The Power Pipe

[synthnut]

OK you Carpenters .....Move over .....The Plumber is in the house with a POWER PIPE !!!..... Jim

 

[FreeMan08]

Great idea. That's what's good about the forum, everyone sharing different ways to solve a problem. Thanks for posting.
Ed

 

[kered]

I like it, how about a couple of photos of how the endcap and connections are done.

We've seen the carpenter and the plumber version, wonder how a bricky would do it, even a lightweight version from critter(sorry critter couldn't resist)

 

[synthnut]

Thanks, and I will post 2 shots ....One shot shows the outside terminals, and also shows the inside of the opposite end where I put a piece of stick on foam weather stripping .....It cusions the other end and makes like a spring effect .....The terminal end I just drilled out a little smaller than a couple of 2 inch screws that had heads that would fit the inside of the battery housing terminals ....The pipe is 1 1/2 PVC with 2 flat end caps that are cut to suit the battery size .... You measure the battery terminals which are 1/2 inch spacing and you measure where the battery will sit , and drill your screw holes ....What worked out so nicely is tht the battery has rounded edges and sit's in the pipe nicely like it was made to do so ....You stick your stick on weather stripping in , and that's it !!.....You pre adjust your screws by turning them by hand , drop the battery in , and stand the pipe up with the weather stripping side down, and turn the screws ill they make solid contact with the battery ....Take your meter and check to see that you have proper conact and you're really to charge .... You can even set these up , and bring them with you to charge later .....I make a BUNCH of stuff from PVC ..... I have kayak carts that I have made from PVC .....Any questions , fire away !!.....Jim

 

[synthnut]

My next venture will be a Lipo setup for the E Trac .... compete with it's own housing ....I have to work on something that will be at least as light as the original battery , yet last at least twice as long .......Jim

 

[Critterhunter]

That's pretty nice! Linking this thread to the big battery thread for future reference. Great job!

PVC is great for a lot of things. I use it for tomato stakes in my garden. Others have use it to make detector stands. In the past I even used it to make a frame for a ice shantey or a hunting blind. Light, goes together fast, and you never need to worry about it rotting on you. I've been wondering about using it to construct a light weight boat frame, covering it in a material of some type. that way it could be broken down for transport and then made into some form of canoe or at least a john boat. Again, great job!

 

[deanosaur1972]

We've seen the carpenter and the plumber version, wonder how a bricky would do it

Give me some time and I will show you how a complete idiot would do it

Power Pipe looks excellent good work.......

One day I will have a go at rigging up these systems, once police, fire department have been informed, neighbors evacuated and no fly zone installed. Having used a landmine as candle holder before you will realize I am only partly joking.

 

[kered]

Hmm, i think i have an old busted torch that i could modify, it has a spring in the endcap to hold the batteries in place and ................................back in a mo

(sent you an email re etrac lipo)

 

[Critterhunter]

Put some dielectric grease (.99 cents a pack at Auto stores, used as spark plug boot grease) on the two screw heads. Don't put it on thick. Just a very thin coating will prevent oxide build up to insure you won't run into any "connection break" issues with the charger. Also, while on the subject. For some odd reason my charger will issue that error code some times when cycling batteries dead and re-charging them. I believe what happens is that the pack voltage drops so dead that the charger doesn't take enough time to try to start charging the battery before it checks to see if any voltage is present. The only other time you'll see that code is when there is a bad solder joint in the charge leads, which is a common problem right out of the box with this Accucel, but no matter to easily solder and fix should it arise.

The only way to make something light (you knew I'd take up that challenge would be to build a box out of balsa. I use that stuff to sheet the foam bodies on my RC planes. Makes it indistructable. I've never been a fan of balsa planes just like I'm not a fan of gas or nitro planes. Too much work building stuff. But I do like using balsa and some gorilla glue to sheet bodies or tail booms quick and easy with it, since I don't have to screw with multiple pieces of balsa and ribs and such. The foam does all that for me and creates the shape. Balsa just makes it even stronger and less prone to crushing on a crash. Other nice thing is that if I do wreck the balsa will cause the foam to break cleanly and so make for easy repair.

 

[synthnut]

Critter,
I thought that you would at a minimum do a build out of Carbon Fiber !!..... .......Don't think I"m not contemplating it myself .... ......Jim

 

[synthnut]

Thanks to all for their "attaboys" ......I appreciate it ......and thanks for the Dielectric Greae tip Critter .....I have some here at the house .....Jim

 

[erikk]

Super Idea!!!

 

[Critterhunter]

Go real thin with that stuff. It's meant to prevent oxide build up on electrical contacts, yet still allow current to flow. But, if you put it on too thick it will stop that current flow. Just use a Q-Tip and lightly coat the screw heads. A little on your battery terminals/plugs is also a good idea.

 

[jbow]

That is nice, thanks for posting it.

J