Help finding 18650 with leads

Hey guys I have been looking for somewhere that sells 18650s that have the nickel already spot welded on or any other type of lead already connected. Im trying to replace the batteries in an older porter cable 12v battery pack. It has sanyo 10a drain cells in it from pkrter cable but they dont hold a charge very long at all. I was considering ordering some litokala hg2s I found on aliexpress that ships from the US. This is a hobby project and not a drill that gets used for much. I have a milwaukee 18v set for that.

Battery Space

Only NCR-Bs, but perhaps hey can tab some higher drain cells for you?

Chris

Not cheaply, but Liion will do this. I believe Digikey does as well, at least for NiMH and NiCd, not positive about lithium but they’re not a great source for li-ion anyway.

From Liion’s faq page:

*Can you add battery tabs to my batteries?

Yes. For an additional fee of $2/battery, we can add battery tabs to the batteries you are purchasing from us. Please note that there is a minimum fabrication charge of $5.

VERY IMPORTANT - Batteries ordered with tabs will take at least 1-2 weeks (not including holidays and weekends!) to ship. As this is a special order service, turnaround time is approximate and not guaranteed. Please contact us if you need to know exactly when your order will ship.

Please note that any items ordered with this service (chargers, etc.) will not be shipped separately.

If you are interested in this service, please contact us for more details about how to place your order - please include how many batteries you want to buy, and which battery you’re looking to purchase.

I want you to add tabs to batteries I purchased from another company?

We do not weld tabs on batteries not purchased from us.*

Thanks for the replies guys. I thought I was overlooking something but I guess they're just not as available as I thought. Maybe ill look into getting a spot welder and do it myself. I can see it being useful for things in the future as well. Theres been very few tools ive purchased throughout the years that havent been put to good use.

Nkon do this for 0.55€ per cells, you’ll have to check how much is the shipping to the USA though because they are in the Netherlands.

18650 is the size of the battery but not the battery chemistry. Lots of older power tools use NiCad or NiMH cells. You can’t stick the wrong type battery in the array and have it work correctly. I see that both NiCad and NiMH batteries are available in the 18650 size and with tabs already in place. Which type of battery chemistry is in the pack you are trying to fix?

Actually, you can. I have several drills and a weed whacker that started out as NiXX, cells died (don’t they always), and I replaced with high drain Li-on. Tecently trying out 21700 for the weed whacker.
There are important considerations:

  1. You have to match the voltage. Going a……bit……over for electric motors is not a big deal, taking in to account there will be less voltage sag with Li-on. I tried a serious over voltage with on weed whacker pack. The device ran REALLY WELL, and burned up the motor in about 3 uses.
  2. You need to be reasonably proficient in soldering to the cells….QUICKLY. Lately I’ve gone to low temp solder and getting decent results. I did need to get a different flux to get this to work.
  3. The old charger WILL NOT WORK!!! You need to have a dedicated li-on charger. I personally do NOT use a BMS. I put balance tabs on all packs and use a hobby charger. Works fine.

Never going back to NiXX for power tools. Packs are expensive and short lived, unless you are pretty knowledgeable and careful about using them. The sporadic use the average home owner puts them to is not at all beneficial.

The battery packs are lithium cells already not nicad. They are just worn out from use. A xoworker gave the drilk and mini recipracating saw to me with one bad battery pack and 1 barely working. What type of flux did you use? I have low temp solder leaded and un leaded as well as some rosin flix paste. I feel comfortable soldering to the positive side because of the air gap underneath but was weary on soldering to the flat negative side.

Edit: Forgive my typing errors I am on my cell phone and this site doesnt work well on the phone.

This is the drill.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-12-Volt-Max-3-8-in-Cordless-Drill-with-Battery-and-Soft-Case/3294732

Wish I could help with the flux. Ordered it some time ago and the label is all in Chinese. Cannot find the source. It appears like water, but seems to work. My ‘stock’ paste flux I’ve used for years, that works well with regular solder did not work on the low temp stuff. I did a search on Amazon and a number of options did come up. Guess that’s a place to start.
I have used standard solder on li-on cells. So far, I cannot ascertain any lasting damage. The technique is use a large tip hot iron, good prep, and solder FAST. Minimize contact time.
IMPORTANT-You’ve got old cells. Make sure they are well discharged, and practice technique and soldering products on those.

The latest pack I made used the very low temp solder and Chinese flux. It stuck fine to the batteries. It would NOT hold properly on solid CU wire I tried to use from battery>battery. For that I ended up using solder removal braid with a bit of shrink in the middle for insulation. That worked fine.

The main thing is the cell has to be clean (sand or skuff it ) the next thing is you need a big tip with plenty of Heat —that way you get in and out quick —Always tin the cell first— one other thing is —make sure when you solder the positive side your strip or wire is away from the edge of the cell — if it gets real hot and melts through it will be a direct short —if you’re just replacing cells just gently peel up the nickel strip and replace the cells

I’m not sure that has 10A CDR. Since that’s the original cell capability it should be the minimum to be safe.

Thanks for the help everyone, I will place an order with lionwholesale today for some new flat tops. I like to use them because they are close to me and shipping is quick. I am going to use the Molicell 35a discharge cells unless someone thinks thats not a good choice? What would be best to use for connecting them together? I have silicone coated 22awg wire or de soldering wick, or I can order something better.

How is the old pack assembled —any pictures

I dont have pics but I can take some today. They are arranged in a triangle with a combo lf nickel strips and wires connecting them together.

I don’t recall if Liion sells any but I would pick up some nickel strip and cut it to fit. Amazon has loads of it relatively cheap, all sizes and thicknesses. Solder wick may corrode and have strands fail/break over time even when stationary…I think if using wire I’d go larger but space may be a problem in the pack? Be very careful attaching the negative end. Personally I don’t mind a blob of solder on the positive but I don’t want to solder lithium anymore, especially the negative end. I don’t mind at all with NiMH or NiCd but it’s not worth the risk with lithium-ion, imho.

Personally I’ve found soldering wick easier to work with when making a pack. It tins well, lays flat, and solders on quickly and solidly. Wire is a bit harder to work with for connecting batteries.
I do use a small bit of shrink wrap to insulate the middle.
Like I said, practice on the old/lame cells.

I agree it is much easier to solder with and why I am most likely going to use it. Space is also limited and the flat wick will help out. I will cover any exposed copper with heat shrink tubing and wrap the cell in electrical tape.