Battery packs and cell choices

[dannydoyle2]

My Eboard is currently running on two big fat 8000mAh 5S LiPo packs, which is a bit annoying. Which is why I'm looking for a replacement for them.
I've considered going with 18650 batteries like the LG HE2, but I don't wanna invest in a spot soldering machine that I'm just going to use once. On top of that, I've read that the LG HE2's have a lifecycle of just about 300 recharge cycles, which sucks a bit imo.

So I've been looking around a lot and I just stumbled across these things:
http://www.headway-headquarters.com/40152s-15ah-headway-cell/
(Exact specs are in the second product pic)

Now first of all, they're super long at 150mm/5.9in and quite thick at 40mm/1.6in. However, they're rated at 15,000mAh each which makes them quite attractive, since I won't have to deal with soldering or welding a lot of batteries together. Plus they have screw caps at the and which might eliminate the night to solder altogether.

So essentially I have:
+ I'd only have to use 10 of those to get a 10s pack going
+ 15,000mAh more than enough
+ not that expensive at around 30 bucks each
+ screw caps
+ discharge current of up to 150A

- long and unflexible
. balancing needed, since they're LiFePo4's

I'm really thinking about buying them, but for some reason I can't shake the feeling that I'm overlookin something. Why isn't everyone else using them as well? Is it because of the balancing that's required and the advantage that the 18650's have over them? Anything else I'd need to consider when charging them?

 

[Vanarian]

Hi dude,

You got it wrong! The Headway cells you listed certainly offer 15Ah but you be careful about :
1)weight
2)voltage (LifePo4 is 3.2 nominal / 3.6 max voltage)
3)size
4)discharge is supposedly 45A max. Never trust pulse discharge as it WILL damage your battery.

Build your battery pack according to the following features :
-how much range do you need
-how much power do you need (voltage and amperage wise)
-which size and weight can you afford.

LG HE2 are not any worse than cells like Samsung 25R (maybe slightly less consistent as far as high discharge goes). Cycle life is directly relevant to how you charge and discharge your batteries. 300 cycles is irrelevant, as max cycle is same for almost all Li-Ion based batteries.

Technically speaking your two packs are one of the simplest solutions to manage, next step being something like enertion Space cell which integrates everything. What do you need?

 

[fuelre]

Hey
I have 38120 10Ah Headways on one Longboard.
The only disadvantage on these cell is the size - 4cm in depth is to much - i change this Setup to 18650 LiIon at the moment.
And they have less power per volume than LiIon Cells.

 

[chuttney1]

300 cycles is irrelevant, as max cycle is same for almost all Li-Ion based batteries.

I would have to argue the 300 cycles test is an industry standard test to gauge a cells capability within a specific range and is not irrelevant. Now, how fast you discharge and charge the cells will determine the capacity of the cells over time in relation to the max amperage each cell can discharge.