Hid thor lipo-pack

I have thor modded with 70w hid, and runtime is too low now with original 7ah sla, so updating to li-po packs. I'm putting at least 4pcs "11.1V 2100mAh 20C" packs parallel to get 11.1v ~8ah capacity. Problem here is how to charge these all in one without opening light case?

Is it ok to charge with this example? http://www.batteryspace.com/smartch...polymerrechargeablebatterypack--ullisted.aspx
Or is there better (faster) options available (for reasonable price)

Everybody here is talking about balanced charging li-po packs, but in real life how much does it reduce battery life charging them all in one?

Wow, you're running 4 x parallel packs? That's a lot of complication and charging hassle for the gain of 1400mah. May I suggest running 2 x 5000mah or 6000mah instead? Here is a one battery option which will further simplify charging through a single port in the body.

Regarding the charger, you can use the one that you posted but a hobby charger with cell balancing is far better for this application. It's hard to say how much regular charging reduces the life span but balanced charging will improve run performance since all cells will start at the same voltage and end close to the same voltage. This is especially the case over time vs. without cell balancing. Besides, there is no down side to cell balancing as you can see by the price of the chargers. It's a win, win.

I'm using those packs because i've allready purchased them (originally for another project..). I'm wanting to charge them simultaneously because of that hassle everytime opening case, and loading batteries one by one.
That charger you suggested seems to be good choise too though.

Now fitted new lipo packs, still room for three more if needed. With original sla battery, runtime was about ~7minutes, with this new pack over 90minutes, after this 90minutes i tested (outside temp -30°c), batteries were still over 10.5V, which is well over safe limit. I'm charging these with http://www.batteryspace.com/smartch...polymerrechargeablebatterypack--ullisted.aspx Works fine. And weight was reduced too, original sla 2090g, this pack 800g.

What Bulb and Ballast are you using? Where purchased? Prices? Color temp of bulb?

stollman said:

What Bulb and Ballast are you using? Where purchased? Prices? Color temp of bulb?

Click to expand...

Ballast is modded unknown "philips copy", and if i remember right, bulb is 5000k. These are so old, can't remember..

Patriot said:

Wow, you're running 4 x parallel packs? That's a lot of complication and charging hassle for the gain of 1400mah. May I suggest running 2 x 5000mah or 6000mah instead? Here is a one battery option which will further simplify charging through a single port in the body.

Regarding the charger, you can use the one that you posted but a hobby charger with cell balancing is far better for this application. It's hard to say how much regular charging reduces the life span but balanced charging will improve run performance since all cells will start at the same voltage and end close to the same voltage. This is especially the case over time vs. without cell balancing. Besides, there is no down side to cell balancing as you can see by the price of the chargers. It's a win, win.

Click to expand...

sla battery ratings are no where near accurate though (atleast at anything over 1/5c draw)... i had a 35 watt ballast(input 35 watts) test running on a brand new 7ah sla that would only run for 50-55 minutes hot off the charger. In my new 55 watt spot light i made i put a 4000mah lipo pack in it and get 60 minutes safe run time (14.8v pack run down to 13 volts). There is actually room for two of the lipo packs but i didnt bother installing the second because one hour is/should be plenty and charging would be a pain. I think i could get 75 minutes if i pushed the lipo to 2.5 volts a cell but that would likely damage the pack.

4 lipos are a pain but if you already own them might as well use em. **If** you have the knowhow maybe you could try to disassemble the packs and make one 14.8 volt(4s3p) pack out of them with balance lead. 14.8 works better with hid ballasts because it allows them to draw less amps which is easier on the electronics...