Introduction: Inexpensive Powerful 11.1V 5000mAh Drone Battery

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I made a drone battery for DJI F450 because it is cheaper and safer than standard LiPo

Supplies

Materials:

18650 batteries with a discharge current of more than 20A (it doubles due to parallel connection) - 6 pieces

Wire 12AWG - two pieces of different colors of 30 satnimeters

Copper wire - monocore with a diameter of 2 mm - a piece 30 centimeters long

4-pin JST-XH balance connector with soldered 30 centimeters wires.

XT60 or Deans (T-plug) power connector (according to your model)

Two printed end caps and two parts for mounting batteries (in the model folder)

6 plastic screeds 150x2.5 millimeters for attaching plugs.

About 10 grams of solder like Sn60Pb40-SW26/2.5%


Tools:

A soldering iron with temperature regulation or a soldering station with a power of 75 watts or more

Cheap power bank for 18650 batteries and a resistive load of 5 Watts, 5 ohms for uniform battery discharge

Wire cutters and a wire stripping tool

Tweezers

Tester

Step 1:

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ASSEMBLING THE BATTERY WITHOUT GOOD SOLDERING SKILLS!

According to these instructions, you will be able to assemble a battery with a capacity of more than 5000mAh and a current output of up to 60A.

Work should only be done on an uncluttered surface and with discharged batteries! 

Step 2:

Do not break the order of assembly points!

1. Discharge all 18650 elements, it can takes a day.

2. Solder the power connector то 12AWG wire

Step 3:

Remember, all battery soldering operations must be done quickly - up to 3 seconds for the positive pole and up to 6 seconds for the negative!

I did it with a stinger overheated to 400 degrees Celsius.


3. Solder the contact parts of the batteries with a good amount of solder to form drops of adhesion

4. Cover the copper wire with solder

5. Make "snakes" out of it to connect battery contacts - 2 by 4 contacts and 2 by 2 contacts

For this, I used a piece of wooden rail with furniture nails hammered in every centimeter

6. Place the batteries in the support mounts (Supports.stl), the two middle poles in the opposite direction and secure with insulating tape

Step 4:

7. Solder the "snakes" as shown in the photo (a very important point)

8. Solder the power wires (the connector must be soldered beforehand)!

9. Solder the wires of the balancer according to the schematic diagram.

The tester should read about 3.2, 6.4 and 9.6 volts at this connector and near 9.6V on power connector.

10. Put on the covers(Covers.stl) and fix them with ties.


That's all, the battery is ready - you can charge it and then use it in your drones!