Ideas for charging station.

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Lightning Bub

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Dec 5, 2013
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I want to build a charging station for 18650 cells.

I currently have four Nitecore (Sysmax) Intellicharger i4 chargers.

I want to build a box out of non-flammable material, such as metal or phenolic sheets (not wood). At first, I was thinking building the box myself and mounting a 120mm PC case fan at each end, one blowing in and the other blowing out. I'm not sure how I would build a metal box, so I thought of using an old PC case to hold the chargers. I was also wondering if I could power the i4 chargers with the PC power supply using the 12v wires that normally power PC drives.

This is all in the planning stages right now, but I was wondering if anyone else has done anything like this.
 
I haven't done anything like this but would an ammo box work maybe? I would just mount a power strip and use REALLY short power cables, that's the easiest way (even I could do it!)
 
ThirstyTurtle said:
I haven't done anything like this but would an ammo box work maybe? I would just mount a power strip and use REALLY short power cables, that's the easiest way (even I could do it!)
Click to expand...

An ammo box sounds like the way to go. I guess I will head over to the gun show next time it is in town. Thanks for the idea!
 
Lightning Bub said:
An ammo box sounds like the way to go. I guess I will head over to the gun show next time it is in town. Thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...

Glad I could help! If you have a Harbour Freight in your city, they sell a $15 aluminum case that would work well too. They also have ammo boxes but I'm nearly certain that they're plastic.
 
ThirstyTurtle said:
Glad I could help! If you have a Harbour Freight in your city, they sell a $15 aluminum case that would work well too. They also have ammo boxes but I'm nearly certain that they're plastic.
Click to expand...

That's funny! I was actually looking at the Harbor Freight website when you replied!
 
I would be careful with metal as it is conductive. If you drop open leads of a battery on the surface you will get a short and possibly weld those connections to the metal resulting in a catastrophic event most likely. With li-ion cells this is not as likely as there are not leads. Something like Nomex fabric would work great its what firefighter turnout gear is made from. You can get a lab coat from the material online and cut it to cover the box with some kind of material.
 
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Onthelightside said:
I would be careful with metal as it is conductive. If you drop open leads of a battery on the surface you will get a short and possibly weld those connections to the metal resulting in a catastrophic event most likely. With li-ion cells this is not as likely as there are not leads. Something like Nomex fabric would work great its what firefighter turnout gear is made from. You can get a lab coat from the material online and cut it to cover the box with some kind of material.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's a great idea! I could line the inside of the box with something if it is metal. I am still looking into phenolic sheets. The stuff is incredibly strong, doesn't conduct electricity, and does not burn.
 
Lightning Bub said:
Thanks, that's a great idea! I could line the inside of the box with something if it is metal. I am still looking into phenolic sheets. The stuff is incredibly strong, doesn't conduct electricity, and does not burn.
Click to expand...

The Harbour Freight aluminum boxes are filled with foam that you can cut. You could cut most of it out but leave the metal covered.
 
I'm using the Harbor Freight 4 drawer roller cart Item# 95659 for a charging station, it has enough room for my rechargeable cells, chargers, adapters and a small selection of related hand tools. They can be had for 100 bucks + tax with a coupon from their sales paper, I'm impressed with the quality of the box for the price :)

Later
Kelly
 
Sway said:
I'm using the Harbor Freight 4 drawer roller cart Item# 95659 for a charging station, it has enough room for my rechargeable cells, chargers, adapters and a small selection of related hand tools. They can be had for 100 bucks + tax with a coupon from their sales paper, I'm impressed with the quality of the box for the price :)

Later
Kelly
Click to expand...

That is a HUGE charging station, haha, I love it!
 
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