I have had much better luck with the litokala testers personally, thanks for sharing your results with the Opus and mods! I think that the entire DIY community appreciates the work that Terry does and you sharing your testing and results. Thank you!
I haven't. Terry uses this design and has a ton of these chargers. Not sure it really makes much of a difference as long as the airflow is high enough to keep everything cool. YMMV
@@CanispaterChristmas yea, he told me he changed position, but this was a few days after I did my video. I had to purchase a couple more, and figured I'd ask before I put the turbo fan in. Thanks for answering back so quick 😃
Love your interests in RGB and now the 18650's... I really enjoy watching your videos... Great senses of humor and then very informative... I just ran across another RUclips video "rv-powerwall" who made a powerwall out of PVC pipes.. Many great people like yourself on this platform.. Thanks and I'm hoping to get funds to dabble in RGB for this year's holidays...
Thanks! Yeah, the 18650s are a project I thought was kind of neat and a lot of lighting people take a break during this part of the year. The RGB projects will pick up again, especially after Expo in July. That's awesome! Be sure to check into the Wednesday night xLights (see xlights.org) call if you get a chance.
I use a timer for my 12vdc led outdoor light system You could use them to turn your fans on when needed. Just a suggestion and as always great intro!!!
To keep my testers cool I use computer fans on each end of my bank of testers to keep the air moving across them. The Litto Kala only does 500mah draw when you do all 4 slots even if you select 1000mah. so for a 2200 may cell it would take about 4.5 hours.
Someone else mentioned the wall wart that comes with the testers may be a little light for what we're doing so I may beef up the power when I process again.
@@CanispaterChristmas ya I also use 12v 6 amp power supply for each one. I have some server power supplies that I want to use to run them all. Make a nice processing work desk. Im still learning things every day. So much fun.
I'm looking to get a different charger... At the moment I have the Nitecore sc4... Now correct me on anything if necessary... The problem is that the sc4 dont test discharge capacity and internal resistance... The Opus.. I heard someone upgraded the power supply to one with 6 Amp 12 Volt not sure if that would make a difference or helps you?.?. Jehugarcia says the Opus cant check internal resistance not sure how true or important that is for your application??? The Zanflare C4 and Liitokala Engineer both discharge, check capacity and internal resistance... Apparently the Liitokala discharges twice as fast as the Zanflare and is why he voted it #1. Just wanted to get your take On how the opus is working for you and any other tips would be appreciated to aid in my decision making process... Thanks in advance...
Yes, I believe the Nitecore SC4 doesn't do capacity testing or IR, only charging. Jehu is correct. The Opus doesn't test IR, but it's pretty simple to do manually with a voltmeter and an accurate resistor. I think IR is just another parameter to check on the cells. "A new high quality 18650 battery will have an internal resistance under 100mOhms. A used up 18650 battery will have a resistance 400mOhms or more." (laserpointerforums.com/threads/how-healthy-are-your-batteries-how-to-measure-internal-resistance.57576/) The Zanflare is a 500mAh-only tester and the Liitokala is adjustable like the Opus. All these testers are only accurate to within a couple of hundred mAh so a cell that tests at 2000mAh in one charger and 2200 mAh in another, what do you pick? So much affects the accuracy and these are very inexpensive chargers (compared to labratory test equipment). SO, I just decided to accept the ratings on the chargers and sort them into 100mAh groups. The Opus fan mod seems to help a lot with the 1,000mAh test keeping the charger cool. I like the Opus & Zanflare because you can see all four cells at once, but I think the Zanflare tests down to 2.8V and mine reports higher capacities. Overall, I bought 4 Opus chargers and made the fan mod and went with those capacities. I also got some 10-ohm resistors from DigiKey so I may try checking IR with those or just use the Liitokala.
HI first I would like to say I think all your videos are great Thanks for the info that you share. I'm trying to understand the power wall use. I currently have a 32 panel 8.5KW solar system with a NET meter. during the day I sell the excess power to the power company then at night I buy power from them.. Would a power wall be better than using the Net meter setup I have now.
