Ideas for charging station.

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!)

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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!

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

PS_I'd love to see photos if/when you get this complete!

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

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