Building an 18650 battery pack ALL BY MYSELF

[@tomo_ka3040]

i shit you not. i was LITERALLY just designing my own battery pack for use on a long range drone and thought to myself "if only bardwell had a video on it". perfect timing

[@lolmetyuri]

fukin scary m2

[@storylineOfMadness]

eh, use 21700.... molicell p45. you'll thank me later😁

[@ragabufragsome3426]

@@lolmetyuri and me

[@silverstoned83]

As long as you respect and understand the risks you are committing to, it can be a fun challenge. Please use PPE and take every precaution you can think of to avoid short circuits as illustrated. I go a step further and use kapton tape as I build the pack in case a nickel strip moves, etc.

[@ragabufragsome3426]

@@silverstoned83 Yup I got it done. I remember when I made my first pack following a guide on KZbin I did a 12v pack 2 in series 6 cells and blew up whatever I plugged it into puff of smoke came out because there were too much amps going through it make sure you match the amperage to what ever the device can tolerate 12v/14v 2000mah I put 12v 4000mah.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

When you make parallel groups, use a longer strip, so it hangs off the end, allowing you to solder your balance leads and mains to a strip, instead of on the tops of the cells. Also for a goggle pack I always recommend Panasonic NCR18650B in 2S or 3S 1P. You'll get 3,400mah 10Amp discharge, works excellent for goggle packs and small enough to fit in a pocket or on headstrong. I always carry 2 of these, rarely need the backup. Also, if you're going g to do 2P packs instead of standard strips, you should get "railroad tracks" that are double wide strips and each cell can flow to the next. That also helps when using an underpowered welder, because you don't have to stack strips. Another pro-tip is to put foam over your welds before you tape it up/or wrap it, to protect them from normal use 👌

[@bitterrootfpv2207]

🤘

[@stst8301]

Great tips!

[@bigdatapimp]

My inner pedant wanted to jump in and correct you to say "its soldering" and then I remembered he is literally using a spot welder and not soldering the cells together at all😂

[@Fly_High_FPV]

@@bigdatapimp hahaha, we all love to argue 🙌

[@krullshards]

Thanks for adding these great suggestions!

[@JoshIsReallyAwesome]

Titles video “building 18650 battery pack”. Proceeds to build 21700 battery pack. 😂 never change Joshua

[@CyclingMikey]

It's all about search and the algo, I suspect. JB is a smart man.

[@EagleFPV43]

​@CyclingMikey yeah, 18650 has become more of a general term rather than a battery size 😂

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

​@EagleFPV43 yea people still saying 18650. But like so many things like EUC using 21700 cells now

[@silverstoned83]

I mean, they’re pretty much the same thing for the purposes of this video.. and 18650 would probably satisfy the algorithm better. Genius I say.

[@austinsmith9413]

I have been building li-ion battery packs for almost 5 years now. In that time I started up a small side business building custom batteries for super long endurance drones/rc planes, developed a battery packs for electric ultralight aircrafts, and am now the battery design/construction team lead for an electric racecar team. Here are my tips for anyone who wants to build a pack: -Find and compare third party testing for the cells you are looking at -NEVER solder directly to cells -Especially on larger packs, design the battery to give significantly more current than its theoretical capability. Heat can build up quick and it will significantly improve both efficiency and the life of your battery.

[@dan.learns.things]

Seems like you have a lot of knowledge on this subject. I recently got a *decent* spot welder to make packs but I see people talking about soldering 14 gauge wire directly to batteries for more current. What would you say the minimum width/thickness pure nickel strips should be when spot welding a pack for fpv use to carry enough current? .15 is available everywhere and .2 is def less common but possible to get. Curious what you'd use for say a 6S battery?

[@austinsmith9413]

What's the peak current and number of parallel cells?

[@danieledm0101]

Made 4 batteries and solder them all, obviously taking precautions and the main one was to have a stainless steel flux, the time contact of the tip the the battery was less than couple seconds each time

[@dan.learns.things]

@@austinsmith9413 I'd like to make one for my Tern, so a 4s1p, probably not more than 30a. I would use Molicell batteries that can output that.

