The Voltage Keeper

It's a larger case then the standard VK, which is pictured next to it. It's a "works" unit, but it's not in a standard "works" case by any means, and if you notice, everything is mounted from the top, all the screws and screw holes are on the top, since the battery takes up the space on the bottom where I normally mount things.

I've been tempted to possibly fit the batteries down either side, rather than in the middle, so that I could mount things from the bottom as on a typical VK, but it's really hard to say whether that would be possible without actually doing it, for now, it's still a custom option, nothing really set in stone, so future units may have other improvements or changes, as needed.

The battery units will only be in the larger case for now. It's possible I could squeeze smaller batteries into a smaller case, but it's one of those to-be-determined sort of things, in this case, a customer was willing to send me a pack and let me play with it and take my good old time. For future units of this kind, I know what works now. For something smaller, with less battery capacity, still to be determined, it's possible, but it's about finding parts that will fit and do what I want.

As for removable/replaceable, good question! I used velcro, so it can actually be removed, but I soldered it in on this one. However, there's nothing saying I had to solder it in, I could have very well put some connectors on there instead, and you still could totally cut the wires and splice in some connectors. Then it would truly be removable, assuming you have a philips screwdriver. Although, I'm not entirely sure I really want customers poking around inside units, so I don't think I'll market it as a removable battery right now, but if you want a custom unit with connectors inside instead of it being hard-wired, no problem really, and the velcro is already there, so you're good.

For one that's a works unit like above, expect the works price, plus the cost of a battery and extra labor, probably another $20-30, but again, will depend on the options and battery used! I'm thinking around $80 to $90 depending on options. Prices will vary depending how cheaply I can get these batteries and the chargers.

VoltageKeeper said:

It's a larger case then the standard VK, which is pictured next to it. It's a "works" unit, but it's not in a standard "works" case by any means, and if you notice, everything is mounted from the top, all the screws and screw holes are on the top, since the battery takes up the space on the bottom where I normally mount things.

I've been tempted to possibly fit the batteries down either side, rather than in the middle, so that I could mount things from the bottom as on a typical VK, but it's really hard to say whether that would be possible without actually doing it, for now, it's still a custom option, nothing really set in stone, so future units may have other improvements or changes, as needed.

The battery units will only be in the larger case for now. It's possible I could squeeze smaller batteries into a smaller case, but it's one of those to-be-determined sort of things, in this case, a customer was willing to send me a pack and let me play with it and take my good old time. For future units of this kind, I know what works now. For something smaller, with less battery capacity, still to be determined, it's possible, but it's about finding parts that will fit and do what I want.

As for removable/replaceable, good question! I used velcro, so it can actually be removed, but I soldered it in on this one. However, there's nothing saying I had to solder it in, I could have very well put some connectors on there instead, and you still could totally cut the wires and splice in some connectors. Then it would truly be removable, assuming you have a philips screwdriver. Although, I'm not entirely sure I really want customers poking around inside units, so I don't think I'll market it as a removable battery right now, but if you want a custom unit with connectors inside instead of it being hard-wired, no problem really, and the velcro is already there, so you're good.

For one that's a works unit like above, expect the works price, plus the cost of a battery and extra labor, probably another $20-30, but again, will depend on the options and battery used! I'm thinking around $80 to $90 depending on options. Prices will vary depending how cheaply I can get these batteries and the chargers.

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You finished it!!!!! Thank you @VoltageKeeper !!!!! Now send me my bill, or shit is that an email from you? I need to get home from the damn beach!

Wooo haaaaa!!!!


As for sessions under battery, depends I. Heat up time, wood density, and your preferred voltage. My HI at 11.22 lasts for about 4 or 5 hours. My underdog at 13.85 lasts a little less.

Also please keep the 3 position switch. People will learn to love it, just like the rest of us did! I wouldn't want my units any other way now.

Ah, that's right, you've actually used this battery with a VK so you know what it'd do! So, yeah, listen to this man! Those run time figures should be nearly identical to what this would do, since it's the very same style battery pack I've used inside of this VK!

So far, in my initial tests, trying to both use the unit and charge it at the same time doesn't really work, it basically just slows down the discharge. I think it's because this charger is only 500mah, which is not really enough to even drive a VK none the less charge a battery and drive a VK. It may be possible to find better chargers that don't have that issue though.

What I'd like to do ultimately is buy these type of batteries without any charger, and then find a better charger that can do this without any issues, probably a 1.5-2A charger.

I tried using this charger to just power a VK without the battery and it crapped out around 6v, which definitely shows it's not enough to power a VK. Realistically, a more powerful charger should eliminate that issue and you'll be able to just leave it in charge mode. In the mean time, I'm going to recommend the unit be charged with the battery switch on, and the VK's main switch off, and once fully charged you can then use it. Otherwise, use a standard power supply and turn the battery off and you can use it from a wall supply as normal.

I have a charger or two that I'm fairly certain will do the trick. You know I already use aftermarkets to charge the packs themselves anyway. I think they will power and charge, but time will tell.

