Custom Arizer Solo High Performance Battery Packs (Original thread)

[CentiZen]

Hey guys, I figured it would be best to make a separate thread for this because I don't want to jack the Solo thread in VD.

This thread will be where I will update you guys on the progress I am making on this project as well as answering any questions you might have about these packs.

I'm glad so many people are interested in this project; it gives me much more of a drive to work on it. For those who may have missed posts in the Solo thread, these Solo battery packs are going to be made out of high performance Li-Ion 18650 cells sourced from reliable (I mean this) sources assembled by me with a high current RoHS certified protection board. They will not require soldering, the replacement process will be pretty much plug and play.

I wish I could give you guys an ETA on these but to be completely honest that would be just irresponsible. I'm not going to send out any packs unless they work much better than the stock packs and are safe, and for me to be able to tell that I'm going to need to run it in real world scenarios, which will take time.

Anyway, if you guys have any questions, fire away, I'm all ears

 

[AceTK]

Are you going to be using cells with protection pcb's on them and an additional pcb for the pair or are you going to use unprotected cells and a pcb for the pair?

 

[Jurassic]

Nice work CZ! Depending on performance, i'd MAYBE even reconside buying a Solo again. Dude, you should totally set up distribution through PV! Nice little side project for you so good on ya!

 

[CentiZen]

Are you going to be using cells with protection pcb's on them and an additional pcb for the pair or are you going to use unprotected cells and a pcb for the pair?

At this point, I haven't settled on a specific cell that I am using, but I'm going to try to get cells which don't have protection PCB's on them already because they add several extra millimetres of length to the battery and the fit is very tight in the solo. I'm also looking at IMR batteries which do not require protection circuits, but they have about 20% less capacity than the ICR (which are the "usual" li-ion cells) while having a much higher discharge power. Either way, I'd be pairing them on the PCB.

 

[AceTK]

Cool cool. One thing I have been wondering about is a replacement bottom for the solo that has a sliding latch and a removable plate to allow battery packs to slide in and out easier on the go. You could increase the wire length so that you can pull the battery pack out and then put fingers in hole to disconnect the JST connector easier or maybe even convert a solo to use a new battery pack with slide contacts and matching contacts inside the solo although I think the JST connector idea is more universal.

 

[kushcabbage]

Will be keeping my eye on this thread, a long lasting solo battery would be excellent. Would the temps stay the same besides for the older units with older battery packs which need the upgrade?

 

[CentiZen]

Yes, since the temperature isn't so much based on the discharge of the battery, it's modulated by a microcontroller on the board instead. What will change is the speed at which it heats up and how many sessions you'll get out of it on a charge. It will also be harder to make it drop temp on large draws.

 

[kushcabbage]

Liking the sound of this more and more. Opened up and dissected my other solo for the first time, had some abv particulates in random spots but air blasted it all out and did an inspection. can't believe how easy it is to replace the battery, quite excited to throw my money at you for this mate.

 

[AceTK]

Any extra battery life will be a result as I frequently find myself out and about with an exhausted battery . Admittedly we can only expect an extra 2 cycles or so at best but I think that's a realistic target going from 2200mAh to 3100mAh battery packs.

 

[Jurassic]

Even 2 extra cycles would be well worth it, but i'm more giddy about what CZ said about faster heatup and better heat retention as the heater always struggles to keep up when you hit it hard.

 

[Zookeeper]

I would definitely be interested in the upgraded battery, bit it wouldnt be something i would consider until the performance of the stock battery has degraded noticeably.

As long as someone well rounded in the battery field is on board with the project, I'd definitely be on the lookout for an upgrade. Its easy to find inflated cell specs hiding behind bad, unlisted specs.

 

[mephisto]

Just lost function of my m102, assuming its the battery. Waiting patiently to see where this
takes us. Will also be throwing money at you CZ when the time comes.....Thanks for your investigation.

 

[Jurassic]

You're not the first person to mention this Meph. Me thinks that the life cycle of a Solo (or battery at least) is about a year. Good thing there is a 2 year warranty, but not so good on the 1 year battery. Hopefully CZ's project pans out, and a reasonably priced solution is around the corner.

 

[AceTK]

A lithium-ion cell charged to 4.20V/cell typically delivers 300–500 cycles depending on if a full or partial charge is done. If charged to only 4.10V/cell, the life can be prolonged to 600–1,000. On the solo I believe it charges to 4.2v so yes 300 charges will cover around a year at one full charge per day average.

 

[shredhead]

Would love to see this and would defiantly pick one up.

 

[VapeNStone]

This is a must for those of us that already collected a extra solo under warranty for the chipping issue.

 

[VB]

This sounds great
in for updates

 

[CentiZen]

Hey guys, now that I've got my wrench I can give you guys some updates on my progress.

I've got my suppliers pretty well lined up and I am exited for my preliminary orders to come in. Unfortunately Callies Kustoms did not work out as they cannot send them to canada due to USPS regulations (I've checked though, we can send these through FedEx no problem, they just don't want to). However, I have been put in direct contact with AW, and instead will be using those batteries. He has a cell which is based off of the NCR18650A cell made by Panasonic which is the same cell Callie's uses, so we aren't missing out on anything.

I've also been able to find a source for pre-crimped JST::RCY connectors so all of the battery packs will be plug and play. The only thing I need to sort out now is protection and then I will be ready to start building prototypes.

 

[jambandphan03]

saw a silver m107 on amazon for $136 (prime 2 day ship), and impulsively bought it last night, as back up ( I like my current M107 ). Having the battery pack replaceable would be ideal though. I'll be watching this thread to see how things develop. I think I need to find a vape spenders anonymous can't stop buying stuff for vaping with...

 

[Tamataz]

I'm interested as well. But need know the benefits of course. Mainly how much more battery life you would get out of it & price.

 

[jambandphan03]

I would be happy enough with the same battery pack, just with the correct clip attached for easy replacement, but if somebody works out a way to improve battery life, and not mess up the internals, I am all for that too.

 

[CentiZen]

I'm interested as well. But need know the benefits of course. Mainly how much more battery life you would get out of it & price.

Well of course, but even at this point in time I am unsure of the exact amount of performance increase we will get. Once I have built prototypes and begin testing I can give an idea; but I haven't even gotten my cells in to do preliminary comparisons against 2200mah 18650's.

As for not messing up the internals, I am sure that will not be an issue. Each of these cells have a protection circuit on them which will prevent overcharging, overheating, short circuits and stop the battery from putting out any voltage or current past the bounds it should be. Either way, ever pack I make will be torture tested in a Solo before being sent out so if it's going to go, it's going to go then.

 

[pakalolo]

Are you concerned about warranty issues? I'd think that anyone using one of your packs is breaking the Arizer warranty, what will be your own warranty policy?

 

[CentiZen]

I have contacted arizer to see what their thoughts on the situation is; however they have not gotten back to me at all. I'd imagine the user is technically breaking that warranty, and that is why I wanted to make sure I was able to make them with the plug on it. If the arizer for whatever reason needs to get sent in for warranty, you simply put the old battery back in and there is no way of telling. I am not worried about the cells causing any issues to the Solo's, as people have been using AW's cells in many high draw and high temp environments without issue.

These batteries won't put out any more power at one time than the ones people are using right now really. Really they are just a bigger "tank" of power instead of being more powerful.

 

[smokum]

Personally, I'm just wanting availability of a replace batt-pack for a weakening ones for after warranty Solo's I've got. If these end up offering a long charge, then BONUS, lol.

My originals have lasted me 'ok' daily for 2 yrs now......