[@Enderkruemel]

Use Battery Cell Spacers ! i dont like to glue cells together, i mostly use 3d printed chell holders for seperation. the insulation of those cells is sometimes realy weak and its the only thing where the glue binds to and that holds the pack shape . if dropped it can easily rip off the insulation of the cells(and you know what happens than). i assume you have a 3d printer, so just use it to print some spacers. also those spacers make it way easyer to hold the cells in shape while working, and they are easy and fast to print and just realy good. also some work like the fishpaper things and you dont need it as an extra part.

[@icp-trek]

Correct, print cell holders. They can be designed like a grid in any configuration you want to build. They're safer, and the frame can take hits. TPU works great. The openings are slightly smaller than the cell itself, making for a snug fit. Then shrink wrap around it all.

[@LoudandProudBSE]

One good thing to do… use masking tape while working on each section. Helps if you accidentally drop a strip or something fumbling around where it could fall and short a set. I tape each before and then tape again each section when I’m done.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Good call! That's a great safety tip.

[@amp86400]

You can always pre-solder the nickel strips where you are planning to connect your battery leads. Helps keep the heat off the cells.

[@McShakyFPV]

He said that in the video

[@KOrnhOliO1]

@@McShakyFPV If he would have actually watch it all! LOL

[@Jakefrc]

Before you run any leads over the top of the cells you should cover the top of them (all of them) with fish tape. It just stops the nickel strip rubbing through the insulation or if youre using pvc insulation itll stop it shorting out if the wire gets a bit warm and squishy.

[@niz76]

Now make two 6S 24v packs in series for a 48v Power Wheels battery pack and this is the only YT channel I ever need to visit 😂

[@Metaphysicalgrace86]

A humble experience of learning together ❤. Also, thank you very much for your reddit reply the other day. Really helped me out in /fpv and solved all my issues. The simple things always elude me.

[@MrBillUp]

On one of the cells there was a nick in the wrap exposing the outside negative of the battery. As soon as this happens you need to replace the wrap. I always double wrap my cells as they don't need to go inside anything like a vape so the thickness has no adverse effect.

[@rocketman221projects]

Put some fish paper between the cells and the wiring. Silicone insulation is soft, you don't want it rubbing on any metal.

[@nikhayes3396]

“ca accelerator” is just Sodium bicarbonate. aka baking soda diluted in distilled water. so you can make your own very cheap. or just sprinkle baking soda, the CA does get hot though.

[@jonathanturner8117]

I've been waiting for this video for so long. Absolute LEGEND like always Bardwell.

[@UnamnnaedAcro]

i did this a while ago by watching bits and pieces of a few videos but now that Bardwell has it covered, this is good.. Thanks JB

[@Girtthquake]

I built an 18650 pack out of batheries from an old drill thinking it was going to be complete ass, and while battery sag is a bit of an issue, i can still get 10-12 min flights out of it. Cant beat that!

[@KOrnhOliO1]

Yup, and it only weighs 2 lbs!

[@johngill5175]

not sure why so many downvotes for such a great video! keep it up JB, the title switch is hilarious! 18650 lol

[@joncoop2873]

@Joshua Bardwell !!!PSA!!! Just a word of caution to you and whoever else reads this, the spot welds that you made appear to be almost blowing through the cells... It's hard to say for sure in the video but in my opinion you have the power setting turned up too high. I've done it many times myself when I first started. If the power is turned up too much the spot weld will actually go all the way through the metal on the cell which on the bottom of the cell can cause it to leak / vent over time! The top of the cell is not so much the issue as the bottom. On the top of the cell there's a gap between the top of the cell and the internals. But on the bottom of the cell if the spot weld pierces through that surface metal it's a direct hole into the internals of the battery. Again it's hard to tell but it looks like they're too strong. I normally lean on the side of caution and turn down the power so it still produces good spot welds and just put more of them. A lot of times when I spot weld onto a battery I'll do like six or eight spot welds on each side. Anyone else reading this though just keep that in mind.