Need to get money in my account when I'm back from Santa Cruz so I can get this baby in my hands!

Thanks again for the awesome work my friend. Stellar as always.

=)

I would like to add that while my battery may not be removable on this unit.... Nothing is to stop me from switching it off when it dies and running it off another battery pack via the wall plug input.

So in a sense.... Yes they are changeable that way.

I just bought a 1amp aftermarket charger to try out with it, but I'd be curious which ones you had tried.

I'm supposed to get another one of the batteries in shortly, just as a spare for my own purposes and/or possibly for another customer unit. I'll be doing more charging/draining experiments once that pack gets here, that's for sure. I'm also looking into buying just the batteries, rather than the pack. Assuming I can get them with a protection circuit, then there's really no reason to buy the packs that include chargers, given we likely need a better charger anyway, and the plastic casing and stuff the pack comes with is pretty much useless to us, so I should hopefully be able to save some cost by getting just the stuff I need. We'll see.

Woohoo! New unit ships out tomorrow! Can't wait to break it in.

So, I made the first red VK! And...it's mine. Why not. No one has ordered one up until now and I actually rather like how it looks. I never had a current-model works unit of my own til now, just my old prototype. It's a much darker red in person than it is in the photo, it looks nearly black. Pictured with my two HI's and my custom 18mm gong cork tube, as well as some of my other personal VK's, all early prototypes...I also used a slightly different style vernier on this one, I've been having hit or miss luck with this new style but when they work they are nice.

This is my second VK and I'm even more impressed with this one than the last. The mini VK is solid and the basic unit is more than sufficient for my use. I'm really digging the clear case but that blue voltmeter is bright! The clean drilling and internal work, then he tops it off with a blue dial and blue toggle switch cover that match my voltmeter make the VK a solid unit - ah the little things.

VK and HI - A match made in heaven

Haha, I forgot to mention those toggle switch caps! I have little colored caps now that fit on the toggle switches, I've been throwing them onto units where I thought it looked good. They don't really make a difference, it's just an aesthetic thing. I've got them in red, blue, and black, but I can probably get more colors. If it's something anyone is interested in, please ask, otherwise, I'll continue to use them at my own discretion when I think it looks good.

I had already put a matching blue knob on your minivk, so I thought why not for a matching blue toggle cap too! On the battery unit above, I ended up putting red/black caps, red for the battery switch and black for the regular switch...it looked nice, though I never took a picture of it with the caps before I sent it off. I think for units where there's a sort of color scheme going on - it make sense. Sometimes the chrome looks good by itself though.

My new unit is here!!!! I am going to play with it before I post porn shots. I am currently testing the power supply's I have with charging under use......we shall see!

This unit is fucking awesome! I am super psyched it's finally been realized as me and VK have talked about it since I got my first one.

I'll keep the forum posted, but I must say you guys NEED one of these!

=)

It's very easy to tell if the chargers are going to be enough to charge under use, simply put the "VK" into the "input" mode. If the voltage slowly drops over time, then it's not able to keep up, if it stays steady or keeps going up, then you're good to go!

And I can say for sure the input mode is super useful on the battery units. While it's not going to give you any sort of capacity estimates, it does clearly show the voltage on the battery sagging as it's used up.

I did promise porn right? Here's a shot of some of my favorite stuff.



The new unit is on the far left. From the right we have a standard VK, small/tall VK, and my full custom battery pack VK (jealous much? Lol).

I would also like to add that a standard 1amp 12v power cube charges it UNDER USE to 12.04 v. Not full but very close! I am testing with a 1 amp 15v cord I have as well. I will report back!





Edit....UPDATE! With the 1 amp 15 volt cord I have it charges fully under use. Fuck to the yeah! @VoltageKeeper it works!!!!

Edit... @VoltageKeeper I meant a 12 volt 1200ma charger. Not a 15 volt! It just runs around 15 volts from my wall.

Sorry I was really high from testing!

Ah, that makes sense! I've got a 1a charger on the way, curious how your 1200ma does.

Meanwhile, I've just completely overhauled the ordering section of the VK website! It now has a proper shopping cart, and I'm going to add some other accessories and extras to the site shortly, which I know some people have asked about!

I also changed the pricing around a little, as well as made it impossible to order options which don't really make sense. For example, I'm not going to sell you a standard vk with no options in a big giant case anymore. It'll now always be a minivk instead. And, you can't order a 'small and tall' case unless it's the works. Otherwise, you'll get a 'small n short' aka minivk2 case. This all is stuff which made sense to do before, but my old paypal button system was kind of lame and was really hard to update. This new setup is really slick and easy, so I can add new things to the site very quickly.

The other big announcement is that I'm going to be extending the warranties, as I mentioned I'd do before! I've not had a single VK come back broken to date, that said, I'm officially extending the warranty to 6 months. I'm going to continue to extend the warranty based on the return rate, so expect more extensions in the future!

Great news about the warranty!

At this point, I doubt I'll ever need it, but it's nice to know it's there! Here's hoping those extensions keep on coming...

I am definitely looking forward to watching this company continue to grow and to seeing more and more satisfied FC'ers.

