I stumbled across this motorcycle battery this morning while searching for something entirely different and wondered just what is inside of them. I’ve seen these batteries for cars before but never thought of them as Li-Ion cells of any variant. Now I realize they are and am curious if inside the plastic case are 8 rather large LiFePO4 cells wired inside that could be of some serious flashlight use. Could easily be the case, especially if you consider how laptop batteries are composed.
At $125 for the battery, if there are 8 cells inside then they would only be $15/cell. I did a brief search and couldn’t find any info on how they are constructed. Can anyone here provide some insight on these batteries? Any good links or experience to share?
Could be nothing more than 26650 cells arranged in parallel/series. Too narrow to be 32650 cells. Fairly tall though if 26650 cells. I wonder if perhaps they might be a non-standard cell like a 26850 or some such thing if they exist. :~
Technical Information
Dimensions (Metric): 114MM (L) x 61MM (W) x 112MM (H)
Dimensions (Standard): 4.5” (L) x 2.5” (W) x 4.25” (H)
Negative Terminal Location: Right
Weight: 768 grams (1.7 lb)
Voltage (Charged): 13.6V
Amperage: 15 Pb-eq A/H
Pulse Cranking Amps: 275 CCA
Operating Environment: –18°C (0°F) to 60°C (140°F)
It reminds me of a “booster pack” (plug it into the cigarette lighter for 10 minutes to start the car) I saw and regrettably didn’t buy. 4 x 26650 pack and it was on sale for $20. Went back a couple days later to pick one up (after realizing what an idiot I am for not grabbing one immediately!) and of course they were all gone. GRRR.
If all it is are 26650 cells then it’s no deal as I can get King Kongs for $10 each. If it’s something unusual but usable then it might be a deal. I won’t be pulling the trigger unless I hear form someone else who has peeked inside one of these.
Now if these sold for $50 then it’d be a steal for 8 cells and worth the time to dissect one.
Could it be LiFoPo4 in 26650 size from A123 Systems? I’ve been told very good things about those cells from friends who use them for RC Monster trucks.
Like 120A short burst discharge from a single cell!!
Not (yet) done personally, but many RCers get their A123 LiFe cells from dismantling battery packs from DeWalt tools. The 36v battery pack has them in 26650 size, the lower voltage ones have the 18650.
If you google it there’s also some youtube video with how-to details.
The Shorai ones are made with prismatic LiFoPo4 which keep the shape of the battery square, meanwhile the battery in the first post is multi-cylindrical shaped, like Optima batteries. I know about Optima and other AGM batteries, I’ve used some of them too in my offroad vehicles over the years, but all them (agm too) use variations of the lead battery, and definitely they are not lithium.
Copy-pasted from Shorai faq:
“While there are other companies now offering Lithium-Iron based powersports batteries, all except Shorai use cylindrical cells originally made for power tool applications.”
To me this is a clear reference to the use of the DeWalt battery packs, which are reselled under various names on ebay.
