The Voltage Keeper

There was a CCTV pack that was posted earlier in the thread, that was actually what I made the original prototype battery VK's out of, something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Portable...353?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23442cb681

However that's not 18650. You can literally buy an 18650 holder and put a plug on the end, I may even be able to make you something like that, like a 4x18650 holder with a barrel jack on the end.

Any good news coming soon?

Sorry for being impatient but I'm dying to take my pups out .

I'm not trying to rush ya bud, thanks for putting up with me haha

Hopefully this weekend, been a hectic few weeks for me and I haven't been able to sit down and get em done, but the parts are here, just a matter of making some progress.

Hello,

Just joined FC very recently and was interested in log vapes. Initially I was only interested in the Nano but after considering the advantages of battery portability was then looking at the Underdog.

So that is how I arrived at this page since I would want to be able to turn the UD up high enough to do concentrates too.......thus requiring the VVPS.

My question is with regards to the battery VK's. Is there any cut off in the battery VK that stops the batteries from discharging below a certain voltage to prevent any damage to an over depleted battery?

I also collect flashlights and usually you don't want to deplete to less than 3v (3x3=9v for the battery VK). So I was wondering if there was any internal controls in the battery VK that would help prevent damaging the internal batteries?

I use protected 18650s in the battery VK so indeed they will cutoff if you run them too low. If you were to replace the batteries you must use only protected batteries to ensure the safety of the device.

VoltageKeeper said:

I use protected 18650s in the battery VK so indeed they will cutoff if you run them too low. If you were to replace the batteries you must use only protected batteries to ensure the safety of the device.

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Ah, Ok......makes sense, I should have thought of that but I've been running unprotected IMR's in my lights and I check them manually if I'm unsure how much run time of put on them for that charge cycle. The advantage of the IMR being the high drain capability.

Actually, I was wondering what batteries you use, my apologies if you've already posted this elsewhere. The reason I ask, is that I am also considering a Mighty purchase as well as a log vape. The Mighty input voltage/amperage for the 30W heater is 36W to allow simultaneous charge & operation. With 3 batteries rated from 9 to 12.6v in the battery pack operating range, a draw of slightly less than 3A to almost 4A might be needed to supply the same power to the heater.

Would your higher rated custom 3A & 6A boxes have enough "juice" to operate a Mighty, i.e., what max W would the 3 & 6A Voltage Keepers have and would these batteries be able to sustain that minimum drain throughout the duration of its whole discharge curve until the voltage drops enough that the protection circuit kicks in? Those cells look like Panasonic 18650B's (protected ones) which aren't up to IMR drain capability ......but it might just be the green wrapper and I can't recall what their continuous loading capabilities are. Then also if running it on DC current and bypassing the batteries, I suppose that a higher Amp rated 12V power supply would be necessary to use the box otherwise it wouldn't run a Mighty at all - except on battery power.

As I am unsure of whether I would go with the Mighty or a log vape first it would be nice to future proof a VV battery pack/power supply to work with both which would seem that I would need a custom box rather than the 25W max of the standard design.

They're indeed panasonic ncr18650b's, I buy them from a wholesaler that wraps them with a protection circuit. I use IMR's in my VK DNA 40 Box MOD though, but that's intended for IMR's of course. They have a C rating of 2 and so should do 6A discharge rate.

I'm sure the high amperage circuit board would probably drive it just fine, but there is no way that would fit in the same case as the battery VK with the batteries and the higher amp board, you'd definitely need a bigger case to fit all that in one unit. The battery charger I use is actually 3A max so it might work even without batteries, but charging and using it at the same time would probably not work, but hard to say without trying. You'd probably want a bigger charger to be safe.

I also run IMR's in a few of my flashlights oddly ehough, lol. I originally bought some 14500s for my one thin MOD vape but now I use a 14500 + a dummy AA cell in my 2x AA flashlights and man they run great that way. I just bought a new fenix flashlight today that takes 18650s, my first 18650 flashlight, kinda a funny coincidence we're talking about flashlights being as I just bought a new one! However, I was mostly using those IMR's simply cause I had them laying around and they fit in a AA device without much hassle, lol. I typically use protected cells for everything other than my vape pens...

How's the upcoming batch going? @VoltageKeeper

Still working on it - I've been a bit demotivated lately for some stupid reason - my actual job stressing me out too much I think! I'm really hoping to have a big update soon, as I just had a few more orders come in and I hate when things stack up!

I'd like to order a battery vk but didn't see it on your site. Just to be sure the battery vk can also be used with straight ac power and bypass the batteries? Can it also charge the batteries while using it? Does it come with batteries or can you supply batteries? If I provide my own batteries for it what are your recommendations for batteries?

