fredrussell
Well-known member
I’m going to re-cell a spare Torqeedo battery I have. Can anyone recommend me a decent (but sub-£100 if poss) spot welder for Lithium cells. If you search AliExpress about ten million of them are shown.
Recommend me a 18650 cell spot welder
- Thread starter fredrussell
- Start date
ChromeDome
Well-known member
Recently replaced the cells in household device. Used a standard (temp regulated) solder station and solder strips. Not too many cells, though.
All solder points and strips were sanded to secure proper connection to the coated (nickel?) surfaces.
All solder points and strips were sanded to secure proper connection to the coated (nickel?) surfaces.
Refueler
Well-known member
With great respect to ChromeDome .... but soft solder is NOT the way to go ...
Soft Solder even with high heat is not a reliable joint method.
The Spot Welders on AliExpress ... Banggood etc. are all based on better joint results. BUT you need to practice on old dud cells .... old AA / AAA are similar metal and good enough to practice on.
You have a choice in power form :
LiPo (3S)
12v Car battery
Mains power of sufficient power ...
I would suggest for you is best the car battery version. I have the LiPo version because of my models.
OK ... some need addition of a 'spike' capacitor to avoid blowing FET's when wound up !! But most are OK ...
[
People may scoff ... but they do actually work well ..... better than soft solder .....
Soft Solder even with high heat is not a reliable joint method.
The Spot Welders on AliExpress ... Banggood etc. are all based on better joint results. BUT you need to practice on old dud cells .... old AA / AAA are similar metal and good enough to practice on.
You have a choice in power form :
LiPo (3S)
12v Car battery
Mains power of sufficient power ...
I would suggest for you is best the car battery version. I have the LiPo version because of my models.
OK ... some need addition of a 'spike' capacitor to avoid blowing FET's when wound up !! But most are OK ...
[
People may scoff ... but they do actually work well ..... better than soft solder .....
fredrussell
Well-known member
I’m probably going to go with this one:
Spot Welder, Seesii 80 Gears Adjustable Portable Spot Welder with LCD Screen,Built-in 6000ma-h Battery Spot Welder with 5m Nickel & 4X4 Holders for 0.1/0.15mm Nickel Strip Welding Making Battery Packs https://amzn.eu/d/cubTR45
Spot Welder, Seesii 80 Gears Adjustable Portable Spot Welder with LCD Screen,Built-in 6000ma-h Battery Spot Welder with 5m Nickel & 4X4 Holders for 0.1/0.15mm Nickel Strip Welding Making Battery Packs https://amzn.eu/d/cubTR45
Refueler
Well-known member
Please report back as I have a cheap $30 unit which works well .... always interested to see others.
For anyone else considering - please pay attention to the strip thickness quoted for the unit ... if you need to 'spot' at maximum - then you may hit power limits ... the FET's don't like when demand is high - but power in is going down !! That's when they may blow ...
For anyone else considering - please pay attention to the strip thickness quoted for the unit ... if you need to 'spot' at maximum - then you may hit power limits ... the FET's don't like when demand is high - but power in is going down !! That's when they may blow ...
ChromeDome
Well-known member
Yet they still work
Refueler
Well-known member
Yet they still work
Till vibration causes the solder to separate ... seen it too often when cheap Spot Welders were not available. We all tried soft soldering cells for models etc. - to have so many fail.
I appreciate yours may still be good ... but there is good reason that factorys spot weld cell packs ....
There is another reason - HEAT. Its OK if you have a high heat gun / tip that can work quickly - but most people do not have a high wattage unit - so trying can cause overheating of the cell end while iron is trying to get area hot enough ...
Seriously - a Spot Welder is now as cheap as a moderate Soldering Iron ... even cheaper in fact - so why not ??