[@ChaddRainsFPV]

Definitely up a bit too high, not terrible though. I usually set my welder to about 30 J for a 1.2mm strip. I'm sure there's a good reference chart out there 🤙

[@endemiller5463]

JB is using 1.5mm strips - but how thick is the cell? I thought about 0.8mm???

[@willytrumpold3179]

Welder works great bro, your Pure nickel strip should be at least .2 or better .3 woohoo Keep up the great Work Brother!;-)

[@heatherryan9820]

Actually I just wanted to say thank you because I was always curious about the balance leads. I wasn’t sure where they went, and why there was always one more wire than there are cells, but now I know.

[@batterymooch]

Thank you for being willing to subject yourself to the brutal feedback of KZbin! 🙂 One thought…when soldering on the red main POS lead the big problem is melting down through the wrap and plastic insulating ring when soldering (around 35:15 in the video). That would result in a short circuit. It might happen right away, it might happen in year after enough movement has pushed through the tiny bit of remaining plastic. A couple layers of fishpaper under any soldering points is critical IMO, even if you solder on the main lead before spot-welding..which is mandatory IMO.

[@vitalybo596]

Thank you man! I can't appreciate more the info and time you shared and saved for us.

[@peterhallbus1114]

When I make batterypacks I like to make my nickelstrips longer so I can get solder tabs and dont heat the battery or melt plastic like you might end up doing with the method in the video. Also there are cheap spotwelders for less then $30 that can work with 0,1mm nickelstrips and for 18650 that will be enough if it is wide enough.

[@rykertallis9604]

This is what I come here for baby!! Smashing

[@mpsaeris1855]

Nice video. I like the super glue idea (I am using small pieces of double-sided tape. You can cut the corners of the plates that go on the positive end. That way you don't risk the edge bending down, touching the negative part - learned this tip the hard way 💥 You can also cut the fish paper so the paper in between from the sheet goes between the cells as some heat protection for the soldering.

[@shawnzfpv]

I recommend goop for glueing the cells easy to work with, less mess. good hold. Also for this low current application it makes the build easier and puts the pos / neg connections on the same end of the pack if you did + + - - and - - + + and laid out in the same 2x4 layout. the strips layout cleaner too. When you do run a wire the length of the battery I try to tape an an insulator between the wire and the strips too. For flight packs I like to have at least 2 current paths from each cell and layout closer to how you did. Not sure if proper, but it's how i do 'em!

[@timrodriguez1]

"Watch me build an 18650 battery. Step one, order 21700s to make the battery."....lol The old bait and switch...j/k...lol🤘🤣

[@LifeofAccro]

1) hot glue is great in case you make a mistake its easy to separate BUT 2) i recommend rounding off the edges of your nickle strip for the positive side at least. if those edges one day pierce the outer ring its a short.

[@msteiner]

Thank you JB for the video. Besides the balance leads that should be protected better, it's a good idea to cut the ends of the nickel strips round at the positive cell terminals

[@upperechelon3456]

Excellent presentation as usual. You are the man!

[@oznerol256]

kWeld is a very good spot welder

[@silverstoned83]

This, the end. By far the best spot welder. Made in Germany too, if memory serves. I’ve used mine to build several packs and it can handle any thickness, no joke!

[@kerrymillar4981]

Good to see you building bud

[@sunnygalli]

Perfect timing, just got my spot welder for Christmas.

[@KernsJW]

Looks like the spot welder unit I bought. Open it up, tin the lines more or strengthen by other means. Replace the battery with better quality, i used a hard case one. I can easily do 1.5 now and even 2 without issue. Also, inside you can change a connection to use a foot pedal too which I recommend.

[@MarkClimbs]

Feeding that algorithm for JB

[@amp86400]

Search "portable DIY spot welder" and it's a red box looking thing. 30$ gets you a perfect spot welder for building packs (at least in my experience). Has an automatic mode and works off a 3s 5000mah lipo. Excellent bang for the buck!

