Those of you who subscribe to David Henshaw's AtoB magazine might remember an article in the April issue about him using a B&Q Mac Allister 36V 4Ah power tool battery pack to power his Brompton.
Unfortunately his confidence that B&Q would continue to develop this system was unfounded and in the latest AtoB he mentioned that they are now discontinuing the whole system, and that the remaining battery stocks have been reduced to £34. Given that they were originally £130 that sounded as if they might be worth a punt so I went along to B&Q and purchased a couple.
For your £34 you get the battery pack measuring 151 x 85 x 80mm which is labelled as weighing 1.19kg. David Henshaw made it 1.24kg while my kitchen scales show 1.27kg. There's a four segment 'press to test' charge indicator on the battery. You also get a charger, which is slightly larger than the battery pack but quite light, stated at 0.67kg
So far I've just tested the one battery and found it cut out at around 31V, after giving 140Wh discharging at 3.5-4 A, very near the 144Wh specified. The charger is quite fast, with a stated charge current of 3.7A, a full charge taking under 90 minutes.
My intention is to use these as modular system for my folder but I haven't decided yet where to mount them, or whether to enable them to run in parallel. I'll need to fabricate some form of connector for them whatever.
If you want a small battery pack and don't mind a little diy these workout at at only £2.40 per 10Whrs, and would seem to be a bit of a bargain – only time will tell.
He's the B&Q link. You can't buy them online but you can check which stores have them in stock - in my area it was only the larger stores. It's not a 'Black Friday' offer but a clearance sale so I would expect them to be this price, or cheaper, until they're gone. I've no idea what happens with the two year warranty.
Mac Allister 36V Li-Ion 4.0Ah Battery & Charger
Unfortunately his confidence that B&Q would continue to develop this system was unfounded and in the latest AtoB he mentioned that they are now discontinuing the whole system, and that the remaining battery stocks have been reduced to £34. Given that they were originally £130 that sounded as if they might be worth a punt so I went along to B&Q and purchased a couple.
For your £34 you get the battery pack measuring 151 x 85 x 80mm which is labelled as weighing 1.19kg. David Henshaw made it 1.24kg while my kitchen scales show 1.27kg. There's a four segment 'press to test' charge indicator on the battery. You also get a charger, which is slightly larger than the battery pack but quite light, stated at 0.67kg
So far I've just tested the one battery and found it cut out at around 31V, after giving 140Wh discharging at 3.5-4 A, very near the 144Wh specified. The charger is quite fast, with a stated charge current of 3.7A, a full charge taking under 90 minutes.
My intention is to use these as modular system for my folder but I haven't decided yet where to mount them, or whether to enable them to run in parallel. I'll need to fabricate some form of connector for them whatever.
If you want a small battery pack and don't mind a little diy these workout at at only £2.40 per 10Whrs, and would seem to be a bit of a bargain – only time will tell.
He's the B&Q link. You can't buy them online but you can check which stores have them in stock - in my area it was only the larger stores. It's not a 'Black Friday' offer but a clearance sale so I would expect them to be this price, or cheaper, until they're gone. I've no idea what happens with the two year warranty.
Mac Allister 36V Li-Ion 4.0Ah Battery & Charger
Last edited:
