A123 Battery pack question

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jr10
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:09 am

A123 Battery pack question

Post by jr10 »

I have what will probably be a dumb question, but I hope someone will be patient.
I am putting together a small portable solar generator, and need some help with a storage battery question. I am currently looking at a battery pack of A123 26650 batteries that
are pre-connected in series at 12v 46Ah.My question . will the resulting power output of a pack like this equal the performance of a single larger battery of equal voltage / amps?
Does it matter that the batteries power is the sum of a lot of smaller batteries?
I hope I worded this clearly.
Thank you in advance for any input.
Regards,
Jay

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john444
 
Posts: 443
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 2:42 pm

Re: A123 Battery pack question

Post by john444 »

Hi Jr10,
jr10 wrote: will the resulting power output of a pack like this equal the performance of a single larger battery of equal voltage / amps?
Since there are no single-cell 12-V batteries then, what you have is exactly equal to a multi-cell 12-V battery. that is what it is - a pack of single cells connected to provide 12-V with a capacity of 46-Ahr.
jr10 wrote:Does it matter that the batteries power is the sum of a lot of smaller batteries?
Not sure what you are asking here. Maybe this is what you want to know:
Some A123 cells are rated 3.3-V @ 4.4-Ahr.
4-cells in series = 13.2-V (while still @ 4.4-Ahr)
10-cells in parallel = 44-Ahr (while still at 3.3-V)
40-cells, connected as 10 parallel banks of 4 series cells = 13.2-V @ 44-Ahr.

A big problem with LiPo cells is: basically they need to be charged individually,
even though they are connected in series (or parallel).
This can be pretty difficult to accomplish.

If you are asking if you can break apart the battery pack and use the cells individually,
then - absolutely. Just use the proper charger.
Do not just connect them directly to a solar panel.

Good Luck, John

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