AW 26500 charger questions

I am anxiously awaiting a new Nailbender creation that requires 3 AW26500 batteries. After using conventional batteries and eneloop AAs, I feel that Li-ion batteries are a whole new ballgame.

I'm looking for a safe charger that will work with these batteries. I may not be able to constantly monitor charging multiple cells and am concerned with what happens if the cell(s) are left on the charger too long.

Questions are:

1. What is a safe charger to use with these batteries?

2. Is there a charger that will charge multiple AW26500s, or will I need to charge 1 at a time.

Thanks in advance for answers. My wife is afraid I'm going to burn the house down.:naughty:

Bump before going to work. Help!

The best way to charge those cells would be to use a hobby charger. Then you could adjust the charge current, as well as either parallel, or balance charge them, and the charger would shut off when the charge is complete.

Most other methods involve adapting "bay" chargers to accomidate cells that size. A hobby charger is really the way to go. Regardless of what you end up getting, it is never recommended to leave Li-Ion cells on a charger unattended. It's just a bad practice.

Dave

I am certainly no battery expert, but here is what I did - this is a great thread with a workaround that nicely solves this problem.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/230657

I took the advice from this thread and built myself something similar that perfectly charges batteryspace 26650 batteries with a Pila IBC. I ended up buying D sized battery holders and cutting them in half, then mounting them on a piece of plywood the right distance apart to give the right spring tension on the battery. I used brass screws into the end of wooden dowels then to set into the Pila charger. There are several good pictures in the above thread that pretty much shows what is involved.

Good clean workaround as far as I am concerned. Materials to do this should set you back less than $10 if you already have a soldering iron. Will set you back less than $2 if you only need the charging bays. You can get the charging bays online at batteryspace, or get them at a local radio shack retail store.

+1 on the never leaving Li-ions charging unattended, even on a good charger. It's just a risk you shouldn't take.

Also FWIW, I am only using my cells in a single cell 1x26650 flashlight, so I have no need to "balance" multiple cells to the exact same voltage. My understanding is there is some risk in using cells with unmatched voltage (your configuration is 3x26500) in the same flashlight. I can't offer any advice on this front, but suggest you do some more reading here in the battery forums to clearly understand what those risks are. If you have a need for cell balancing you will need a hobby charger to do that for you.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Again exposing myself as a real noob....

You mention hobby charger. I need more help. are we talking something like this?

http://www.batteryjunction.com/li-smart-charger.html

OneBigDay said:

I am certainly no battery expert, but here is what I did - this is a great thread with a workaround that nicely solves this problem.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/230657

I took the advice from this thread and built myself something similar that perfectly charges batteryspace 26650 batteries with a Pila IBC. I ended up buying D sized battery holders and cutting them in half, then mounting them on a piece of plywood the right distance apart to give the right spring tension on the battery. I used brass screws into the end of wooden dowels then to set into the Pila charger. There are several good pictures in the above thread that pretty much shows what is involved.

Good clean workaround as far as I am concerned. Materials to do this should set you back less than $10 if you already have a soldering iron. Will set you back less than $2 if you only need the charging bays. You can get the charging bays online at batteryspace, or get them at a local radio shack retail store.

+1 on the never leaving Li-ions charging unattended, even on a good charger. It's just a risk you shouldn't take.

Also FWIW, I am only using my cells in a single cell 1x26650 flashlight, so I have no need to "balance" multiple cells to the exact same voltage. My understanding is there is some risk in using cells with unmatched voltage (your configuration is 3x26500) in the same flashlight. I can't offer any advice on this front, but suggest you do some more reading here in the battery forums to clearly understand what those risks are. If you have a need for cell balancing you will need a hobby charger to do that for you.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

Commenting on a hobby charger is out of my experience, but I can at least make a few comments from what I have read here back when I had the exact same question (a very short while ago).

