Okay, it's that time. Again, let's play with batteries. You see this right here. This is a 24v busbar.

PCB Some people are asking for a shorter but fatter. so basically they want this. So we have to make this board eight cells in series into this shape. Let's do it.

This video is sponsored by PCB way more on them later. All right. So this right here is our existing 24 volt. Uh PCB bus bar for the Led60 cells, right? It's It's pretty simple.

Positive Negative: All eight cells are connected in series. See this one connects to this one. This one connects to that one. This one connects to that one and so on.

and so on. And then uh, this are the uh, these right? Here is the connector for your BMS right? Uh, someone else had asked for a for a separate connector. uh to be on the opposite side just to give you more latitude or more choices. on to how to connect your BMS So we put another connector over here.

so that means we have to run another set of these. but you know these are Big boards and you know these lines are can be small cuz these are only for voltage uh sensing right? And so yeah, we just put another connector over here so you can put your balancer over here and then you can still have a connector over here too. You can parallel more batteries or you can do diagnostics and stuff right? So this is this is what we we have going right? This is what we got going and it looks like this: These are the layers All right. So we have to do is make it into this right? This is our form factor that we've been using.

This is It's called a fat version which is four cells, eight cells but four like this and then four next to it. right? So it's uh, it's it's not as long, it's more chubby. uh and so that's why we call it fat. It's just kind of squarish.

Just the mo most square that you can get. eight cells like this and so what we have to do. It's basically connect these eight cells in series and then that's going to be. so.

one of the choices was to make this positive uh, this positive and this negative and then go and zigzag like this right and then connect this one in here and then go like that and then go like this. So that is a version that I did Drew um I can show it to you right here. So you see here are the the uh, the copper traces and they go this way and it zags like that and it zags like that. and now this right here is positive and then this one's negative.

And so here are your terminals right here on the side. But I'm building a thing that requires this board to be a little bit different to be to have the positive and negative on the side here because the batter is going to be standing on the side and I want the cables to stick out that way. So that's the reason why I designed I went from this version which is 1.3 to then 1.6 uh, 1 .5 right? So 1.5 we change the version here, the orientations and so as I turn on the uh copper traces here, you'll see that it it's disorientation now and so this is the negative and this is the positive. Now if for some reason you want it to be on this side I guess maybe we'll make that one available too.

but I think the ones we're sharing today is the current version that I am working because I'm using this on a project and uh, and so that's why I'm sharing this one I guess I could share the other one, it's done already we I I drew it and I order samples and then I tested it and it works. and it works in in certain applications and this will work better right? But just the the one particular application that I'm working on right now. Well, it requires it to be on this orientation right? So this is the file that we're going to share and as you can see, I made I've talked about this before like these uh boards are are quite expensive right? because of their size so nobody's using boards this way and so you know they kind of penalize you for for going over like a certain size and stuff. And then 50% of the cost of these boards is, well literally the shipping right? So let's say this cost you, you know, $8 or $10 or something for this board.

You'll pay an extra $10 just for shipping and so the lighter you can make this board then the easier or the cheaper you're going to, it's going to be because then you're not going to pay as much. Uh, you know shipping charges? Uh and so you can cut I Don't know like close to 25% of the cost of this board just by lightening it up and the way you lighten it, uh lighten it up is well the by just basically uh, using the copper traces only where you need them usually uh what people will do when they're designing boards, they'll just put these traces as big as possible because then it gives you some benefits. Like you know thermally, it'll give you like a little bit more material so you can so you can dissipate heat. uh and then it gives you some structural rigidity because these are this this this Pcps are made out of like Fr4 which is like a a fiberglass composite material right? and then the the layers on the outside is the the metal right and so by having those layers on the ex on the on the both sides of it then it becomes really really rigid.

And so if you need rigidity in this board which we kind of do because these batteries are heavy right? uh then you you put just copper everywhere even if it's not connected anywhere. you could just put a like an island here in the same shape and it'll be copper but it's not going to. it's not conducting any energy or stuff right. but in this case because we're trying to make these on you know on the cheap we're going to make them and cut cost and stuff.

So that's why I I have made the decision to just just put the copper where it needs to be and then just foro everywhere else. and then the other way that you can cut uh weight out of these is by adding holes right here right? So this material uh the most the most the heaviest material here in this PCB is going to be the the copper but then the second is going to be the F fr4 the actual uh composite material right? and so also if in places where you don't need it if you take it off then uh then that's going to lighten up the the the big board and this definitely makes a difference when you're ordering like a 100 of these boards right? So it'll make the difference between you know, oh it's going to be $800 in shipping or it's going to be maybe like $600 or you know, $500 you know, so you can shave hundreds of dollars of the cost of this material of this pieces right. which just by doing that. So that's why we're doing that.

We definitely do not need uh Fr4 or you know PCB material here or here so we'll take it off and then these are the vents that are on the cells. So then we just made these holes in here because this these serve a purpose and also lighten up the whole thing. These also is the same thing. These holes right here help the board just sit all the way to the bottom and it'll allowed you to not need to use spacers and stuff like that right? And so that's are the reasons and the design considerations that I've made in this one in particular.

