Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

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tinkerist
 
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Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

Post by tinkerist »

i'm trying to upgrade my minty v 3.0 from AAs to 18650s. when i try to connect the lithiums, the chip on the minty gets very hot, very fast, even without a load. i thought maybe i shorted something, so i tried connecting the AAs again, and it works fine. any thoughts?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

How many 18650s are you connecting and how do you have them wired?

tinkerist
 
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Re: Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

Post by tinkerist »

one at a time. i've considered the possibility of two in parallel, but if one is trying to fry the circuit, then two's out the window.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

That is pretty strange. Most any voltage between 3 & 5v should be fine.Many people run them from 3.7v LiPo cells. What voltage do measure at the output of your cell?

If you post photos of your build we can check for anything strange.

tinkerist
 
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Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2013 12:29 am

Re: Minty doesn't like my new 18650s

Post by tinkerist »

ok, i've done a bit more tinkering and i think some of the built-in charging circuits on the 18650s might be wonky. two of them gave me the problem i started the thread with, another one drops to less than 1 volt when the minty is attached (again, no load). on the upside, i've found at least one that works out of the ten, and if i can get one more to work, then the deal i got on the ten-pack was still worth it. it will even charge through my fm transmitter now, which it would not do with AAs. so, i guess now i need to identify which batteries work best and then go to work seeing if i can repair or re-purpose the rest. some of them have worked in simpler circuits, so not a total loss with those either, i guess. my back-up plan to the original parallel 18650 idea was to have switchable two-packs and a detachable charging module that can go with the minty kit or stay at home charging batteries in more novel ways (solar, candle, gerbil, what have you). hopefully, i can get enough of these chingaderas into a useful state to carry out some version of that plan. thank you for your response. adafruit industries is truly fantastic, keep up the good work!

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