[@amp86400]

You can also find pre-cut nickel strips for various battery configurations with tabs for balance leads. They've made building these easier for me. Ok I'm done now lol.

[@amp86400]

Sticky back foam can be handy to give some cushion to the corners.

[@StarsAtNight1]

I always used a soldering iron for my rc stuff(uav's,boats,cars), those battery packs are still going strong (even with high abuse). Now I'm building a e-bike bat and decided to use spot welder. Bought a cheap welder from ali that could be modified to make it more reliable. But maybe it's better to invest in a kWeld that can weld copper nickel sandwiches.

[@CyclingMikey]

Guess who was soldering an EC5 connector onto a large LiPo and got a 200A spark? Melted a 5mm semi-circle out of my Knipex pliers. Oops.

[@ASJC27]

FYI, the IR meter recommended here can be purchased on AliExpress for a whole lot less. I got mine recently for 36$. Model YR1035+ with all the attachments. It can also be used as a very accurate resistance meter, down to 1/100 of a mOhm. Note that it measures AC IR at 1 kHz. Not to be compared directly with DC IR. But that’s a good thing for several reasons, one of which being that cylindrical batteries’ data sheets specify the same IR @ 1 kHz.

[@Mupshot]

I may be wrong, but what i have done on those occasions where i must solder on a cell, i put them in the fridge for an hour to chill them, then quickly solder on them, so the majority of the cell remains cool.

[@beakytwitch7905]

WELL DONE !!!!

[@Jimmykid3]

I think you should have ran the kapton tape under the wires to keep the wire off the edge of the nickel strips

[@stst8301]

Nice work Joshua

[@YourSelft487]

Nice tutorial and explanation, as always by @Joshua I would just add something to be on the more safe way to not damage your batteries: You can pre-cut all the nickel strip you need for all the connection and solder the wires BEFORE spot welding them to the cells. Doing that you can put as much temperature you want (dont burn yourself please) on the strip, and even round-up the corners of the strips, those things can be sharp with strip thinner than 0.15mm. After doing all this, simply spot-weld them were they need to be and your battery will not have seen ANY temperature or risks of shorts with tweezers, solder tips, solder wire etc...

[@silverstoned83]

Check your fish paper Bardwell, it should match the diameter of the cell in order for it to provide short circuit protection. Your fish paper is not large enough in diameter, which is preventing it from reaching the edge of the cell where the negative side is located, so zero additional protection is being provided. This is a critical step when building packs due to the heat that can be generated on the nickel strips, depending on the amp draw and nickel strip thickness and number of layers. The heat from the current passing through the nickel strips can become so great that the heat shrink melts away and this is the scenario that this fish paper needs to protect against.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks for pointing that out!

[@silverstoned83]

Thanks for everything you do and asking for such feedback to give the community the best information. Respect.

[@Liver777-r8f]

How do you charge that battery? Did you have a choice of connections for the discharge port?

[@PilotPlater]

I just did some 18650 packs, very satisfying

[@grepboy]

I like to cut small pieces of nickel and pre-solder the wires to it, then spit weld the small nickel to where it should be connected - that way I get nice flown joints but don't have to worry about heat on the batteries

[@theanxiousbagel]

You can place a sheet of wax paper under whatever you're gluing to protect your desk. The glue has a difficult time adhering to the paper.

[@1Nordix]

is it a better idea to solder the cables before spot welding it to the pack ? to keep the heat out ?

[@whacken]

I was sure, Josh would say "I' m Joshua Bardwell, and I am going to learn something today." 😂

[@HM3DVIDEOz]

For high current draw applications like I use for my 747, (4 engine EDF) it may be a good idea to solder thicker connections with a 12awg stranded wire and use the 40A rated discharge cells. Ions are so awesome for around 40% longer run times! Gettin near 20 min flights Homiez!