Here are a couple links to some "hobby" chargers. Hobby charger gets it's name because it's primary market is RC (Radio Control) enthusiasts who are running cars, helicopters, boats, whatever, that run on LiPo batteries. These batteries are "usually" used in a pack (multiple cells) and therefore have special charging needs and knowledge. Generally speaking if you need a custom charged pack - you need a custom charger that can handle that.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=216
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/...uct_Name=IMAX_B6_Charger/Discharger_1-6_Cells

The best analogy I can make if you understand photography would go something like this - an Ultrafire WF-139 or Pila IBC charger is like a point and shoot camera. You set it on auto and just take pictures, these simple chargers fit only a few battery sizes (16 or 18 mm cells). The charge rate is slow enough so that in a pinch you can also charge a larger battery (i.e a 26mm cell) without doing any damage, it just might take a little longer. Point and shoot, just plug in the charger, put in the batteries and wait for the green light.

The hobby charger on the other hand is the large format everything is manual camera. It takes superior pictures but you have to know how to use it. Set the F stops, shutter speed, bring the right lens, flash, light meter, blah blah blah. So with the hobby charger you also need to do things like make sure you have a power supply (because the cheaper ones are DC only), know the charge rates, acquire or build harnesses or cradles for your cells/packs, program in the charging rate, termination point, specific battery type, etc.... These chargers will also give you some feedback about the health of your battery as it runs through the charge cycle.

Someday I would like to go there, but that day is not yet for me. So I'm using the point and shoot Pila IBC - which seems to be the best simple charger that uses the correct charging algorithm.

Sorry I can't be of more specific help but I hope this can at least steer you closer. There is a ton of information on this forum about hobby chargers and batteries in general. I read for at least double digit hours before some of this stuff really started to sink in. I was really surprised at how much there is to know about batteries . It was just something I hadn't spent a whole lot of time thinking about until I saw a use for a non standard size (26650) cell.

One more link to another thread on this forum to get you started.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/246013

Freddy said:

You mention hobby charger. I need more help. are we talking something like this?
http://www.batteryjunction.com/li-smart-charger.html

Click to expand...

No, I won't describe what I personally call those. :naughty:

What I ended up getting was one of the "cheapest of the cheap" Bantam BC-6 clones, a Dynam Supermate DC6, which seems to work quite well. The only problem I have had with it, which I was forewarned about, reading in the R/C forums about cheap hobby chargers, is I had to re-heat sink the power transistors.

While a hobby charger takes a little more effort (as you need to come up with a cradle to charge your cells, unless you're charging packs), you can charge just about any kind of battery chemistry with them.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. There's some info on that page as well as your post and others that are helping me understand all of this.

It would be nice if there were a turnkey system I could just buy. You mention the cradles. They would be in lieu of magnets, right?

Thanks, Dave. There's some info on that page as well as your post and others that are helping me understand all of this.

It would be nice if there were a turnkey system I could just buy. You mention the cradles. They would be in lieu of magnets, right?

Freddy said:

......You mention the cradles. They would be in lieu of magnets, right?

Click to expand...

Yes, magnets would work fine. I like the less cumbersome and cleaner cradle approach, however I do charge most NiMH packs with a pair of Lux's magnets.

Dave

Thanks again, Dave. I guess I'll go the magnet route until and unless I can find a holder for 26500s.

Freddy said:

Thanks again, Dave. I guess I'll go the magnet route until and unless I can find a holder for 26500s.

Click to expand...

The cradle that I made, that I linked to, is just a reworking of an old NiCd charger. You see these in thrift shops (Goodwill, Salvation Army etc.) all the time. They are pretty easy to gut and rewire to a parallel configuration (charge 1-4 Li-Ion cells), and they hold cells from 10440 to 32700. You can charge smaller cells using spacer magnets as well. As I said, magnets will work though, and may be easier than converting an old charger, if you want to series balance charge the cells.

Dave

I'll look for something I can adapt like you did. Then I'll find someone who knows which end of a soldering iron to hold, to help me adapt it.

Thanks for your help and patience.