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09-24-2011, 03:09 PM
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#1 | | Hypervaporation in effect Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Deep in the Heart of the greatest state in the Union
Posts: 1,536
| Just wanted to let everyone know that the radshack might have some use afterall. Last night I stopped by for something unrelated and stumbled across a really good deal. They have had a large amount of in store items on clearance the last couple of weeks. Most stuff has not been all that exciting but I found a heluva deal on some bats. I picked up four camera packs for a whopping grand total of $4.16 walkout. The part # 2300490 is a replacement for Nikon ENEL3 camera battery each for just 97¢. Normally priced at $39.99 each. Throwing caution into the wind,  I HAD to grab them all. And, totally glad I did. When I got home and opened them up, I was rewarded with two nice 18500s per pack. It took all of about 10 mins to remove the packs and break them down to individual cells. Did not even need to charge 75% of them. The one pack that was actually made by Nikon was low enough to warrant a mandatory charge prior to use but the others were hot as well that really bad place.
Sooo. I quickly put together a couple of flashlight mods using a single cell in each and DANG.. Those 18500s can cook some juice!
So long story short. A supa sweet deal that maybe you can all cash in on @ your local RS. 3.7v 1500Mah Lith-ion in a 18500 format for 48.5¢ each (and a tiny bit of work of course) I should also mention, I saw several other promising packs for almost as good a deal  Really hope you guys/gals can cash in.. Rock.. Anything wrong with my thinking here? These are the "right stuff" right? What about leaving the pack intact for a 7.4v vape...? Lips burning just thinking about it. Most certainly going to try a 2x parallel with a set of them. The only thing left is finding a quick, safe and inexpensive way to charge them. 
The link is to the same thing I picked up from RS but at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-EN-EL3a-...=pd_sim_sbs_p5
__________________ Drip that tip, to wet the wire. Now vape that juice, no need for fire  Hypervaporation effect in effect | 
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09-24-2011, 03:37 PM
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#2 | | awarded title of Sir Arse Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Louisiana
Posts: 6,665
| Interfacing to the pack connector should be simple enough. A thin blade of copper can be inserted into the + and -. Did you notice a protection circuit board (long thin strip with some surface mount components on it)? That is probably needed to use as a 7.4 volt pack. Using without the protection circuit might not be advisable. Watch cell voltage and stop sucking when it stops vaping 
Use caution using these in a mod. They are unprotected cells. Sounds like you found a deal and are having fun.
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A good e-juice, fresh carto, and 3.7 volts from a REALLY REALLY BIG battery works for me. YMMV
Originally Posted by Rocketman
...Quasi was right...Once
...OK, Twice...Maybe | |
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09-24-2011, 04:39 PM
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#3 | | Modder Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: rhode island usa
Posts: 2,957
| you can put your own intergrate pcb board in if you know how, and charge off of a charger like in the bm or the other variations of the tt.. | |
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09-24-2011, 04:47 PM
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#4 | | Couldnt take it anymore Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Mod impersonation carries a stiff penalty YKWYA
Posts: 10,768
| awesome find...gotta head to the local ratshack now and see if they have any of those deals going on here or not..
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09-24-2011, 05:22 PM
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#5 | | Hypervaporation in effect Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Deep in the Heart of the greatest state in the Union
Posts: 1,536
| So what would a practical way be, to charge individual? Easy enough to charge as a 7.4v pack on my Li-Po charger if I do not break them out of their casing, and thus leaving the PCB to regulate. But, I need them independent so, any homebrew ideas? I'm safety conscious... well mostly. 
__________________ Drip that tip, to wet the wire. Now vape that juice, no need for fire Hypervaporation effect in effect | |
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09-24-2011, 05:24 PM
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#6 | | Hypervaporation in effect Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Deep in the Heart of the greatest state in the Union
Posts: 1,536
| Update - One of the packs that was thought to be low charge is a no charge. Still all in all no biggie. Should be able to get something out of it.. We see
__________________ Drip that tip, to wet the wire. Now vape that juice, no need for fire Hypervaporation effect in effect | |
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09-24-2011, 07:07 PM
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#7 | | Haloween Hater Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Shoe
Posts: 235
| Man I wish I would have logged on earlier, I'll be headed there tomorrow for sure. Thanks for the heads up.