So now we're going to look at it in the 3D version and this is what our board is looks like. Uh I Really don't like the fact that it doesn't show that this this are holes, it kind of shows it to you. like that it shows you just like a little line and stuff but you know the the final. It's just not going to have board here.

it's not going to have I think if you do uh the other the other view it does show it to you. Let me see so this one is just 2D You can't change it but it shows you where the holes are at. See this is a hole Ho ho Ho Hole Uh but it doesn't show some of these other features right like here. And by the way, this is the 1.

three. This is not the one that we're finally working. so let's look at the other one. This is the one right.

and so let's look at the 3D. So this is how our board final board is going to look like. let's order it. So here we are at PCB Way and these are all the boards that I've uh that I've shared.

These are a lot of designs that I have here right? So you go to the 24v 74 amp fat. This is the one when you click on here, loads up this page and here you could add it to cart. all right. Or here you can download the Gerver file and this This is the file that I basically upload into this website and then this is the file that you need to print it right and so you can download it.

and then there are other softwares that that you can use to like adjust it to modify it. uh and then you can upload it to either back here to PCB way or any of the other uh well. PCB houses or shops that are on the internet. but the easiest one if you don't.

If you just like want it like this the way it is then you just add it to cart and here you do a board type single piece right? So it's not a panel. Uh, the different design in the panel. It's just one design and you know and then you'll just have to click. I Guess these are the correct Dimensions Right here.

Uh, the quantity. Uh, the minimum that they allowed you to order is five layers. Two? you want two layers. This design has a a layer of copper on the top and on the bottom.

you could go up to 14 layers which is crazy. That's when like boards start getting really really complex right? with a lot of electronics. These boards are very simple and so two layers will do4 That's what you want and then the thickness right here. 1.6 that is a typical thickness.

Most boards are that you could go thinner. In some of our designs we do go thinner. You can go thicker right? right? but that will have a negative impact on the price and so usually just leave it here. This is the standard.

This is the cheapest. Also the color. This is the quickest and this is the cheapest because these are most boards that are designed and manufactured are green and so then therefore they can be made quicker because that's those are the biggest batches right? Um, they do have all these other colors that you can choose from but obviously they'll have to wait until there's enough of a to make a batch to run these machines. I See I Think that's how it works in the the factory right? So if you want them quick and you want them cheap then stay.

stick with green. If you want something you know, custom or whatever then you can. You can pick red. Um let me see what is the change that it did there The time? Yes! See if you do green it's like within 24 hours they'll manufacture it and ship it to you.

But if you choose any other color then the manufact ping time goes Grows by about 3 days because they have to wait. So stick with green if if you don't care about the color. uh, silk screen, white I Guess you could choose other colors yellow um and then the copper right here. Now depending on how much you want to push on these boards, a 1 oz copper right here will do about 100 amps.

So these cells the LED 60s can do more than 100 amps right? So you could do 2 O and then that way your your board will be able to handle the continuous output of your cells. Uh, if you are going to run like in Rush currents or peaks of because these cells also do 600 amps for 10 seconds right? And now if you're going to do some of that and you're going to do it quite often like maybe get build some audio system or something. e Even though it's a bit unusual to to have an audio system because it's a 24 volt right? But you know there are amplifiers out there in the world that then you would need to go a little bit higher here. but 1 o.

It's great to do 100 amp continuous, you know, 200 amp, uh, 400 amps and then it goes like that, right? But of course, by choosing these, it does have an impact on the price. Not by much, just $20 more for uh, 2 oz copper. Oh okay, going to 3 oz copper. Then it changes.

But about $100 right? 136 230 Yeah by about100. So yes, uh, keep that in mind when you're ordering this right. Then after that all you do is you save it to cart. It tells you it's going to be $144 right here.

It's for five pieces and then you order it, you pay, and then you know they'll ship them to you. Now on the project. Here's a project. This is all the other stuff you will need to finish this product.

These aluminum plates is if you're going to use the like. If you're going to max out the the board right, Uh, this is another way you can stay with 1 o copper. but then you can add these little plates that we use uh that are made out of aluminum and then those will carry most of the current right. and then the board will only carry about 100 amps.

So these right here are already made. We order them to a different shop, to a different vendor, whatever and then you know those will fit on the top and you can use them along with this board. Uh, the connectors that you're going to need are right here. You can order them.

Uh, there's nuts. If your sales. If you bought your sales from us, then you don't need to buy. uh nuts because we put nuts on every box of of Sals that we ship out.

but other vendors don't do that right. And so if you didn't order them from us, if you just found the L 60s and other vendors, then you will have to to buy these nuts. and here is the link for it. then we have the actual Sals if you haven't bought.

If you're just making this project from the ground up and you want to buy, you know the cheapest L 60s. Uh, you get the best price on internet, then you order them through here. Um, then we have some recommended Bms's right, some people are going to ask for that. so then we just went ahead and did that.

You can use this. you will have to DIY this and then figure out how to connect it. Follow the instructions of the BMS right? Uh, We also use uh, Batco balancers right and I I made a mistake here. It's not supposed to say two, it's supposed to say one.

