5590BAv2 Battery Adapter
© Brooke Clarke 2007
Background
Inside Dimension Comparison Ver 1 vs. Ver 2
Power Pole Socket Option Idea
Battery Options
Background
This is the second battery adapter made for the
BA-5590/U family of military batteries. The battery consists of two independent "
12 volt"
batteries and the load can be wired to connect them either in series
for a "24 volt" battery or in parallel for a "12 volt" battery.
The first
5590BA battery adapter was
designed using 0.060" thick aluminum. And these was no planning
for the use of Sub C cells so it's difficult to get 20 SC cells into
the first version. Version 2 holds 20 SC cells close packed with
a little extra room on all sides.
The lid attach method on the first version depended on bending parts of
the lid inward to act as fingers that mate with slots on the sides of
the main box. The combination of the stiffness of the 0.060"
aluminum and the length of the fingers made it difficult to remove the
lid. Version 2 uses 0.050" aluminum so the sides are more
flexible and the inward pointing fingers have been replaced with what's
called a lance. This is similar to a punch that moves the metal
about it's own thickness and leaves the punched metal attached.
Thus the new "fingers" are much shorter making for easy lid
installation.
The overall dimensions meet the 5" x 4.4" x 2.45" plus zero minus 1/16"
outline of the BA-5590/U and the socket is where it's supposed to be so
it's a form and fit replacement for any of the BA-5590 family of
batteries.
Inside Dimension Comparison Ver 1 vs. Ver 2
|
Ver 1
|
Ver 2
|
Delta
| 20 SCPack 0.9"
|
High
|
4.729
|
4.876
|
0.147
| 4.798
|
Wide
|
4.250
|
4.278
|
0.028
| 4.050
|
Deep
|
2.245
|
2.332
|
0.087
| 1.930
|
Power Pole Socket Option Idea
28
Oct 2007 - Boxes back from laser marking. A pair of power pole
connectors will pass through the wire clearance hole below the
socket. If there is enough slack in the battery pack wires they
could be threaded through the hole one pair at a time then coupled into
a 4 terminal block. The blue support blocks could then be used to
anchor the block of connectors to the existing bracket which would need
a couple of holes drilled and a spacer between the connector block and
the bracket.
If the blue support blocks are not used a 3/32" cotter pin passing
through the hole in the connector block, going through a spacer and a
single new hole in the bracket would also work. The connector
block would have some "wiggle" and that's a good thing since the
connector should have some play.
The
SC cells used in RC racing cars have the ability to run at 30 Amps so
an option for this battery adapter may be (idea stage) to use a
different socket bracket to support Anderson Power Products "
Power Pole" connectors using contacts rated for 45 Amps.
Twenty SC cells in series would have a voltage of about 24.0 when empty
and with a current of 30 amps would be delivering 720 watts! The
parallel configuration would be 12 volts at 60 amps for 720 watts!
That's a lot of power.
The DARPA
Wearable Power
$1,000,000 contest is asking only for 200 Watts max power, but they
want about 2 kWhrs weighing no more than 4 kg (8.8 pounds). With
4.5 AH SC cells the capacity of the adapter would be about 20 * 1.2 V *
4.5 AH = 108 Whrs far short of the 2,000 Whrs they are looking
for. They specified the two voltages as 10 to 16 VDC and 20 to 32
VDC. This is interesting because it eliminates Li cell batteries
that produce a little more and have been know to blow out some
equipment (Javilin) that can not handle the higher voltage.
The version 2 adapter weighs 3 ¼ pounds with the 3.3 AH SC cell pack, maybe a little more with 4.5 AH cells.
To support the Power Pole high current idea the internal wires need to be 14 ga or larger.
15 Oct 2007 - A sample of 14 ga wire is on order to see if it will fit
the connector pin solder cup (the dimensions say it's a little too big).
22 Oct 2007 - The 14 AWG wire will work with the connector solder cup. Wire on order, here in a couple of days.
If the regular socket is used it makes sense to use the heavy wire to
minimize IR drop even when lighter loads are being powered.
