Running PogoPlug v2 on Batteries

[grayman4hire]

Hello,

I want to run my PogoPlug v2 off of batteries. Anyone done something like this before?

I'm thinking of using these 12V Rechargeable Li-Po Batteries on Ebay from CCTV - http://www.ebay.com/itm/250971461871

I haven't opened up the PogoPlug yet. What voltage is it running on? Any tips or advice? Is it doable?

Thanks

[WarheadsSE]

Measure the power supply.

[grayman4hire]

Hello,

Just wanted to follow up on this thread. I did open up my Pogoplug E02. It looks like it takes 5v (lots of pictures on the google images).

To avoid the complexity, I actually ended up using a Pogoplug V4 for my project. The Pogoplug V4 has a 12V input, so all I had to do was cut wire on the AC power adapter and hook it up to my 12v motorcycle battery.

The ebay Li-po battery I bought didn't put out enough amps (my guess) to power my lepai amp (didn't test it with the v4), so I ended up using a motorcycle battery instead (super heavy).

gray

[grayman4hire]

I played with the ebay li-po battery a little bit more last night and managed to get it working (but not consistently). For some reason, sometimes the battery only puts out 5v or so, but if I turn it off and on a few times it will output 12v. So looks like I got a defective battery.

I also found a cheap 12v to 5v converter on ebay, so I might end up using the Pogoplug E02 for my project after all (twice the ram, extra usb port and faster cpu is ideal).

[crousti]

Dont use lipos, these are dangerous batteries. ebay / china lipos are even worse as most of them dont have a shutdown controler.

These batteries have a nominal voltage of 3.7V per unit. And catch fire when undercharged, overcharged, shorted, pierced. They dont hold power for long too. I transformed an RC heli in a fireball one day because of a failing lipo ... since then i dont use that tech anymore. It can happen anytime, when charging for example (meaning dont charge them while you sleep ...), but also when just stored and not used -which is a bad idea as they are not made to store energy for a long time. Sometimes they dont only burn, they explode.

If you want to use reliable and safe lithium based chemistry, i suggest you run lifepo4 (lithium iron phosphate). These are 3.3V per unit, and most of them are neutral when under/over charged, shorted or pierced. They are greener too, and have a very small self discharge rate. They can also be cycled 20 times more than a lead/acid battery.

They come in many packages, cylinders, pouches, and capacities. Pouches are more expensive but provide way more capacity and discharge rate in a smaller, rectangular and easy to stack package.

I do use 16 cylindrical ebay units branded A123, to provide starting power to my race car; they are assembled as a 4 serial / 4 parallel setup, which makes a 13.2V system, 10AH capacity. And it can deliver 600 amps as a nominal discharge. It can be charged with a 100+ amp current, which charges it in a couple of minutes. It also weights 3lbs, and is something like 4" x 5"x 4". Just perfect

Price wise, it cost me around 160$. You will need that kind of capacity, but you dont need high discharge rates (the ones i use are 30C nominal /60C peak) , so it wont cost a lot. Just put 4 of them in parallel to get "approx 12V."

[grayman4hire]

Hey @crousti,

Thanks for the reply and advice on avoiding the ebay li-po batteries.

Can you share a link to the batteries you are using and the appropriate charger? Or maybe even some pictures of your diy battery pack? When charging, do you need to charge the batteries individually or did you do something that allowed you to charge your whole battery pack all at once?

For camping, I'll probably stick with my 20ah motorcycle battery. For picnics (single day use), I picked up a 10xAA battery holder which I plan to use with eneloop rechargeable batteries.

[haiku]

Out of curiosity, why do you use a Pogo on batteries ?

[crousti]

I'd say stay away from lipos, not just ebay lipos . Ebay lipos are the worst, but lipos are bad already. This is a dangerous tech, really. They were the first lithium base chemistry, now we have much more stable ones, like lifepo4.

I cant remember which cells i used, i think they were a variation of the A123 26650 cells with higher discharge rate.

No use for a special charger, as that is my car alternator job. I did use a friend modified imax B6 charger to check for balance between cells (his charger is an ebay clone but they suck at electronics ... he replaced the resistors used for military grade or whatever things with high precision he uses). I used it once in a while to check, but the balance is still ok. If it stands my 400A spikes without unbalancing, the 500mA draw from a dockstar wont affect these cells much

You can do the balance by just bleeding the cells manually, but you need a high quality voltmeter for that.

My battery pack is in an enclosed box so not a lot to see here. The cells were pro-soldered together, as i required high amps. You dont, so a simple bolt & scew assembly is ok. You can find whole kits of these on ebay, with holders, cells and connectors.

You could use a BMS (kind of a managing board) but it seems these cause more troubles than save batteries, so just dont.

You can use that kind of kit (square form):
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/LithiumFerrumPho ... 43a80e5f09

or this one, easier to set and more scalable, but bulky -and lets be honest, that can look like a bomb
http://cgi.ebay.fr/4PCS-12V-LiFePo4-Pow ... 337698b7ad

check the description for the kit. I Just made a random ebay search so i am pretty sure you can find cells cheaper and more adapted to your use though.

[grayman4hire]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('haiku', 'O')ut of curiosity, why do you use a Pogo on batteries ?