And then these cables are to connected and then the optional Uh two cell compression plates. We've made. Uh, these compression plates to uh, secure this, compress them and then secure them to wherever surface you're going to install your battery in right? And so there you go. These are all the other Uh products that you will need to complete this battery project.

Let's uh, put it together all right? So here we have all the uh, things that we're going to need to finish this. The board is here. Here are these that you will be able to use right? These are the the plates and we have a link to them somewhere in here if you click on there. uh, there's there's a bunch of links in here and also on the in the project right? So in this build we're not going to use those because it's this batter is going to be able to.

We're not going to need more than 100 amps right? And so this is. applications like for RVs right? These are really good. For RVs CU they uh, they're super safe, they don't. They don't catch fire.

Uh, and they're affordable and so a lot of people are using 24 volts in their RVs And so this battery is going to be for that intended use, right? So all you do is you line up your cells the way that, uh, the markings are right there, right? and then you just put it on top. And and of course, if you watch any of the other videos that I made on these already, this is. You know you've seen this many times, but this is for those of you who haven't. So here's board.

Make sure they're matching: Positive, negative, positive, negative Okay, you put it in there, make sure that it's all the way. Then what we're going to do is we're going to use Uh, the washers that we sent usually have serrated. uh, they're flange and they're serrated so you don't. You won't need washers.

But I'm going to be using washers for a very specific reason. And the reason is because I want to cover those little uh, nuts with these little things right? and so this, the flange ones don't don't work as well. So that's why I'm using these. So there we go.

This one has the washer in there After that. The last thing you should do is you should use fish paper. This thing to do the bottom, which we usually do is we cover the whole bottom of these cells at a minimum, right the bottom with fish paper. You could also do the sides right here, right? and then these are.

this is sticky like you can order it with selfadhesive and then you can put it in there and it will protect your battery cells right in your builds. You can use it on the sides, you can use it even in between the cells. You could use as much as you want. Next we will install our balancer and for the 24v uh Lithium Aron phosphate you will need a nine pin and the nine pin is the maximum that this balancer will do it.

The eight The bat go BG 8s means that it could do up to eight cells right. It could do less than eight cells, but uh, anywhere between two and eight and eight is the max and that's what we're going to be using here. So this this connector is uh, found on Jack 35.com and all you have to do it's raise. Open up all this little holes in this green connector and then, uh, stick those little pins in there.

What you can do is use double-sided tape and use that to stick the bat. Go to the battery. Okay, so it looked like these batteries are a bit too low. Uh, we need to charge them.

So around 3 volts that's considered like you know, empty and low voltage. you could set it here. You could go down for example, like 2.90 for example. Uh, will it start balancing? No charge the battery all the way to 3.65 If they go out of balance at the top, then put the balancing feature you say right here and then you, oh there it is.

So it started started balancing right. So it was going to get all these cells down to match that number eight right? there. All right. So there it is.

This is a 24v Lithium iron phosphate battery. Uh, 74 amp hours right? and it could do 100 amp continuous. Uh, using this board if you the cells could do more than that. If you want more than that, just get uh, the aluminum bars that go on top of this board.

You just install them right where you need them and then you can get up to 400 amp continuous and then 600 amps for uh, 12, Uh, for 10 seconds. These are very, very powerful cells. Um, you could install a legit like a full-fledged BMS in here. Or you could just use the uh, like a balancer.

serve like this one, right? Because these are new cells. Uh, and they're very well matched. So you could get away with just using a balancer for many, many, many years, right? As long as you check them every once in a while and make sure that they're not falling apart that they're not. You know, drifting apart.

Um, and every once in a while you just come and you you know you put the balance feature on here and then once it balances, it'll start beeping. You come, you click a button to stop and get out of that balancing mode and then you're ready to go. Now you can use your battery, charge it all the way up, charge it all the way down. Uh.

We also make other products like a box. We have a box that you can fit in here that it's all custom made steel box. um and then you also just have like these bare like uh compression plates. This one right here is for a single cell like this but we do have the long ones that you can do both sides and what these help you do is compress the cells and then also uh has a flanch so that you can mount this into your RV or whatever your project that you're using these in right? and so these become really really helpful.

These are going to be available at Jack 35.com and I think there are uh links to this stuff here in the board itself. print it right here and also at the PCB way uh project page. All right. if you're looking very very powerful, very high quality 24 volt battery for your RV and you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, this open source DIY project might just be for you.

but if it's not, if you don't want to build this yourself, go to Jack 35.com We also sell a lot of these batteries put together already assemble so that you could just install them right? Uh, I Want to thank you for watching this video and if you buy one of these. we ship hundreds and hundreds of these every week out and they rarely rarely see where they end up. If you buy one of these. and use it in one of your projects, do share with us.

Uh, either in the comment of this video or go to our uh Facebook group. uh Jus DIY Power Walls You can share like your projects there. We always love to see where these end up and that's overall inspiring for everyone that is building their projects or is thinking about building one right? So if you do get one, do share with us. Uh other than that I want to thank PCB way for sponsoring this video and with that I'll say see you guys next on the next video bye.

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