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Step 3Building the Battery Pack - Assembling and Soldering Pipes
Cutting the Pipes
Line up your batteries and two plugs to find the length of pipe you will need. Measure from underneath the nipple of each plug, we want very little extra space so that the springs will compact with great tension. For my batteries and plugs, the perfect size was 295mm (11.6").
Mark your pipe with a sharpie, and use your hacksaw or pipe cutter to section the pipe. You should be able to insert all five C batteries and both plug springs, and with some tapping force on the plugs, it should be a perfect fit.
Testing Connections
The pieces of spring that emerge out the back of the plugs are our electrical terminals.I suggest you test the electrical connectivity with a multi-meter. With five batteries, I should get 1.2v * 5 batteries=6 volts. If you don't have a volt meter, you could solder on some wires and apply them to destroy one LED in desperation, if it lights up, it works.
Soldering Pipes in Series
You should be able to identify the positive and negative ends of your pipe. The dot on the C battery is the positive side, the flat disc side is negative. It helps to mark your plugs with polarity symbols (+ or -). All the batteries should be facing the same direction within their respective pipes. We will solder a very short wire from the negative of one pipe to the positive of the other. Since series adds voltages, we are now adding all 10 batteries voltages together. You can test the voltage again to see if you get 12volts (*Note*, make sure the batteries are charged before worrying about too low of voltage ;-D)
Sealing the Pipes
Once you are confident the connection within the pipe is correct in polarity and voltage, it's time to waterproof and seal our pipes very tightly. For the first side of plugs, simply insert the plug and glue them down to being flush with the pipe.
For the second pair, drop down your first two wire cushions, then add the batteries on top of them. Then add the other wire cushions on the exposed side, and stick in the two plugs. They should have a great deal of spring, floating maybe 1" or more above the pipe due to the copper cushions being in the way. This is good, as we want as much tension as possible on these batteries.
Apply hot-glue around the edge of the pipe, and hold down the plug extremely tightly until the hot glue dries to hold it in place. When your pipes are fully glued, there should be no sound coming from the batteries clanking when you shake the pipe vigorously. Batteries going *clink* means there will be a gap in the connection when they are impacted by a jump, and your lights will annoyingly blink and flicker while riding.
Attaching the Pipes Together
With the pipes soldered in series and their caps attached, line up the pipes together, and apply a thick line of hot-glue down the channel between them. Hold them together, and let it dry. Then flip the pipes over and glue the other side.
Attaching a 9v Snap-On Connector
Pretty simple, solder the black wire of the 9v Snap-On Connector to the positive terminal of the pipe, and red to the negative terminal. [*Note* Normally in wire color-coding, red is positive and black is negative. These snap on connectors have their colors reversed, since they are made for tapping power from a single 9v battery. Switching colors this one time will make red be positive for the rest of the wiring chain] Cover all four terminals in hot glue. This protects them from corrosion to water, along with minimizing wear and tear. I ran the 9v Snap-On connector up the channel, and glued the connector itself slightly off-side, which makes it easier to access on the bike.
***Optional*** - Removing Lettering with Acetone
I like all my gear to look as nice as possible, removing labels and text from everything from steel hiking bottles to PVC pipe battery packs. I don't like the ugly-looking ink running down the pipes, so I applied some acetone to a cloth and rubbed out the text in circles. It looks much more professional without the text.
If you've never used acetone, it's an incredibly safe (except if you drink it or get it in your eyes) chemical. It's great to wash your hands in it to remove grease or any glue stuck to your fingers (even two-part epoxy!). It will feel extremely cold when it touches your skin, that is because it is evaporating all of your sweat, which is not dangerous.
Final Pipe Test
I attached the wires of my 120cm Green LED light strip to the battery pack terminals, it looks great.
Line up your batteries and two plugs to find the length of pipe you will need. Measure from underneath the nipple of each plug, we want very little extra space so that the springs will compact with great tension. For my batteries and plugs, the perfect size was 295mm (11.6").
Mark your pipe with a sharpie, and use your hacksaw or pipe cutter to section the pipe. You should be able to insert all five C batteries and both plug springs, and with some tapping force on the plugs, it should be a perfect fit.
Testing Connections
The pieces of spring that emerge out the back of the plugs are our electrical terminals.I suggest you test the electrical connectivity with a multi-meter. With five batteries, I should get 1.2v * 5 batteries=6 volts. If you don't have a volt meter, you could solder on some wires and apply them to destroy one LED in desperation, if it lights up, it works.
Soldering Pipes in Series
You should be able to identify the positive and negative ends of your pipe. The dot on the C battery is the positive side, the flat disc side is negative. It helps to mark your plugs with polarity symbols (+ or -). All the batteries should be facing the same direction within their respective pipes. We will solder a very short wire from the negative of one pipe to the positive of the other. Since series adds voltages, we are now adding all 10 batteries voltages together. You can test the voltage again to see if you get 12volts (*Note*, make sure the batteries are charged before worrying about too low of voltage ;-D)
Sealing the Pipes
Once you are confident the connection within the pipe is correct in polarity and voltage, it's time to waterproof and seal our pipes very tightly. For the first side of plugs, simply insert the plug and glue them down to being flush with the pipe.
For the second pair, drop down your first two wire cushions, then add the batteries on top of them. Then add the other wire cushions on the exposed side, and stick in the two plugs. They should have a great deal of spring, floating maybe 1" or more above the pipe due to the copper cushions being in the way. This is good, as we want as much tension as possible on these batteries.
Apply hot-glue around the edge of the pipe, and hold down the plug extremely tightly until the hot glue dries to hold it in place. When your pipes are fully glued, there should be no sound coming from the batteries clanking when you shake the pipe vigorously. Batteries going *clink* means there will be a gap in the connection when they are impacted by a jump, and your lights will annoyingly blink and flicker while riding.
Attaching the Pipes Together
With the pipes soldered in series and their caps attached, line up the pipes together, and apply a thick line of hot-glue down the channel between them. Hold them together, and let it dry. Then flip the pipes over and glue the other side.
Attaching a 9v Snap-On Connector
Pretty simple, solder the black wire of the 9v Snap-On Connector to the positive terminal of the pipe, and red to the negative terminal. [*Note* Normally in wire color-coding, red is positive and black is negative. These snap on connectors have their colors reversed, since they are made for tapping power from a single 9v battery. Switching colors this one time will make red be positive for the rest of the wiring chain] Cover all four terminals in hot glue. This protects them from corrosion to water, along with minimizing wear and tear. I ran the 9v Snap-On connector up the channel, and glued the connector itself slightly off-side, which makes it easier to access on the bike.
***Optional*** - Removing Lettering with Acetone
I like all my gear to look as nice as possible, removing labels and text from everything from steel hiking bottles to PVC pipe battery packs. I don't like the ugly-looking ink running down the pipes, so I applied some acetone to a cloth and rubbed out the text in circles. It looks much more professional without the text.
If you've never used acetone, it's an incredibly safe (except if you drink it or get it in your eyes) chemical. It's great to wash your hands in it to remove grease or any glue stuck to your fingers (even two-part epoxy!). It will feel extremely cold when it touches your skin, that is because it is evaporating all of your sweat, which is not dangerous.
Final Pipe Test
I attached the wires of my 120cm Green LED light strip to the battery pack terminals, it looks great.
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