Copper Bus Bars How Make DIY Using Copper Pipe On The Headway 38120 8Ah Cells

[@richardlloydusa]

These cells are now BACK IN STOCK on Ebay: goo.gl/VpGao2 See the Video description above for all the links. Thank You . All the best.

[@DrexProjects]

I ran over the copper ( between 2 Iron plates )with my truck a couple times with my 84 GMC and it worked fine. Thanks for the tips.

[@richardlloydusa]

Great idea! Thanks.

[@oldtimeengineer26]

I just use a hand held sledge hammer on my smooth concrete garage floor and it does a good job no press here. Thanks for showing

[@richardlloydusa]

Great! Thanks for the feed back. All the best.

[@majareshe]

Great video series on the 38120s. I’m very new to lithium in series. Can you talk about the importance of Balancing. I purchased12 (3 13volt banks)and planning on using this in a car audio application with the alternator as the sole charging unit

[@richardlloydusa]

I may do a video on why ballancing is important. Thanks.

[@richardlloydusa]

I may do a video on why ballancing is important. Thanks.

[@rpbajb]

Hey Rich, what is your opinion on soldering the bus bars together to get a better connection between them? And what would you use, plumbing or electrical solder? Also, for a good, non-oxidized contact between the crushed inner surfaces, should we sand the inside of the pipe before crushing it, or would that even matter?

[@my_dear_friend_]

Metric caliper readings and imperial screw and hole diameter dimensions. Why not all metric? Or imperial if really needed. Liked the video. I am using a hammer and a vice at the end to get the pieces flat. To prevent the edges from cracking, I annealed (heat up with torch and let air cool) the almost flat pieces to get the copper flexible again.

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Thanks for this and previous info Richard - especially about the 38120 cells. I imagine aluminium would be as good and much cheaper as a conductor?

[@smithmal01]

Thanks for providing this. It is very helpful. Quick question, I'm making a 12v 48Ah pack with some Headway 38120s batteries. After watching your videos, I estimate that I would need $83 worth of copper pipers (12 pipes of two feet by 3/4 thick). Rather than connecting them with busbars, would it be safe to wire them together with heavy gauge wiring? If so, what gauge and type of wiring should I use? Thanx

[@jamest.5001]

I was thinking about maybe doing something similar. in longer bars . use two pieces. one that will fit inside the other. maybe solder them on the ends and bolt holes. so it will for sure make contact. instead of only the outer pipe. I need a buss bar to connect all my batteries. over about 4' each side. and carry possibly 400amps. or do you think a single piece will carry the current? great video.

[@richardlloydusa]

Here is what I know: The K, M, L designation for copper pipe is the wall thickness. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_tubing Copper Pipe is nearly pure at 99.9% see below. My bus bar is is made from M copper pipe flattenned and compressed to a thickness 1/16" X 1" so it's DC Resistance at 20° C, Microhms Per Ft would be 132.0 www.copper.org/applications/electrical/busbar/bus_table1.html These bars should have an ampacity of 137.5 A each www.copper.org/applications/electrical/busbar/busbar_ampacities.html so doubling them up would give you 275 A rating which would be 75A more than these cells can produce (from what I read on these tables). Seamless Copper Pipe Copper pipe is almost pure copper manufactured to the requirements of ASTM B 42 - Standard Specification for Seamless Copper Pipe, Standard Sizes. It may be manufactured from any of five (5) copper alloys (C10200, C10300, C10800, C12000, C12200) that all conform to the chemical composition requirements of alloys containing a minimum of 99.9% Copper (Cu) and a maximum of 0.04% Phosphorous (P). www.copper.org/applications/plumbing/techref/tpf_stds/tube_pipe_stds.html So if you need 400A (according to these charts you should be using these bars at 4X (times the thickness or four stacked together) again I am NOT an engineer so make sure you do your research. Thanks.

[@richardlloydusa]

Again I am NOT an engineer so do your own research to confirm the information above (I am not responsible for the data or it's accuracy). Thanks.

[@FretsNirvana]

Nice tutorial. Do you use any type of coating on the copper to keep it from corroding over time?

[@richardlloydusa]

It's nearly pure copper 99.9% and it is uncoated. You could apply your own coating though. Thanks.

[@foxabilo]

Thanks for this video Richard, what is the tape for on the edges of the caliper?

[@richardlloydusa]

The tape on the calipers is for measuring cells from anode to cathode. I put the tape on them to keep from shorting them out. Thanks.

[@rowidbaaqeel]

Tray Solder the three pcs together to make one pcs.