The photo shows a two pair of Power Pole connectors where each pair is
the ARES standard configuration, but they are stacked. They way
you could plug in two independent "12 volt" ARES loads or make a jumper
cable to get 24 volts. For some ham radio applications the high
current output would support short transmissions where high current is
needed.
Battery Options
SC Pack
1 Nov 2007 - The 20 SC pack made for the first version 5590BA has been refitted with 14 AWG wire and
Power Pole connectors with
45 Amp contacts. It drops right into the 5590BAv2.
A
Triton2 Charger Discharger Cycler is
being used to get this pack up and running since it's been sitting for
many months. The discharger can be used to evaluate how well
another charger works with a limit of 3 Amps max. The Amrel
EL1132 can handle 300 watts, which at 28 Volts is a little over 10 Amp
discharge current. Testing at 30 Amps from 30 Volts requires a
resistor of about 0.9 Ohms that good for about 900 Watts.
This pack requires a height of 4.798" and width of 4.050" when 0.900" dia SC
cells are used close packed. You can see in the comparison table they will not fit in version 1 but
have room to spare in version 2.
The pack was made in 2005 and has been sitting for over a year.
Using the Battery Space charger then load testing there was almost no
charge. The old 18 AWG wires and 15 Amp Power Pole connectors
have been replaced with 14 AWG super flex wires and 45 Amp Power Pole
connectors. Using the Triton2 charger in cycle mode produced
these input and output capacities:
Cycle #
|
Charge
|
Discharge
|
% D/C
|
1
|
2917
|
2040
|
70
|
2
|
2873
|
2533
|
88
|
3
|
2872
|
2543
|
89
|
Not bad, still in spec at Nov 2007.
Next getting ring terminals to make test cable for Amrel EL1132
Electronic Load to allow testing battery pack using 45 Amp Power Pole
connectors instead of the 10 Amp rated 5590 connectors.
Load Test 2005 SC Cell Pack
9 Nov 2007 - The test was done using the Power Pole connectors on the
battery pack, not using the 5590BA socket that's probably rated for
only 10 Amps. Two sides connected in series.
I
|
V
|
Watts
|
1
|
26.18
|
26
|
2
|
26.0
|
52
|
3
|
25.75
|
77
|
4
|
25.5
|
102
|
5
|
25.2
|
126
|
6
|
24.8
|
148
|
7
|
24.5
|
171
|
8
|
24.2
|
194
|
9
|
23.8
|
214
|
10
|
23.6
|
236
|
11
|
23.3
|
256
|
12
|
23.0
|
276
|
13
|
22.8
|
296
|
14
|
22.6
|
316
|
15
|
22.5
|
3371
|
Note 1 - The EL1132 is rated for 300
Watts and at 337 Watts it started making beeping sounds, so no higher
currents were tested. The limitation is the tester, not the
battey.
Using Excel to fit the V vs. I data gives the equation: y =
-0.2847x + 26.526 where the resistance of the battery and test wires is
0.28 Ohms and the open circuit voltage is 26.5 Volts.
R2 = 0.9932 is a measure of the quality of fit. When this same
pack was tested in the first version 5590BA (including the socket) with
18 ASW wires on the pack and 15 Amp Power Pole connectors the internal
resistnace was 0.35 Ohms. At 5 Amps in the old thest the voltage
was 26.1, a little higher than this test. Maybe the pack is older
or not fully charged. Will try again right after charging.
Tested just after charging.
I
|
V
|
Watts
|
0.1
|
27.9
|
3
|
1
|
27.7
|
28
|
2
|
27.5
|
55
|
3
|
27.3
|
82
|
4
|
27.0
|
108
|
5
|
26.7
|
134
|
6
|
26.4
|
158
|
7
|
26.0
|
182
|
8
|
25.6
|
204
|
9
|
25.3
|
228
|
10
|
24.85
|
249
|
11
|
24.5
|
270
|
12
|
24.3
|
292
|
13
|
24.0
|
312
|
14
|
23.8
|
3611
|
Note 1 - The EL1132 is rated for 300
Watts and at 361 Watts it started making beeping sounds, so no higher
currents were tested. The limitation is the tester, not the
battey.