My miniVK has been a top shelf member of my (very) immediate family for a while now...

Things have definitely been moving lately! There's always so much more in the works that I'd love to talk about, but you know I've never been one to give spoilers.

Glad to hear it's still going strong. I think you have the very first minivk...Needless to say there's been a few more made since then! And you can finally order one on the website, took me long enough eh? Haha. I am so glad to be rid of those old order buttons I had on the site. Making changes is such a piece of cake now. I've added a bunch of accessories to the site now too.

In other news, I kind of ran out of blue voltmeters. Not to fear, there's already more on the way, just wanted to let people know in case they want to order a blue to expect some wait. Though, there's normally a 1-2 week wait anyway, so I don't expect it to cause any issues, and I'm currently still taking orders for them as usual.

I need more posts to be able to post in the classifieds. I figured this thread is awesome, and not nearly active enough, so here I am to say VKs are fucking great. I own a bunch, and have helped design a custom one. I love them. For anyone on the fence... Go buy one. Get the fanciest one you can too. I promise if you don't....you are gonna buy like 4. They are addicting. The best part is the maker/creator/etc Voltage Keeper is a very accessible dude. Very willing to help, and always down for custom stuff!

Just a really great device, company, and creator.

Wonder how many $&@!-!; posts I need to sell shit now lol.

=)

VoltageKeeper said:

Things have definitely been moving lately! There's always so much more in the works that I'd love to talk about, but you know I've never been one to give spoilers.

Glad to hear it's still going strong. I think you have the very first minivk...Needless to say there's been a few more made since then! And you can finally order one on the website, took me long enough eh? Haha. I am so glad to be rid of those old order buttons I had on the site. Making changes is such a piece of cake now. I've added a bunch of accessories to the site now too.

In other news, I kind of ran out of blue voltmeters. Not to fear, there's already more on the way, just wanted to let people know in case they want to order a blue to expect some wait. Though, there's normally a 1-2 week wait anyway, so I don't expect it to cause any issues, and I'm currently still taking orders for them as usual.

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Just a thought, but for us visual folks a picture for each accessory would be sweet. You know what they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

I am hoping to get individual pictures of every model and accessory at some point, but that will definitely take time. I've just split up the products into their own pages, which will also make it a bit easier to add images for all the accessories, without it getting too out of control with tons of images piled on one page.

Outside of maybe the switch cap and the extra extension, I'm thinking that many of the accessories are only going to be useful for a select few people. The VK already comes with the cable you need, and nearly every DC wall adapter I've ever seen is a male plug, so, there's not much to go wrong there. The male to male cable can be used with those DC battery packs that were posted on here back on page 3 or 4 and makes it easy to battery up a VK.

The adapters I am selling are all 2.1/5.5mm, so there's no size-changers or things like that, however I think many 12-15v supplies tend to use this size so it's not usually a problem to find the wall adapter. They might be useful for connection together cables or something like that, although if you only use extension cables, you should never need them.

I'm still not officially supplying a wall adapter, though I have some used ones laying around I can sell. I might look into it more eventually, but anything I resell is going to be so much more expensive than if people bought one direct, I almost rather them do that and save themselves the money, same thing with some of the weird size changing adapters and stuff, there's just too much variation for me to be able to stock that stuff at a reasonable cost, especially with practically no demand for it anyway. A lot of what's up there is just stuff I've had extras of laying around to be quite honest!

One thing that might be worth selling is a polarity changer - I don't even have them but I could make 'em. You can't use a tip-negative power supply with the VK for example. I've not had anyone actually run into that issue yet, and honestly the only ones I even know that are tip-negative are 9v guitar / boss pedals which I don't think most people are using with their VK anyway, haha. I think in general people are using the prior stand-alone supply they got with their vape, usually a 12v supply of some sort, wired tip positive.

I've also added a new exciting option, a solid body black case with clear lid option. They are $5 extra since i'm basically buying a separate clear lid for them and tossing the black lid.

I am still looking into some window tinting options to see what I might be able to pull off in terms of tinting the clear lid to look black as well. I've used another material before with pretty good success but it's not really meant for tinting. Needless to say, tinting is probably going to cost extra as well.

I've also decided that I'm not going to do the black painted cases anymore - it makes no sense, it was annoying to do, and this new option is so much better. And yes, I need pictures of this too! Not to fear, I'm hoping to wrap up two black units this weekend for you all to see, including the first higher-powered unit, and another unit which is just a multiturn in the standard size case, but in black. And maybe I'll get some accessory shots in there too.

Might be working on some more battery units shortly as well, but still waiting for the right color cases to come in.

@VoltageKeeper so I'm kinda liking these little caps. I am definitely gonna need to buy some spares in both colors when you have the next set ready!

My OCD demands all my units switches match!

=)

Ugh the waiting kills! I have an upgrade, and another battery unit in the works, and I am so damn antsy!

Lol

=)

Still waiting for some parts to get some battery units out, but the upgrade and some other units are now done! I've got a few more orders to wrap up and all the non-battery units will likely go out by the end of this week.