# Possible 18650 battery holders from DX?



## mrbubbles (Apr 9, 2007)

It wouldn't be too hard to wire these up, would it?










https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18074


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

Hey, great find. I was just about to go to the hardware store to look for some stuff to make a 2S 18650 holder. 

I have just ordered some so we will find out shortly enough whether they will be useful. I suspect they will be just what the doctor ordered.


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## SkUG (Feb 19, 2008)

I've got some on order... 
10 days later... still "waiting for supplier" forgot about chinese new year!


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## zemike (Sep 3, 2007)

I have received those holders, they are nice. Regarding durability - they didn't broke after being frozen to -18C and opened and closed several times.


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

zemike said:


> I have received those holders, they are nice. Regarding durability - they didn't broke after being frozen to -18C and opened and closed several times.


If it ever gets to -18 here, I will break!


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

Right, My 18650 holders finally arrived and I have finally found a little time to do something with them. The conversion was a ridiculously simple process.

1. Create a bridge at one end of the holder that will make contact with both batteries. I had some thin Al stripping lying around so used that. I bent it a little to get the appropriate stand off distance and used a centre punch to beat it so that there was a raised nipple to aid contact with the battery.

2. At the other end I managed to scavenge some parts from the AAA battery holders I have used for some of my torch based builds (it pays to never throw anything away). They are a light weight spring that should hopefully keep contact while the pack rattles around. I bent the metal contact so around the lip of the holder leaving a contact on the outside and the spring on the inside.

3. I ground a little of the case away to allow the lid to close with the spring contact now sitting through the lip.

4. Solder up the connector... ensure that you clearly mark the battery polarity in the case. The drivers that will be used with this pack have reverse polarity protection so it should be idiot proof but I would rather not take my chances.

5. I used a piece of inner tube to hold the case closed as I didn't feel the original latch would be able to hold any sort of weight.

6. I added a little piece of adhesive backed rubber to the inside of the case to take away the slack so that the batteries won't rattle around. This should help keep the contact as well.

Photos:









































and the donor torch parts


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Nice one Salty, you're getting every last ounce out of those torches.


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

yetibetty said:


> Nice one Salty, you're getting every last ounce out of those torches.


:lol: Yep, whoever found these in the first place (was it you?) was a genius!


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

No, not genius just lazy, easier to watch you do it.

My heads full of ideas that I never do.

Best put some sort of strain relief for the wires on those batt holders if possible just to be on the safe side.


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

yetibetty said:


> No, not genius just lazy, easier to watch you do it.
> 
> My heads full of ideas that I never do.
> 
> Best put some sort of strain relief for the wires on those batt holders if possible just to be on the safe side.


Agreed, I left the wires at the right length so that i could tuck them under the inner tube. It is close to 100% humidty with all the rain here at the moment so as soon as i can get an adhesive to dry, i will araldite the wires to the case which should do the trick.


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Foook me, you type quicker than I can think, salty.


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

Excellent work Sir Salty, 

My ordered cases 'shipped' 5 days ago, and now I have complete build instruction guide for when they arrive any day now! :thumbsup: 

Thanks!!!!


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

G_Mozz said:


> Excellent work Sir Salty,
> 
> My ordered cases 'shipped' 5 days ago, and now I have complete build instruction guide for when they arrive any day now! :thumbsup:
> 
> Thanks!!!!


I had a real hard time getting super glue or araldite to stick to the case. I don't know whether it was the humidity or if there is some kind of strange solvent in the plastic case.

When i make another batch, I will probably try putting a hole through the case and through the scavenged battery terminals and seeing if i can get a blob of solder to sneak through. Otherwise i might put a tiny little bolt through....


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

Bummer on the glue not sticking, yes it has been damp down here but I wouldn't think that would effect it too much. By super glue I assume you were using a CA based one?

It would be nice to get a self made rivet through there but it would be hard to hammer out the inside end.

Maybe if you use the hole & solder theory but put a piece of wire thru the hole and use that soldered on either side...

...I'll let you know what I come up with when I get to them. 

The base end with the bent Al strip is a fantasicly simple way of doing it!


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

G_Mozz said:


> Maybe if you use the hole & solder theory but put a piece of wire thru the hole and use that soldered on either side...
> !


That was my other theory, I think the solder rivet will be the winner :thumbsup:


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## [email protected] (Mar 28, 2007)

If the case is made of polyethylene, epoxy won't stick to it. In the US, milk jugs are made of polyethylene (or some other polymer like it). I've used milk jug pieces to make molds for small epoxy parts. Works great, the epoxy always pops out of the mold with no problems.

A quick search online for polyethylene adhesive convinces me you may have problems finding anything that will stick to the case. Maybe a glue based on Urethane, something that stays flexible.

Brilliant work on using the case as a battery holder. I've already ordered a few. I'm looking forward to trying some battery springs I got from digikey a while ago: here

Mark


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## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

Question about getting the "Right" parts from DX. I placed an order nearly a month ago and finally saw the order show up. However they packed the wrong housing. Anyone ever delt with their CS? I tried last night and they are requestiong 3-4 photos of everything before allowing me to continue.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

I've dealt with their CS several times (probably 1 in 4 orders). They're okay to deal with- not real fast, not real friendly, but hey, what do you expect for those prices?


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

ocean breathes salty said:


> I had a real hard time getting super glue or araldite to stick to the case.