Thanks! I'm a bit new to this myself, but from what I gather, it's better to use your generated power vs selling it to the power company. Usually, it's a "they pay wholesale and you pay retail" kind of thing - depends on your situation. A solar/powerwall can offset some of your night time use (depends on many factors obviously). The idea is to charge the battery with solar during the day and use the energy in the battery at night. The trick is usually balancing solar and storage capacity with your use or just pay the difference. Also depends if you share the home with others. Spouses and kids can turn against you if their power is interrupted and they aren't as into your hobby as you are! LOL!
The problem is the crappy 12V 3A power supply that comes with the Opus model - they just do not provide enough power to charge at 1 amp and run the fans reliably. I have even seen the 3100 blink out like that running four cells at 700mA . The problem is the pulse charging will intermittently pull as much as 44 watts when the power supply only can provide 36 watts of power. I use 12V 5A power supplies on mine and never had a problem with the stock fans or the unit blinking out (save having to replace them over time as they get worn out) - the 5A power supply can handle up to 60 watts and also makes the stock fans run a little faster which in theory should provide more cooling. With those fan mods your 3100's should never even run warm on a 5A power supply. Just my .02 on this.
As popular as the 18650 cell has become, I wonder why someone doesn't build a high quality charger/cycler. Seems like the Opus isn't quite up to the task.
The Opus does a decent job for the price. I may be expecting too much from it. Unless you can sell thousands of units, it's probably not be worth the up-front cost to design and manufacture one. It might also be simple enough to build a custom tester, but I don't possess those skills. :)
You can buy bi-metal strip switches to turn them on and off - check Ali express or Ebay. Andreas Speiss did a video using them to cool a power supply - I bought some, they work great! If you want one to try it, let me know and I'd happily drop one in the mail for you to try. Let me know what degree C you want it to come on at. Great video as usual!
Thanks for the offer and the video tip. I believe a shunt trip or a contactor is what I've been looking for. It's going to be more expensive than a bi-metal switch, but I want a circuit breaker on the entire battery to be able to shut it down if something goes sideways. A shunt trip will turn the breaker off. A contactor does the same thing, but doesn't provide any current protection so leaning toward the breaker and shunt trip. I may have found one I like, but still hunting.
@@CanispaterChristmas no I was offering it as a solution to your fan running all the time...not as a safety. You were complaining that running it off the 12v rail made it run all the time....
OOOOH! Haha. I should pay more attention to the video you're commenting on. Na, I was saying it's a downside of hooking to the 12V rail, but it won't bother me - plenty of other noise in the shed. :) But thank you very much for the offer. Although, now that you mention it, I wonder what temperature triggers the fan now...
old video i know but thank you. you have just solved the discharge at 1 amp fault i been having with opus where it would just shut off and not complet the test had to test at 500mah test still valid as ill never pull more then 500ma from each 20p pack the problem is length of the damn test cycle wake up put cells in bank come home from work to find cells still not fully charged meh
Complete noob comment and suggestion... Its a blur not sure if on your video you mention discharging 18650's to I believe 3.5 and that would be optimized to indefinitely storing batteries so that they dont become damaged or go bad... Well my suggestion is that you should make a video showing us noobs who are slowly trying to acquire our stash but dont want the ones in our possession to go bad.. Thanks
3.7 is nominal. They will self discharge over time. Just make sure they don't go down to 3.0 or lower or you may have trouble waking them up. You might want to check them once a month or so to see how they are discharging. It would also alert you to a self-discharger which you'd want to avoid using in a powerwall. Still good for something like flashlights or something you'll be charging frequently.
I have had much better luck with the litokala testers personally, thanks for sharing your results with the Opus and mods! I think that the entire DIY community appreciates the work that Terry does and you sharing your testing and results. Thank you!
👍
Just curious why you have the fan pulling air , instead of pushing like most opus fan mods. Have you tried it both ways?
I haven't. Terry uses this design and has a ton of these chargers. Not sure it really makes much of a difference as long as the airflow is high enough to keep everything cool. YMMV
@@CanispaterChristmas yea, he told me he changed position, but this was a few days after I did my video. I had to purchase a couple more, and figured I'd ask before I put the turbo fan in. Thanks for answering back so quick 😃
Love your interests in RGB and now the 18650's... I really enjoy watching your videos... Great senses of humor and then very informative... I just ran across another RUclips video "rv-powerwall" who made a powerwall out of PVC pipes.. Many great people like yourself on this platform.. Thanks and I'm hoping to get funds to dabble in RGB for this year's holidays...
