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19852 Posts in 1275 Topics by 5182 Members - Latest Member: charbuild March 28, 2024, 09:18:25 AM
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Breaktru Forum  |  eCigarette Forum  |  Modding  |  Topic: DIY Battery connecter coils.
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Author Topic: DIY Battery connecter coils.  (Read 10075 times)

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Offline David-Bowser

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DIY Battery connecter coils.
« on: July 30, 2014, 03:52:21 PM »
Hello, I know there are people making their own bottom and/or top coils for their DIY battery boxes out of solid copper wire.  Forming it into a spring like coil to sit the batteries against in their mods.

I make my own wood box mods and use both 18650 and 26650 batteries, depending on what I need at the time.  I have heard some use the solid wire from a coax cable to form it and some use a solid wire from electrical wire.  I have used the coax wire and it is a little too light for me.  Can some one tell me what gauge wire do you use for the spring coils, please.

I have seen where others have soldered button magnets to the wire for connectors also.  Would that be better?  Or is there a better method to make a connection?

Offline CraigHB

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Re: DIY Battery connecter coils.
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, 05:15:28 PM »
I think battery connectors are a big source of DIY headaches.  It's not always economical in terms of space to use a battery sled.  You can save a ton of space by using a more direct connection.  In my case, I always solder my cells making them non-removable.  It eliminates both the space consumption and the headache of connection quality.  That can be a big deal with high demands on the battery.  Of course, non-removable cells have their issues too, it's a pain to replace cells when they wear out.

In any case, copper is second only to silver in conductivity, but it also corrodes quickly.  That tarnish build-up degrades connection quality.  There's a couple things you can do.  You can buff copper contacts then apply a layer of conductive grease to keep them from corroding.  However, that becomes sort of a maintenance headache.  The other option is to plate the contacts with a corrosion resistant metal like nickel.  That's how the corrosion issue is handled normally, with a nickel or tin-nickel plate.

I have not actually looked into getting anything plated, but it should be pretty easy to find a shop that does it.  Any shop that does chroming will be able to do that since the base plate for chrome is nickel. 

Copper is a very soft metal so it's not going to make a very good spring base since it will just collapse and stay there.  To get the spring effect, you pretty much have to use spring steel or a similar metal with high tensile strength.  Unfortunately those tend to be crappy conductors.  You need a heavy plate of copper then nickel to resolve that issue. 

You could probably use an off the shelf spring and take it to a chroming shop for a good thick plate.  I think the chroming shops actually start with a first layer of copper so they can do that too.

Magnets are poor conductors so it's actually better to avoid them.  The Ne type magnets are especially poor condutors and those are more common because of their superior magnetism.

Offline David-Bowser

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Re: DIY Battery connecter coils.
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, 06:17:32 PM »
Yeah, I really did not want to use magnets either, getting the batteries in and out could get to be a problem unless you had plenty of wire on either end.  I have seen mods using bare solid copper wire, but it has been awhile and I can not remember the gauge but am thinking it is around 12 gauge.

Like I said I did try the center wire of coax and it did the job but it is a little thin.  I also made contacts using brass bolts and T-nuts and they work great, but this time I want something different. 

As far as non removable batteries  I don't know how to set up a USB re-charging unit and am not very knowledgeable in electronics.  I stick strictly with mech mods.  LOL

But thank you for reading and answering.

Online Breaktru

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Re: DIY Battery connecter coils.
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, 07:21:29 PM »
I've used these type contacts for AA batteries in my "Spark-O-Matic".They are made by KeyStone and are spring steel and Tin Nickel plated.
The image attached are for 18650 batteries. KeyStone Holder

Offline David-Bowser

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Re: DIY Battery connecter coils.
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2014, 07:32:29 PM »
OK thank you Breaktru, that should work.

Offline BOFH

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Breaktru Forum  |  eCigarette Forum  |  Modding  |  Topic: DIY Battery connecter coils.
 

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