When the I V data is plotted in Excel equation for the points is:
y = -0.3186x + 28.153 R2 = 0.9935 Note the open circuit voltage is now higher, about 1.41 Volts per cell.
For an output voltage of 20.0 (where most "24 Volt" equipment turns
off) the current according to the equation would be 25.6 Amps for these
two year old Ni-MH cells.
Checking a couple of SC cell suppliers:
http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/?sid=853305&pgid=loosecells&chem=NIMH
is showing Ni-MH: 4.5 AH cells $ 7.35 each and 2.2 AH $ 4.65
Ni-CAD: 2.4 AH @ $5.75 and 1.3 AH @ $4.35
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=226
is showing set of 20 matched Ni-MH 4.2 AH @ $ 4.30, 4.5 AH about $8
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=296
Ni-Cad: 2.1 AH @ $ 2.30
Battery Comparison 13 Oct 2007
Table based on user made battery pack. i.e. neither labor to make
pack included nor cost of misc links, connectors, wire, etc.
Make
|
Size
|
Chem
|
AH cap
|
$/cell
|
#
cell
|
Watt hrs
per pack
|
$/pack
|
$/Wh
|
ELITE4500 |
SC
|
Ni-MH
|
4.5
|
7.35
|
20
|
108
|
147
|
1.36
|
ELITE3600 |
SC |
Ni-MH
|
3.6
|
4.95
|
20
|
86.4
|
99
|
1.15
|
4200
|
SC |
Ni-MH
|
4.2
|
4.30
|
20
|
100
|
85.95
|
0.85
|
2100
|
SC |
Ni-Cad
|
2.1
|
2.26
|
20
|
50.4
|
22.95
|
0.46
|
10xAA (4 packs)
|
AA
|
Ni-MH
|
2.2
|
2.60
|
40
|
106
|
103.80
|
0.98
|
2600 (in b. holders)
|
AA
|
Ni-MH |
2.6
|
1.43
|
20
|
62.4
|
28.60
|
0.46
|
LS91 (in b. holders) |
AA
|
Li-FeS2
|
3.0
|
1.97
|
20
|
72
|
39.35
|
0.55
|
The 5590BAv2 may be sold as the box
with secondary style socket terminated with short super flex 14 AWG
wires terminated with a pair of 45 Amp rated
Power Pole connectors (4 terminals) in standard ARES configuration. And also offer optional battery packs.
20 SC Cell Packs
Packs are made using either spot welding or soldered copper link
bars. The table above shows only a few of the SC cells that are
on the market. Since the 0.9" diameter cells easily fit ver 2
commercial packs can be made without custom fitting. The SC pack
I made for version 1 just drops in with room to spare.
An interesting prospect is the ability of delivering 30 amps at 30
volts or 60 amps at 15 volts, i.e. 900 Watts. The cells and
wiring are up to it but I don't know about the connector. I've
heard that each contact can handle 10 Amps, i.e. good for delivering 10
A @ 30 V or 20 A @ 15 V for 300 Watts.
40 AA Adapter
This would be an adapter that can hold 40 AA cells. It allows the
use of Alkaline, Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, LiFeS4 (Energizer L91 1.5 volt
Lithium),
Sanyo eneloop Ready To Use (long shelf life) Ni-MH, or
whatever new chemistry comes out in the future. AA cells
typically are where the newest technology shows up first. Short
wire leads with Power Pole connectors. A string of 10 cells gives
15 volts so 20 cells is the number needed for the two sides to the 5590
family battery. So you could install just 20 cells or for more
capacity install all 40.
I'm investigating the eneloop
Ready To Use Sayno AA cells. They claim a much longer shelf life than other Ni-MH cells. This is being done with a Maha
C9000.
CR123 Photo Battery Adapter
The same idea as for the AA adapter, except for the CR123 photo
batteries. These are 3 volt cells so a string of 5 gives 15 volts
so 10 cells is the minimum number to have a working 5590 family
battery, adding multiples of 10 cells to give 20, 30, 40 or maybe 50
cells adds capacity.
Links
back to Brooke's: PRC68, Battery, BA-5590/U Family, 5590BAv1, Battery Patents, Military Information, personal home, Alphabetical list of web pages
page created 15 Oct 2007