[@chrisfpv5706]

realy thin ice there soldering above the negative terminal on the positive side , you sayd it for the spotweld but forgot about it for the heat and the solder that is conductive as wel ;)

[@arlemooldijk1595]

Yes, I'd use some extra fishpaper on those spots.

[@dcdk1525]

WauW Mr. Bardwell, (happy holidays) that there looked good. I'd like to do that some day (now I probably will)! Getting a decent spotwelder next ;) As always, thanks for sharing frienD (❤)

[@Markevans36301]

Your stuff is always good and even the things where I think you could have done better is educational in that I’ll try to not make the same mistakes. I’ll drop an extra $50 or so on my welder and make sure that I get longer balance lead harnesses. thanx.

[@tito9107]

Will the individual parallel pairs (cell 1a and 1b for example) be balanced by the charger?

[@renzus1234]

i have a few safety issues with your design;) In the Video 35:00, where you are soldering, only the shrinktube from the cell is protecting you from a short circuit with the negative side of the cell. there are insulation stickers available to give you a better protection. Use Cell holders, so you have more safety distance between the cells in case of a crash or drop. also here only 2 layers of thin shrinktube is protecting here from a short circuit between the positive side of the cell and the negative side. In my opinion 0.15mm is too less by far. with that width it should not go over 7 Amps to stay cool, there are enough charts online to check what amperage it can handle.

[@mariusztv4339]

I built my 4s 21700 lion pack today and then the movie was published :D I had to solder the cells but was careful not to touch the cells too long with the soldering iron

[@jnkfishing9274]

Definitely get some cell holders for doing this or 3d print them

[@ThePlacemat]

Could you have the wires coming out the top center of the pack? means most wires will have the same distance to travel rather than some the whole pack and some only an inch or 2

[@blakey271able]

Should the connections across not be made in a square across both cells rather than only across on one side. Square each end and square opposite side in middle??

[@VinydFPV]

JB what battery checker do you use?

[@Qwarzz]

I just came here to see what sort of spot welder you have :) However that CA glue is exactly what I need right now! I was wondering if there were any with a long tip like that to put the glue in more precisely.

[@kosti116]

33:37 u can make longer strip or add extra for Leeds ;)

[@Honeythebeebee]

I just made a 6s1p 5000mAh 50C with Molicel P50B last week!

[@66Ton99]

I think it's better to protect your wires with Kapton tape, especially from the nickel strips.

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Just did this other week. Need 3S2P in shape to fit tank. I used solder. Dont have spot welder

[@thebigbilltheory4388]

Saw the Five33 shirt. I was considering getting one from them…how’s the quality for a noob 5 inch freestyle?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Their bind n fly drones are too notch

[@thebigbilltheory4388]

@ awesome. Thanks.

[@rowanballinger3690]

I would have put capton tape down first so the balance wires couldn’t rub on the cells any where. And definitely do custom harness for your balance wires a short lead will lead to stress on the wires 🤣🤣

[@joshkilo430]

I was making a 21700 6s pack yesterday and I wish this video was available yesterday haha. Is it okay if the balance leads are wired backwards? For example my first lead is 20.7 (red wire) second lead is 17.3

[@Fly_High_FPV]

Just depin the balance lead to swap the order without soldering

[@Mad-Coo]

I've been googling this the last few days, want to build a neo 18650 battery. 1 cell or 2 cell lol 😂

[@ragabufragsome3426]

what if you made a pack with 2 lipo cells and 2 ion cells would that fix the voltage sag enough to fly?

[@ragabufragsome3426]

Or even add capacitors to the li ion so the battery charges the capacitors and the caps fly the drone

[@ragabufragsome3426]

I think you should of put more nickel strips on series connections

[@bitterrootfpv2207]

21700 6s is like 150 bucks. 🤘

[@aowi7280]

Make one for

[@1MIC2GO]

Round the outside...

[@priyabratasaha5385]

Soldering wires to nickel strips is not that painful by itself. But one has to predetermine the routing of wires.