Thanks! Yeah, the 18650s are a project I thought was kind of neat and a lot of lighting people take a break during this part of the year. The RGB projects will pick up again, especially after Expo in July. That's awesome! Be sure to check into the Wednesday night xLights (see xlights.org) call if you get a chance.
I use a timer for my 12vdc led outdoor light system You could use them to turn your fans on when needed. Just a suggestion and as always great intro!!!
Yeah, the fan circuit runs based on heat. I’ll just power the charger off if I’m not using it. Having the fan run while it’s on is no biggy.
To keep my testers cool I use computer fans on each end of my bank of testers to keep the air moving across them. The Litto Kala only does 500mah draw when you do all 4 slots even if you select 1000mah. so for a 2200 may cell it would take about 4.5 hours.
Someone else mentioned the wall wart that comes with the testers may be a little light for what we're doing so I may beef up the power when I process again.
@@CanispaterChristmas ya I also use 12v 6 amp power supply for each one. I have some server power supplies that I want to use to run them all. Make a nice processing work desk. Im still learning things every day. So much fun.
If you remove the plug sleeve on the motherboard, the turbo fan plug fits right onto the pegs.....that is what I do with all of mine.
Ah! I knew there was a secret! Thanks! :)
I'm looking to get a different charger... At the moment I have the Nitecore sc4... Now correct me on anything if necessary... The problem is that the sc4 dont test discharge capacity and internal resistance...
The Opus.. I heard someone upgraded the power supply to one with 6 Amp 12 Volt not sure if that would make a difference or helps you?.?. Jehugarcia says the Opus cant check internal resistance not sure how true or important that is for your application???
The Zanflare C4 and Liitokala Engineer both discharge, check capacity and internal resistance... Apparently the Liitokala discharges twice as fast as the Zanflare and is why he voted it #1. Just wanted to get your take On how the opus is working for you and any other tips would be appreciated to aid in my decision making process... Thanks in advance...
Yes, I believe the Nitecore SC4 doesn't do capacity testing or IR, only charging. Jehu is correct. The Opus doesn't test IR, but it's pretty simple to do manually with a voltmeter and an accurate resistor. I think IR is just another parameter to check on the cells. "A new high quality 18650 battery will have an internal resistance under 100mOhms. A used up 18650 battery will have a resistance 400mOhms or more." (laserpointerforums.com/threads/how-healthy-are-your-batteries-how-to-measure-internal-resistance.57576/) The Zanflare is a 500mAh-only tester and the Liitokala is adjustable like the Opus. All these testers are only accurate to within a couple of hundred mAh so a cell that tests at 2000mAh in one charger and 2200 mAh in another, what do you pick? So much affects the accuracy and these are very inexpensive chargers (compared to labratory test equipment). SO, I just decided to accept the ratings on the chargers and sort them into 100mAh groups. The Opus fan mod seems to help a lot with the 1,000mAh test keeping the charger cool. I like the Opus & Zanflare because you can see all four cells at once, but I think the Zanflare tests down to 2.8V and mine reports higher capacities. Overall, I bought 4 Opus chargers and made the fan mod and went with those capacities. I also got some 10-ohm resistors from DigiKey so I may try checking IR with those or just use the Liitokala.
Is there any reason why you can’t use the fan circuit of the opus board to provide control on a relay which would turn the new 12v fans on and off?
You might want to use an opto-isolator just to be safe. The fan circuit on these seems to be a little hit and miss.
If you stand that opus up instead of laying it down flat the fans won't make noise
I haven't tried that, but the noise doesn't bother me. Keeping it cool during a 1-amp test is the challenge. :)
Yea mine was making noise from hell so I stood it up blowing good no noise
HI first I would like to say I think all your videos are great Thanks for the info that you share. I'm trying to understand the power wall use. I currently have a 32 panel 8.5KW solar system with a NET meter. during the day I sell the excess power to the power company then at night I buy power from them.. Would a power wall be better than using the Net meter setup I have now.