I have been searching around for various mod components and thought it would be cool to use a battery pack of some kind. For that price, I can experiment with several ideas.
Last edited by Brutus; 09-24-2011 at 07:09 PM..
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09-24-2011, 07:22 PM
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#8 | | Hypervaporation in effect Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Deep in the Heart of the greatest state in the Union
Posts: 1,536
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutus  Man I wish I would have logged on earlier, I'll be headed there tomorrow for sure. Thanks for the heads up.
I have been searching around for various mod components and thought it would be cool to use a battery pack of some kind. For that price, I can experiment with several ideas. | - Thats the way i was thinking.. So far these seem to be pretty bad a$$. If not even one of them was to work??? so? 4 bucks.. Alre3ady vaped about a full day on em so already sorta got my $ worth. looooonnng charge AT 150ma though.
__________________ Drip that tip, to wet the wire. Now vape that juice, no need for fire Hypervaporation effect in effect | |
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09-25-2011, 04:57 PM
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#9 | | vapocologist Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: NYC
Posts: 68
| So, the date codes are? 2005?
Just so you know, LiCo2 (Cobalt Li-ion) cells, which those undoubtedly are, even when kept fully charged, permanently lose 20% of it's runtime every year since it's date of manufacture. So don't expect too much from them, there's a reason they are on closeout... always try to find the date code of a cell before purchasing. Obviously at this price, that they work even a few times is fine.
re: charging, don't worry, you'll have multiple ways soon enough. You've obviously been bitten, I'm sure you'll have some DIY charging rigs as well as the ubiquitous WF-139s/TR-001s as well as surplus camera chargers. (always handy as most high-end ones are balanced chargers, look for more than 4 pins on the charging connector.)
Please do not parallel more than two cells. As long as you're keeping the charge rate low, say 0.3C, this shouldn't be a problem. The cells will kind-of self equalize during charging and the voltage offset shouldn't be that much.
As was said, you removed the PCB so there's nothing from stopping you from draining them down past 2.5V; if/when you do, you knock some life off them. If you leave them in a discharged state for any time at all, you'll never be able to charge them again. Li-Ion Cobalts are finicky and easy to kill, liable to explode, and will quit when even slightly mistreated. But nothing beats the energy density, so we put up with their prima donna behaviour.
Although, there are some MILSPEC Li-Ions that seem like they should be violating a couple laws of physics, but the cost will keep any of us from ever playing around with them, even on closeout. | |
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09-25-2011, 08:15 PM
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#10 | | Hypervaporation in effect Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Deep in the Heart of the greatest state in the Union
Posts: 1,536
| Quote:
Originally Posted by BillP So, the date codes are? 2005?
Just so you know, LiCo2 (Cobalt Li-ion) cells, which those undoubtedly are, even when kept fully charged, permanently lose 20% of it's runtime every year since it's date of manufacture. So don't expect too much from them, there's a reason they are on closeout... always try to find the date code of a cell before purchasing. Obviously at this price, that they work even a few times is fine.
re: charging, don't worry, you'll have multiple ways soon enough. You've obviously been bitten, I'm sure you'll have some DIY charging rigs as well as the ubiquitous WF-139s/TR-001s as well as surplus camera chargers. (always handy as most high-end ones are balanced chargers, look for more than 4 pins on the charging connector.)
Please do not parallel more than two cells. As long as you're keeping the charge rate low, say 0.3C, this shouldn't be a problem. The cells will kind-of self equalize during charging and the voltage offset shouldn't be that much.
As was said, you removed the PCB so there's nothing from stopping you from draining them down past 2.5V; if/when you do, you knock some life off them. If you leave them in a discharged state for any time at all, you'll never be able to charge them again. Li-Ion Cobalts are finicky and easy to kill, liable to explode, and will quit when even slightly mistreated. But nothing beats the energy density, so we put up with their prima donna behaviour.
Although, there are some MILSPEC Li-Ions that seem like they should be violating a couple laws of physics, but the cost will keep any of us from ever playing around with them, even on closeout. |
__________________ Drip that tip, to wet the wire. Now vape that juice, no need for fire Hypervaporation effect in effect | |
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