Maxabeam Battery

[PhillyRube]

My Maxabeam has not been holding a charge, so I thought it time to get a new one. Anybody priced those things? WOW!! So I decided I would try to build my own.

Taking apart the old pack was a challenge...used a hacksaw to score the case around the top, and a putty knife to pop it open. Found some really big NiCad pack, 10 cells wired up to a isolation diode so it doesn't feed voltage back to the case charging contacts, and a small IC chip in series between the battery and the two charging contacts.

Battery pack is dated 2001.......duh, i guess that's why it's not holding a charge, except I bought this new in 2005!

Question her is, can someone recommend a different battery pack? Battery Junction has a 12v 10ah NiMH pack that will fit in the original case, or I may find a hobbybox that is smaller and mount the light to it, scrapping the old case bgottom?

Any ideas?

 

[petersmith6]

you should be able to get 13000mh nimh batterys if you dont mind a little work.they should nearly double your runtime. just need to cheack with peak beam to see if you charger is compatible with Nimh cells.

 

[Walterk]

You can use 4 x A123 AHR32113 cells, they give me 40 minutes runtime. They fit the housing very well.
Its a safe chemistry, not much lighter then Nicad but more durable. You would need a dedicated Lifepo4 charger.

 

[troller_cpf]

be aware that you need a battery that can supply AT LEAST 9 Amps continuosly, because that's the current required for the operation of the High Mode.

 

[Echo63]

You can just drop a 7ah or 9ah SLA pack in the box.
Fast cheap and easy, you will of course need to get a charger and build the appropriate plug.
It's actually pretty easy though

My Maxabeam currently has a SLA in it (case cracked and SLA installed by ParkerVH before I bought the light)

Actually, regardless of what you put on you will probably need a new charger unit

 

[ma_sha1]

I used one of this:
[h=5]Custom LiFePO4 26650 Battery: 12.8V 6.6Ah (84Wh 14A Rate) w/ PCB & 10" 18Awg Open Wires (CU-MM167 PID# 5621) (7.92)[/h]
This is same capacity As factory but smaller & much lighter, cut the box down by 1" or so to achieve low profile.. The digital volt meter is from ebay. Need a smart charger for lifepo4 pack.

 

[PhillyRube]

I used one of this:
[h=5]Custom LiFePO4 26650 Battery: 12.8V 6.6Ah (84Wh 14A Rate) w/ PCB & 10" 18Awg Open Wires (CU-MM167 PID# 5621) (7.92)[/h]
This is same capacity As factory but smaller & much lighter, cut the box down by 1" or so to achieve low profile.. The digital volt meter is from ebay. Need a smart charger for lifepo4 pack.

I saw your build on another thread, sorta looking into that option. The SLA is the easiest one to do but I'd like to lose some of the weight. Right now I'm powering it from a dual SLA belt rig.