Thanks! I'm a bit new to this myself, but from what I gather, it's better to use your generated power vs selling it to the power company. Usually, it's a "they pay wholesale and you pay retail" kind of thing - depends on your situation. A solar/powerwall can offset some of your night time use (depends on many factors obviously). The idea is to charge the battery with solar during the day and use the energy in the battery at night. The trick is usually balancing solar and storage capacity with your use or just pay the difference. Also depends if you share the home with others. Spouses and kids can turn against you if their power is interrupted and they aren't as into your hobby as you are! LOL!
The problem is the crappy 12V 3A power supply that comes with the Opus model - they just do not provide enough power to charge at 1 amp and run the fans reliably. I have even seen the 3100 blink out like that running four cells at 700mA . The problem is the pulse charging will intermittently pull as much as 44 watts when the power supply only can provide 36 watts of power. I use 12V 5A power supplies on mine and never had a problem with the stock fans or the unit blinking out (save having to replace them over time as they get worn out) - the 5A power supply can handle up to 60 watts and also makes the stock fans run a little faster which in theory should provide more cooling. With those fan mods your 3100's should never even run warm on a 5A power supply. Just my .02 on this.
Thanks! I'll have to give it a try.
@@CanispaterChristmas have you tried it? Wondering if you had better experience using a 60W power supply with stock fan?
No, I didn’t try a stock Opus with a larger capacity supply at 1 amp. Probably the easiest change to try if you are seeing that behavior tho.
@@CanispaterChristmas Been running mine with that 12V 5A for several years - no problems whatsoever, regardless of current rate.
As popular as the 18650 cell has become, I wonder why someone doesn't build a high quality charger/cycler. Seems like the Opus isn't quite up to the task.
The Opus does a decent job for the price. I may be expecting too much from it. Unless you can sell thousands of units, it's probably not be worth the up-front cost to design and manufacture one. It might also be simple enough to build a custom tester, but I don't possess those skills. :)
Don't want to void warranty? Put the unit on a laptop cooler.
Lol! Nice!
You can buy bi-metal strip switches to turn them on and off - check Ali express or Ebay. Andreas Speiss did a video using them to cool a power supply - I bought some, they work great! If you want one to try it, let me know and I'd happily drop one in the mail for you to try. Let me know what degree C you want it to come on at.
Great video as usual!
Thanks for the offer and the video tip. I believe a shunt trip or a contactor is what I've been looking for. It's going to be more expensive than a bi-metal switch, but I want a circuit breaker on the entire battery to be able to shut it down if something goes sideways. A shunt trip will turn the breaker off. A contactor does the same thing, but doesn't provide any current protection so leaning toward the breaker and shunt trip. I may have found one I like, but still hunting.
@@CanispaterChristmas no I was offering it as a solution to your fan running all the time...not as a safety. You were complaining that running it off the 12v rail made it run all the time....
OOOOH! Haha. I should pay more attention to the video you're commenting on. Na, I was saying it's a downside of hooking to the 12V rail, but it won't bother me - plenty of other noise in the shed. :) But thank you very much for the offer. Although, now that you mention it, I wonder what temperature triggers the fan now...
old video i know but thank you. you have just solved the discharge at 1 amp fault i been having with opus where it would just shut off and not complet the test had to test at 500mah test still valid as ill never pull more then 500ma from each 20p pack the problem is length of the damn test cycle wake up put cells in bank come home from work to find cells still not fully charged meh
Haha. Glad it helped!
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Hallo sir how are you
I am fantastic! How are you?
I am fine
Complete noob comment and suggestion... Its a blur not sure if on your video you mention discharging 18650's to I believe 3.5 and that would be optimized to indefinitely storing batteries so that they dont become damaged or go bad... Well my suggestion is that you should make a video showing us noobs who are slowly trying to acquire our stash but dont want the ones in our possession to go bad.. Thanks
3.7 is nominal. They will self discharge over time. Just make sure they don't go down to 3.0 or lower or you may have trouble waking them up. You might want to check them once a month or so to see how they are discharging. It would also alert you to a self-discharger which you'd want to avoid using in a powerwall. Still good for something like flashlights or something you'll be charging frequently.
Useless. Complete waste of time.
Thanks! The upgrade or the video?
I have a stock fan fail in a week
Sorry to hear that. I definitely like these replacement fans. A week old? You could probably return the charger if you want for a new one.