[@DennisWintjes2]

THx

[@infonator1]

I needed to know how many amps would a 16 cell headway battery have? Thanks

[@mmarte1622]

Thanks for the Vid. Rich. Listen just a question would like your input. I have 40 Headway. am planning on doing 4s 2P. Now those plastic holder are hard to find. I saw them for about .50 a piece. But the shipping was too much. Now am a woodworker. I drilled (8) 1 1/2 holes 2 inches apart on center, All around on 3/4 plywood. I will have two pieces top and bottom. These will hold the Headway (8) . To connect the I was using the plumbing pipe hanging metal straps. The holes are already made 2 inch apart. The Headway will be held in place in the wood with hot glue. What do you think? Metal too thin? Or wood possess a problem?

[@richardlloydusa]

Sounds like a great solution. Are the straps copper? Thanks.

[@richardlloydusa]

Sounds like a great solution. Are the straps copper? Thanks.

[@mmarte1622]

Richard Lloyd No. Is that metal strapping that comes in a roll with holes already made. Btw the plywood is 4 1/2 wide by 9 1/4.

[@richardlloydusa]

They do make it out of copper too. Here it is at Amazon: amzn.to/2sBO0wo pricy but it is copper. Thanks.

[@richardlloydusa]

The plywood will be fine for the cells. If plastic is good for the job I can't see why plywood would not do the job. Hot glue is good as long as they don't get hot. When hot glue warms up it loses most of its integrity. A good solid fit in the wood will do the job but would wood glue work just as well? Thanks.

[@Subgunman]

Found a source for copper bar stock about 1/8" thick...... www.speedymetals.com/pc-2869-8204-18-x-34-ca-110-copper.aspx Prices vary by length. Not cheap but not too expensive. I use real heavy stuff 1/4"x3"x16" for grounding busses for lightning arresters in the ham radio side. These are REALLY EXPENSIVE!

[@richardlloydusa]

The copper pipe is cheaper for the same amount at least in 1/8" BUT you have to make it into 1" X 1/8 bus bar. This flat stock is just buy it, cut it, drill it and you're done. Thanks for the link. All the best.

[@chipfriday8166]

You used Cu water pipe, yes? Was it M, L, or K? Is that Cu pipe an alloy or pure copper? If an alloy, what is it and did you check the resistance to electrical flow with an ohm meter. Did you sand off the oxide where the screw compresses the bar against the end of the battery. As you know, in a plumbing job, you need to sand the pipe before joining the pipe to a fitting like a slip x slip. For info on the pipe a person can go to a metal vending site and fine out about the various forms of copper sold. They even have a bus bar form of copper for sale.

[@richardlloydusa]

The K, M, L designation for copper pipe is the wall thickness. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_tubing Copper Pipe is nearly pure at 99.9% see below. My bus bar is is made from M copper pipe flattenned and compressed to a thickness 1/16" X 1" so it's DC Resistance at 20° C, Microhms Per Ft would be 132.0 www.copper.org/applications/electrical/busbar/bus_table1.html These bars should have an ampacity of 137.5 A each www.copper.org/applications/electrical/busbar/busbar_ampacities.html so doubling them up would give you 275 A rating which would be 75A more than these cells can produce (from what I read on these tables). Seamless Copper Pipe Copper pipe is almost pure copper manufactured to the requirements of ASTM B 42 - Standard Specification for Seamless Copper Pipe, Standard Sizes. It may be manufactured from any of five (5) copper alloys (C10200, C10300, C10800, C12000, C12200) that all conform to the chemical composition requirements of alloys containing a minimum of 99.9% Copper (Cu) and a maximum of 0.04% Phosphorous (P). www.copper.org/applications/plumbing/techref/tpf_stds/tube_pipe_stds.html

[@richardlloydusa]

BTW I am NOT an engineer so do your own research to confirm the information above (I am not responsible for the data or it's accuracy). Thanks.

[@ABritInNY]

Hi Richard, I'm looking to machine something like this from 1/8" thick copper plate. They're 6" x 6" so I can get six 1" wide strips from each sheet. Your busbars measure 2.45" long correct? I want to see how many I can make from each sheet, so 12 it seems for a $20+ sheet, seems the pre made versions may be more economical?

[@willfriar8054]

spim08hp flat cells from battery hookups. danger danger. they don't tell you. many of these cells have problems inside. there is current flow between the foil covering insulation layer and the terminals of many cells. measure the terminal to edge voltage along the seams. i'v gotten 3.9 volts off the foil wrapper. the cells will puff and be destroyed from self discharge. many of my 60 plus cells i bought do not have this problem. all the 30 % that puffed without ever being under load have the short to the foil. warning the edges of the cell packs carry current. not safe for marine environment at all. i only made 12 volt packs at higher voltages there will be bigger sparks from foil to terminals. danger if they self discharge they will puff and oh they say you didn't do good assembly. they don't say anything about do not touch electrically hot foil next to terminals. if a buss bar touches the edge of the foil it will short out the whole battery.