Is it difficult to connect 18650 batteries?

Connecting 18650 batteries is not difficult at all. You can do this anytime, anywhere. However, care must be taken when doing anything with the battery. There are risks associated with using batteries, and care is needed when additional work needs to be done to the battery chemistry to increase its functionality or capacity.

Proper soldering of lithium ions has always been a huge challenge, even for the most experienced technicians in the field. (Note the use of the word -proper)

Many people always try to solder lithium ion or cell phone batteries. Although battery manufacturers do not recommend that these batteries be heatable, heating them can destroy the warranty on the battery. This is so because the manufacturer does not inform the user of any reason for heating the battery.

Heating a lithium-ion battery can severely damage the plastic compartment, the pressure protector and even the main internal lithium layer.

How do I connect an 18650 battery?

Users often ask how to connect batteries if they want double the battery capacity instead of voltage, or if they want double the voltage instead of capacity. The answer to the question is right here, and if you've never done this before, it can be a bit confusing. However, after reading this article, we hope it becomes much easier for you.

Before continuing, make sure you read the important instructions placed next to or at the bottom of the battery so you can protect yourself from any dangers or risks. Here is a simple way to connect your battery.

Connecting in series

When batteries are connected in series, the voltage is doubled, but the batteries produce the same capacity (in amp hours). This type of battery can be used in scooters, Power Wheels children's cars, or numerous other applications that use batteries. To do this, simply use a bridge or jumper wire between the positive terminal of the first battery and the negative terminal of the second battery. Insert the positive wire from the open connection of the first battery and the negative wire from the open connection of the second battery.

Connecting in parallel

When you connect batteries in parallel, the capacity of the batteries (amp hours) is doubled while maintaining the voltage of each cell in the pack. This can be used in a variety of applications such as laptop batteries, UPS backups, scooters, etc. To do this, be sure to use a good jumper cable to connect the negative terminal of two or more battery packs, and then use another jumper cable to connect the positive terminal of two or all of the cells in the connection. Then connect the positive and negative wires to the same battery and run it to the application.

Be sure to note the following: When you connect the batteries in the package, be sure to note the following important things, they are important.

Make sure you have determined the requirements of the application that will use the battery. For example, if the vehicle does not support it, or you should not, do not double the capacity of the vehicle's power wheels. Doing so may burn out the engine. Make sure you follow the recommended instructions for your application.

Likewise, do not use two different battery chemistries when connecting battery packs. Often, the voltages are different, but especially the charge rate and capacity may be very different, resulting in a shorter life.

Then try to match the battery capacity. When you try to connect a battery pack, try to match the capacity of the other batteries as closely as possible to avoid discharging one battery faster than the others. When connected, the battery pack will run at the combined voltage, so if one cell discharges faster, it may be consumed more deeply than it recovers.

Can 18650 cells be soldered together?

Many people want to know if 18650 batteries can be soldered together. The simple answer to this question is yes. You can solder 18650 batteries. But the question is, should you solder your 18650 batteries? The answer to this is controversial. Some people think you should do it for safety reasons, while others think you should not.

However, regardless of which argument you choose to engage in, to solder, you must have soldering experience and also some knowledge of the physics to do it properly.

When it comes to the physics of soldering 18650 batteries, you should now know that it takes time for the heat of soldering to transfer from the soldering iron to the battery. Also, the degree of heat damage depends greatly on the materials involved, but the answer to not heating the component you are soldering (in this case your 18650 battery) is that the battery has a limited amount of time to be heated.

We are not going to delve into the complex graphs involved in heat transfer curves, let's get right to what is needed for soldering.

So, what do you need for soldering?

Rosin and solder or rosin cored solder

Alcohol (ethyl acetylene or any equivalent)

High power soldering iron (100W+ recommended, but not mandatory)

Metal wire or whatever you want to solder to the battery

Please note the following: If the soldering iron takes a long time to warm up (it may take 30 seconds or more), remove the tip of the iron to use a thinner tip. 1mm wire tips heat up much faster than 2mm wire tips. But don't over do it. If it is too thin, it will definitely melt.

However, soldering can damage your 18650 battery, so whether to solder it or not is a controversial topic.

Some professionals believe that the best way to connect a battery is to spot weld it. They believe and argue that this process of heating the two parts enough to melt the two metals is better to join and bond them. The zap used is short and localized. Then the energy is low and the high temperature spreads out before it reaches the sensitive part of the cell.