There's an "epoxy" made for plastics...not really epoxy I think, but a 2-part adhesive. Known as "Devcon Plastic Welder" over here in the US. I've used it a few times on various plastics (not sure what kind) and it always worked. Comes in the double syringe type packaging like some of the 5-minute epoxies. The fumes are probably the most noxious thing I've ever inhaled.

From the Devcon site:

Bond: PVC, fiberglass, ABS, FRT, PBT, PPO, PCBB, Metton®, Lomod®, Valox®, Noryl®, GTX, Minlon®, epoxy, RIM
urethane, galvanized metal, wood, poorly prepared surfaces, and where outdoor weathering or solvent exposure is
anticipated.

JZ


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## glowinthedark (Jul 8, 2008)

ocean breathes salty said:


> Right, My 18650 holders finally arrived and I have finally found a little time to do something with them. The conversion was a ridiculously simple process.


Nice one salty!

:thumbsup:

I appreciated the nice macro focus work. I can't use macro mode for quids on my point-n-shoot.

I'm seriously considering purchasing some 18650 cells from DX. They are very good value compared to NiMH.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

ocean breathes salty said:


> I had a real hard time getting super glue or araldite to stick to the case. I don't know whether it was the humidity or if there is some kind of strange solvent in the plastic case.
> 
> When i make another batch, I will probably try putting a hole through the case and through the scavenged battery terminals and seeing if i can get a blob of solder to sneak through. Otherwise i might put a tiny little bolt through....


I just cut the ends off one of these: http://media.digikey.com/photos/Memory Protection Photos/BH26AAW.jpg. The bonus here was that one end includes both wires, so I didn't even have to solder wires on.

I glued the pieces into the DX case with silicone. It worked very easily.


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## glowinthedark (Jul 8, 2008)

womble said:


> I just cut the ends off one of these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice idea ... but ... photos .. we need photos!


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

Womble, I read your post, walked out to the garage and few minutes later walked back in with this! (it took longer to resize the photos than it did make the holder)

Note: now I just need to glue it and solder a deans on the end.

This idea gets 2 thumbs up from me.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

G_Mozz said:


> Womble, I read your post, walked out to the garage and few minutes later walked back in with this! (it took longer to resize the photos than it did make the holder)
> 
> Note: now I just need to glue it and solder a deans on the end.
> 
> This idea gets 2 thumbs up from me.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


Thats pretty sweet!! I still haven't finished modding two of the cases i have lying around so i think i will choose this method next time around.


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## glowinthedark (Jul 8, 2008)

You might be better off with a C-cell battery holder as donor. From googling it appears a C-cell is 20mm in diameter, AA is 14.2mm and an 18650 is (not surprisingly) 18.3mm. So the contacts would be outside of the centre of the 18650 cells, but still closer to the middle of the cell than the AA cell contacts.


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## niverin (Aug 16, 2008)

*Thanks for this DX holder idea - it works excellent!!!*

My very quickly built 4S pack made with protected Trustfire 2500mAh cells - works excellent and very low cost!
Thank you for sharing this idea!


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Maybe these 18650 battery tabs would fit those cases?
Here's a pic of the negative terminal.










They slip onto the edges and have a couple tabs that bite into the material.
There is a solder tab on the back.
It's best to solder the terminals off of the plastic holder and then mount them onto the holder. Most plastic holders will melt easily if you try to solder them in place.










I stock these battery terminals and another type on my web store here.
https://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/catalog/PartsLed.htm

.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Those clips are very stiff and would probably distort the plastic before compressing.
I think if people want to make their own out of these cases they should buy terminal contacts like the ones on your site.
The contacts on your site could be epoxied or riveted in. This would also keep the conductive surfaces inside the holder as well.
To each their own though........................


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

You mean the contact that has the coiled spring?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I cut out a protype 18650 battery holder that uses those clips.
This prototype is two 18650 battery holders stacked back to back
The power cord wire goes through the middle of the stack.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

That is the one. Nice proto-type there. Beats the heck out of the box from DX.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Thanks OD,
I tried making a 4 x 18650 holder where all 4 batteries were side by side but that one was too wide, didn't like it.

The idea with making 2 x 18650 is that you can use just a two by itself if that's all you need.

If you want a 4 x 18650 holder, you mount two of the 2 x 18650 holders back to back.

That way, I only have to make one part for two kinds of battery holders.

I suppose I could also make a 3x18650 holder.
That one could be a 3x18650 or two of them back to back for a 6x18650

Still messing around with the design, I may be ready to cut some this coming week.
I like this design better than my screw together design.


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## niverin (Aug 16, 2008)

I am sorry for my stupid question but what tools do you use to make the plastic body?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

They are cut out on my CNC machine from a solid sheet of 1/2" thick black HDPE plastic.

Lots of computer design work is involved from start to finish.

You draw/design the part in a CAD program.

The CAD drawing is opened by a CAM program. The CAM program creates the actual machine cutting operations.

The CAM program is opened by MACH3, which tells the motors on the CNC machine how to cut the material.

It's fairly technical and time consuming. The only way it pays for itself is if the CNC machine cuts out a bunch of items from a big sheet. I'll cut 50 or more parts at one time when I start cutting things

Like my DX light to Marwi adapter. I have sold 100+ of those and so making that item on my CNC machine is worth it and it conmtine to sell very well.


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