It is not on the site yet, you'll have to send me a PM and I can arrange an invoice.

To answer your questions:

Yes, yes, and yes (batteries are included). Protected 18650's only.

What is the current wait for a Multi-Turk VK?

Hi, probably a 2-3 month wait right now as I'm still a bit behind.

The battery powered VK sounds awesome. Are you still able to use it connected to a power adaptor? Or is it entirely different than the regular voltage keepers.

Yes it works both ways. You can charge it while using it too but it tends to take a lot longer when you do that. The battery is completely enable/disable-able so when it's turned off it acts like a standrad VK.

Hey that's great.

VoltageKeeper said:

Yes it works both ways. You can charge it while using it too but it tends to take a lot longer when you do that. The battery is completely enable/disable-able so when it's turned off it acts like a standrad VK.

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It's exactly what I am looking for to use with my under dog
How do I sign up to get on the list the get one. I love my madrone dog but it runs real hot even with two extension cords, than after half a sesh the heat seems to diminish a bit, not able to brown my herb for last bit. Seems to me a flux change or heat retention isn't great. Either way a VK can only omprive the situation.

Snappo said:

Get on the wait list ...It's well worth the wait!!!!!

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Depends how long lol I'm gonna look like this guy by the time my order is done.

Just kidding

Would also like to get on your wait list.... Need a battery VK... Lol.

I'm currently working on my backlog and hoping everyone will be done by the end of the month. I apologize again for the wait, I've been struggling to find the time to balance the VK's with my other priorities.

That said, I also need to make a few changes so that I can hopefully keep this project going without driving myself insane. I've decided to raise the prices again, hopefully not a huge surprise, but, it's been a necessary evil due to how much time they really do take me to make, it's been over-due. I can't try to compete with a $30-50 chinese-made power supplies anymore! I've seen competitor's units glued together with loose parts dangling inside, and I'm sure most of you know that's never been the way these are constructed, everything is mechanically fastened and holes are meticulously drilled, that said, I take a lot of pride in the quality, but it's also very time consuming.

I'm also going to cut back my lineup a bit, the biggest thing is that i'm going to eliminate the minivk. If you have an order in for one, rest assured, it'll still get made! In fact, I still have a few clear-blue mini VK cases, left, so I'll likely pre-assemble them and sell them off, but I think after that I'm going to be done with the minivk's. I'll still offer the small'n'short multi-turn which are just as small anyway, and offer better functionality in my opinion! I am also going to phase out the black cases, they're just too time consuming to drill out, and create some unnecessary delays. I'll still offer the clear-red as a substitute, which in my opinion looks better than black anyway! I'll be selling off my existing stock and completing my existing black case orders, but after that I think I'm done with those!

The other big announcement is that I've finally put the battery VK up on the website.

All that said, I'm also increasing my warranty to 5 years, cause why not? I really don't get many returns so, I think I can do that without too much hassle. This warranty won't cover normal battery wear, though, so if your batteries wear out years down the line, I will gladly replace them but you'll pay cost on that.

Again, apologizes for the delays, things are moving again and it's just a matter of time now.

@VoltageKeeper I just wanted to follow up and see how far out my battery VK is. Thanks

I think I'm still waiting for some more batteries to come in for your unit, I've got enough for the 3 more on hand but they're all claimed at the moment. I'll give an update once they arrive.

Sounds cool thanks!

@VoltageKeeper I've got a couple questions about my battery vk...

Can it be recharged from a standard 12v DC wall wart? Or do we need to use the charger you supply?

Can it be recharged from a car adapter? Or would it be better to have an extension lead from the car with the cigarette lighter socket on the end and plug in to that?

I'm going camping at a friends property and I don't think it would be a good idea to run the VK from the generator.

The official answer: No you shouldn't use a standard 12v DC wall wart since it won't know when to stop charging and may not actually have a high enough voltage to really charge it, since it actually charges slightly above 12v normally. You can use it to power the VK with the battery turned off, though.

The technical answer: It will probably work to charge the batteries, but it's just not something I can recommend for safety since nothing will ever stop it from charging except when it hits the batteries protection circuit and that isn't exactly a good scenario. You can watch the input voltage using the middle position of the switch, but it's too easy to forget about something like that.

Likewise with a car adapter, you would need a proper car charger that knows when to stop charging the batteries. Again you can power the VK just fine from the car, I just don't recommend charging it that way without a proper lithium battery charger. They do make such a thing, but it's just as easy to go buy a AC inverter so you can use the wall charger from the car, they have gotten very cheap these days.

I did find a car charger that would work at one point, but it's been months and I'd have to find it again. I may eventually look into this again and put them up for sale as a option.