Fixing gripper vv, want to use 2x14500 batteries

[Njt07]

Hi everyone. I'm a completely new to soldering and modding beyond using a hot glue gun. Anyway, i have a couple gripper vv that my wife broke the battery doors on. The buttons also seem to be going out on them as well.

what I'd like to do is take the guts and put them into a 3xAA battery box, like the madvapes vv box for a smaller mod. Is it safe to use 2x14500 instead of 1x18650 with the gripper chip?

If this is safe, or if its not, could anyone give me some ideas how to make it so it will work well and be durable?

also, can anyone recommend a good quality 510 connector? My zmax connector is completely stripped out, and now that i have a solder kit coming in, i want to try and replace that as well. A good quality button recommendation wouldn't be taken amiss either. I'm planning on using madvapes to order most of my stuff unless a better site is recommended.

Lastly, can anyone recommend a good small box case to hold an 18650 and gripper chip if this isn't safe?

thank you very much for your help.

 

[LucentShadow]

Hi everyone. I'm a completely new to soldering and modding beyond using a hot glue gun. Anyway, i have a couple gripper vv that my wife broke the battery doors on. The buttons also seem to be going out on them as well.

what I'd like to do is take the guts and put them into a 3xAA battery box, like the madvapes vv box for a smaller mod. Is it safe to use 2x14500 instead of 1x18650 with the gripper chip?

If this is safe, or if its not, could anyone give me some ideas how to make it so it will work well and be durable?

also, can anyone recommend a good quality 510 connector? My zmax connector is completely stripped out, and now that i have a solder kit coming in, i want to try and replace that as well. A good quality button recommendation wouldn't be taken amiss either. I'm planning on using madvapes to order most of my stuff unless a better site is recommended.

Lastly, can anyone recommend a good small box case to hold an 18650 and gripper chip if this isn't safe?

thank you very much for your help.

In regard to replacing 1x18650 with 2x14500, as long as they are in parallel (same voltage, double amperage) it should work fine. I'd use high-drain IMR 14500s (AW or Efest are good), as even two in parallel will have less mah than an 18650, and may not be up to handling the higher voltage settings, if they are low-drain.

As long as the PCB would fit into one bay of a 3xAA, while still being able to access the buttons, it should work. Note that a 3xAA box will be configured for series battery connection, so the two battery bays would need to be rewired for parallel connection, and the contacts should come out of the third bay.

I don't own a Gripper, but I would assume that the buttons need only be small, low-current ones as used with most VV/VW control boards. Any of their small, tactile buttons would probably work fine.

I've had no problems with the brass-colored, sealed 510 connectors from Mad Vapes.

 

[Njt07]

Thanks Lucent. If the batteries are wired in parallel then is that equivalent to stacking batteries? That's one thing I'd like to avoid. I'm envisioning something like the vv army tank mod. Am I way off?

Ok looked it up, so now that I kind of understand that. I have an old burnt out madvapes vv box, its in a 3xAA box, is that wired for parallel then?

For the MaH, if i glued two AA boxes together i can put 4 batteries in parallel right?

I might just stick with the 18650 for my first "mod"

 

[LucentShadow]

'Stacked' generally refers to a series arrangement, where the one positive is connected to one negative. Parallel would be where both of the positives are connected, and both of the negatives. Here is a link that explains it better:

Serial and Parallel Battery Configurations and Information

Those examples show 1.2v NiMH batteries, but the same principles apply for 3.7v li-ions. Take note of the warnings, as the batteries that we use can be more dangerous than NiMH batteries.

A single cell is safer than series or parallel configurations, but using multiple batteries isn't necessarily unsafe. It's important to keep the batteries closely matched, and check them regularly, for best safety in using multiple batteries. I'd recommend going with a single 18650 mod, though (it's also what I would do.)

There is a lot of other info on that site linked to above that you should probably look through, if you haven't seen it before.

 

[Njt07]

thanks lucent! Couple more questions.

is this a good replacement button Horn Style Switch, Black its says its rated at 12v and 5 amps.

Also im looking at using eclipse mints tins for the gripper, will an 18650 fit in there? would anyone recommend a better case? Im looking for as small as possible with an 18650 and the gripper chip.

I m going to look up how to solder, i assume its similar to brazing (I kind of know how to weld, its been a while but was a welder as my first MOS in the Army, but that was a LONG time ago). I guess the only thing I'll be soldering will be the switch on the grippers and the battery connector for my zmax, any tips specific to these?

 

[Njt07]

double post

 

[LucentShadow]

thanks lucent! Couple more questions.

is this a good replacement button Horn Style Switch, Black its says its rated at 12v and 5 amps.

Also im looking at using eclipse mints tins for the gripper, will an 18650 fit in there? would anyone recommend a better case? Im looking for as small as possible with an 18650 and the gripper chip.

I m going to look up how to solder, i assume its similar to brazing (I kind of know how to weld, its been a while but was a welder as my first MOS in the Army, but that was a LONG time ago). I guess the only thing I'll be soldering will be the switch on the grippers and the battery connector for my zmax, any tips specific to these?

That switch is popular for routing battery power directly to the 510 connection. It's probably overkill for the activation button on a gripper board, but should work fine. I'm assuming that it's the off-board button that you're looking to replace, as shown here:

http://www.madvapes.com/4-button-va...ard.html?acc=70efdf2ec9b086079795c442636b55fb

That's just a small tactile button there. With such a circuit, the current going through the activation button is usually very low, so any of Mad Vapes' momentary, normally open buttons should work. They have a lot of small tactile buttons to choose from. Consider the wall thickness that the button would have to go through, if you get one of those.

I have no idea about any tin sizes. An 18650 is nominally 18mm in diameter, and 65mm long. I'd allow at least 19mm x 70mm, depending on what battery contacts you use, and how much room that they will need.

I don't have any recommendations for an enclosure. I'll be making mine out of wood or aluminum, as I have access to CNC Mills. This is one of the most important considerations, and can take some time to find or make something that is close to ideal.

For soldering, check out the stickies above. Any decent soldering iron with a narrow-enough tip should be fine. As long as you heat both pieces enough, but not too much, the solder will flow fine. I use 60/40 .031" rosin-core solder on most things like that.