[@FINNIUSORION]

I've been wanting to do a project like this with a bunch of 13400 li-po's I've collected from vapes. I have like 100 of em. I'm going to make just a usb charging bank. I haven't had the time to sit there and test them all and pick out the bad ones and get them balanced. i know they use the crappiest cells for vapes so I have to be careful.

[@JustKeepLivingFPV]

Ive been collecting vape cells to up cycle and let me tel you they literally use every cell you could get, a lot of 13450 though.

[@RME.OUTDOORS]

Heat shrink individual cells and shrink entire pack. Much cleaner.

[@traviscook5144]

OLD RC CAR FUDS:”Soldering batteries is too dangerous!” FPV COMMUNITY: (This Video) 😂😂

[@johnlatham6941]

Superglue is quite brittle.

[@dropfile]

OMG your pockets are freaking huge

[@johnfarias7230]

I have $160 spot welder that will not spot weld A little tabs glow cherry red but they pull right off

[@bestbattle]

Uuu. New video from mister Bardwell. I'm gonna learn something today. Mister Bardwell: "tell what I did wrong" Sumimasen wtf... I came here to learn from him, not to teach him 😅

[@RME.OUTDOORS]

ShoeGoo is the best glue

[@Firewolf-9389]

Next thing you know….. BOOOOOM😂😂😂

[@ctvaughan6623]

Sorry you were ALL BY YOURSELF Joshua. Hope you find a friend soon

[@AD-rk4pd]

On four Ampace JP40 21700 liions 4000mAh I can fly my 10 inch for >20 minutes. I will build 13 inch and fly on 6S-8S 4000mAh liions. 6S2P and 8S2P wil be also good option for testing on 13 inch kwad.

[@__Railgun__]

most chargers output internal resistance while balance charging :)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yes but that is DC internal resistance which is worse than AC internal resistance for reasons that I'm not quite sure I can explain in a comment

[@storylineOfMadness]

jeeeesus.... ca glue? nonononono... don't do that, especially for something on the drone. 3dprint your own or ask a friend to make you some from elastan or tpu or whatever. much nicer and cleaner result. also much more durable

[@JoshuaBardwell]

This pack isn't being used on a drone. It's a bench and pocket pack only.

[@storylineOfMadness]

@JoshuaBardwell i get that, but you've printed a freaking jig that's more material then battery holder😆 just that imo with minimal effort you can get nicer result. all in all still a good video i must admit.

[@ghostrot]

Is it worth bilding your own seems mire expensive

[@aowi7280]

Half the price of purchased packs.

[@ghostrot]

@aowi7280 but you need a spotwelder

[@alphayt6434]

Oh wow I never knew the battery names came from the sizes😮

[@hachogonzalez8649]

let the nickel strips extrude 1 cm beyond the pack to solder yout + and - leads to the strip, not on the battery

[@riccardo1796]

for EU watchers you can get your cells from Nkon

[@blurcak]

Dont use super glue or make space/better isolation between cells.

[@ahmadmody1110]

Hello my dear friend,, i make same but not working properly my drone not flying the power very low 😢 i dont know what problem? But im sure everything good I mean all wires , thanks

[@MysteryD]

Lmfao I've had a few cells laying around and have thought about doing this. Dope timing.

[@benzeboy5]

Has anyone tried USB-C battery packs to xt60 connectors? i've seen some but not sure how reliable they are, goal of using for tiny-whoop charging via Whoopster and powering goggles

[@paulroyle-grimes]

BIG coincikidink! I started building mine yesterday! mocking it up and used the 21700 molicel had my son who is an engineer help me select their 45 amphour for my 10" long range. building it 2p! weird timing JB.

[@andycapusta7572]

Nickel strips are outdated, use sick copper strips or braided wire.

[@YourdailydoseofShorts-un5vi]

What internal resistance do you get using the welder? I solder my packs and getting crazy low resistance. The ready to fly packs have always a higher one and I think it is due to welding points, there is still to much resistance compared to soldering. Here a good video from Chris Rosser comparing DIY packs vs manufacturer packs kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3fNkKhrhpVoaKc&ab_channel=ChrisRosser