the 20 I would need).
VTE10000D
I am thinking of trying these when the pack on my LaFree packs up.

Derrick - Llanberis

 

[RobinC]

These don't make any mention of being low self-discharge, but for a bike used frequently that is unlikely to be an issue.
The component-shop might have the equipment for welding tabs in house so worth asking if you want this option for batteries without tabs. I bought some tabbed 'instant' AAs and a few other bits from there and would certainly use them again.

Robin

 

[jerrysimon]

These were the 12V packs I was looking at, to put in series * 3 for a 36v pack.

10VP4600SC-HT

They seem a little better in terms of voltage drop at 1C i.e. 1.3v in 50mins though having said that, the Hybrids only drop to 1.2v at 1C in the same time and as they are higher capacity thats at 10amps not 4.6amps like the NiMh packs I linked to.

Perhaps these Hybrids are in fact a good solution!

PS in fact thats 10amps for 60mins retaining 1.2v/cell if I am reading the high discharge graph correctly

Regards

Jerry

 

[chazpope]

Jerry

everything is soldered, at these currents press fit is not a good idea. I could not find proper tagged 10Ah Dcells at a good price - they were all about a tenner each or 'from abroad' with duty and high postage. I chose Maplins on the price alone with a bit of a gamble if they would handle the high loads - so far so good as far as I can tell

 

[chazpope]

Maplins Hybrid battery pack - progress report

Just reporting that it's been 10 weeks of daily commute and the new battery has performed very well - it is much stronger that the original NiMh battery. In the meantime Maplins increased the price of a 2 pack from 6.99 to 19.99 !

 

[flecc]

Just reporting that it's been 10 weeks of daily commute and the new battery has performed very well - it is much stronger that the original NiMh battery. In the meantime Maplins increased the price of a 2 pack from 6.99 to 19.99 !

That doesn't surprise me, they will have woken up to the fact that good high discharge NiMh D cells are generally retailed at about £10 each these days, due to the increasing rarity value.
.

 

[Mussels]

That doesn't surprise me, they will have woken up to the fact that good high discharge NiMh D cells are generally retailed at about £10 each these days, due to the increasing rarity value.
.

Also just before Christmas Maplin had all rechargeable cells on offer, I got a few with about 60% off the normal price.

 

[Straylight]

I'm using these hybrid cells in my battery lights now, and so far I think they're far superiour to my old rechargables, given that cars are dipping their lights whilst further away than ever before. The only thing I don't know is how long they'll last at this level of performance, but for the moment I'm happy to have found a strong alternative to throwaway alkalines.

 

[Alex728]

what lights are you using? i've got a big Cateye LED (EL510), and smaller Revolution LED spot - (I often ride in unlit Mid Suffolk so find more than one light is useful, particularly due to the badgers..)

 

[Straylight]

Yep, decent lights are certainly key round here .I use a Cateye EL500 on the front, and a TL-LD1100 on the rear. But my new toy, and by far my favourite, is a dynamo powered Schmidt Edelux, expensive but worth every penny IMHO, as it lights up the road incredibly well (it was my Xmas present, btw). My partner overtook me in her car he other night, and remarked on how well I stood out from behind, mainly due to the edelux, which was nice - particularly as she paid for it .

The EL500 is the one that oncoming traffic pics up on though, as it has a punchy centre spot, which lights up road signs at least 100yds away.

I'm most jealous, as I've yet to see any Badgers.....Barn Owls, Pheasants, Grouse, Rabbits, Hares, Deer, even Bats, but no Badgers!

 

[Mussels]

I'm most jealous, as I've yet to see any Badgers.....Barn Owls, Pheasants, Grouse, Rabbits, even Bats, but no Badgers!

All I get is rats, cats and foxes.

 

[flecc]

I'm most jealous, as I've yet to see any Badgers.....

Here you are, share my badgers on my general website wildlife section:

Badgers
.

 

[Straylight]

Ahhhh cheers Flecc!

Hey Mussels - at least you have Pizza delivery!

 

[Haku]

I'm most jealous, as I've yet to see any Badgers.....Barn Owls, Pheasants, Grouse, Rabbits, Hares, Deer, even Bats, but no Badgers!

I've almost run over badgers on several occasions, it's pretty hair raising when you're going along at 10-15mph along a cycle track at night and suddenly a badger (or two or three) appears from nowhere and starts running in the direction you're going, either right beside you or in front of you, making thundering running sounds as they go.

One time I was quietly walking along a road with my bike without lights on, it's so nice in the countryside when there's no cars around, and heard what I thought was someone walking towards me so I flicked on my lights and saw a badger scampering away into the distance, I realised I was so close to it that I almost tripped over it!

Another time I stopped 3 feet away from a young badger and it didn't run away, front light shining bright in it's face I pushed the bike forwards a couple of times with the front brake on to make it squeak to scare it off but it still wouldn't budge and was quite curious so edged forwards, stamping my feet like I was walking heavily made it realise I was there and disappeared into the trees.

Funniest badger moment has to be (again at night) when I stopped in a lane to take a drink and heard rusling so I went completely silent, three badgers walked across the lane in a line and they looked/sounded like they were bickering/playing as they were going, they went from one field to another which was occupied by horses, one of the horses spooked the badgers and they went running back across the lane into the first field, still in a line.

 

[Straylight]

I love the fact that cycling gives the unique opportunity for these encounters, I think my favourite is watching the owls hunt at dusk - I once had one flying about 10ft in front of my bike, zipping between the hedgerows for about 1/4mile (got the feeling he was seeing me out of his territory). You couldn't hope to get that close in a car, with all the noise they make. Frankly, my commute can be such a joy, that work often seems like the inconvenient bit in between.

Sorry to wander completely off-topic.....