I am building a box mod.

Status
Not open for further replies.

harlenhumes

Full Member
Dec 6, 2014
9
2
Illinois
I am building a box mod. It will be dual 18650. I will probably run it in series. I will be using an N Channel Mosfet and a Fat Daddy Vapes 510. I have the battery sled and a nice button. I want it to be "regulated" though. But I don't need it to be variable, so I don't want a chip in it. I simply need a voltage regulator. My question is, If I were to build it to have a 5V regulator in it, do I need any resistors? Are there any better regulators? Is it going to need any capacitance? If so, what should I use?

~Thanks.
 

gandymarsh

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
May 11, 2014
2,598
5,003
WI, USA
Last edited:

harlenhumes

Full Member
Dec 6, 2014
9
2
Illinois
Ok, so what size potentiometer should I get? Also, if this is what I have after buying the Mosfet and Potentiometer, how would I wire this? Box.jpg I just want a constant voltage to come from the batteries. That is why I was looking at voltage regulators and capacitors. I don't want to throw a chip in it if I can regulate it just as easily for a lot cheaper.
 

JimmyDB

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 3, 2014
2,351
3,978
I decided a 5v regulator is more what I am looking for, so I remade my little sketch. Did I wire this thing right? View attachment 394619

What I am seeing is that your regulator would always be 'on' and the mosfet is only controlling the 510's connection to ground. You could go this route, but you might as well just power the regulator off of the mosfet directly and increase the efficiency of the system while reducing heat.

Are you intending to use a high-power regulator of some sort, something that can handle over 3 amps? If no, then you should be able to find a mechanical switch capable of handling the output and then you can drop the mosfet.

Just to be fair, you are showing at least two 'chips' in your graphic... I'm not sure about the regulator, unless it's a single chip/IC like the mosfet,... then you would probably be adding even more 'chips' to your design.

You should seriously review the modding and DIY sections.
 

harlenhumes

Full Member
Dec 6, 2014
9
2
Illinois
Thanks for the input Jimmy! I really appreciate your help! I know I'm using more components than necessary. But I want to get a full understanding of this before I just go prancing around telling everyone to look at my "awesome" box mod that I "built" by myself. It seems stupid but I'm being more stubborn about it so that I can learn what there is to know about this. As for the wiring, are you talking more like this? Box5.jpg Or is this wrong?
 

JimmyDB

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 3, 2014
2,351
3,978
Basically... you press the switch, which allows the POS to activate the MOSFET. The (active) MOSFET allows the NEG to reach the REG which activates the REG. The POS from the REG goes to the 510 center so the 510 now has 5V regulated output ONLY when the REG has been activated by the MOSFET. The GND from the MOSFET to the REG should also go to the 510 GND. Now the 510 only has GND when the MOSFET is activated.

BATTERY POS -> SWITCH + REG INPUT
BATTERY GND -> MOSFET
MOSFET -> SWITCH + REG + 510 GND

You can NOT tie the BATT GND and MOSFET DRAIN to the housing or that would bypass the MOSFET... so... since your 510 will likely be making contact to the housing (if you use a metal housing), I would suggest having the MOSFET DRAIN tied to the housing. In this case, the GND used in the REG can be tied to the chassis/case/enclosure (if metal). Anything grounded to the housing in this case would only be connected to ground when the MOSFET is active. This only applies if you are using a metal housing, but I thought it was worth noting.

NOTES:
Don't forget any CAPs needed for the regulator to smooth output etc.
Don't forget any resistor etc for the MOSFET in question, but remember you are now feeding it 7V - 8.4V depending on the battery state.
It would be wise to include a LOW VOLTAGE LOCKOUT circuit to prevent the device from being able to drag the batteries below whatever the safe lower limit is of your batteries or the system from drawing above the safe AMP limit due to low voltage levels.
Don't forget to add fuses just in case there is a direct short on the batteries for any reason. Also, read the fuse datasheets... i.e., a 12A fuse takes a specific amount of time to blow due to 12A.
If the MOSFET is 95% efficient... and the REG is 95% efficient... you have a total efficiency of about 90%. This means that if you are pushing out 10A to the atty, then you are pulling in 11.1A from the batteries and the extra 1.1A are being turned into heat at the REG and MOSFET. In this scenario the MOSFET would be wasting about 4W to heat and so would the REG. All of these numbers depend on your real parts, voltages, etc. So, just remember to base your batteries on their ability to safely release enough AMPs for the input of the system, not based on the output of the system.
Is this where I mention vent holes ;)

My suggestion: Since you are using stacked batteries... you have a [somewhat] unique opportunity to include a very simple kill switch at the point where you connect the two batteries together. That connection could be a removable slug... basically you kill the whole system by pulling a tab out which disconnects the two batteries from one another. Basically, the slug could normally be what makes the connection, so when removed, they are no longer connected.

EDIT: Oh yeah... look into the various safety requirements around to using stacked batteries and remember that you may want to fuse them individually [as well] since one battery will end up failing before the other one due to slight manufacturing differences, if for no other reason.
 
Last edited:

JimmyDB

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 3, 2014
2,351
3,978
I appreciate you taking the time to assist me! You were an tremendous help. :)

No problem. I went ahead and worked up a real life example of your simple diagram... this should explain any wiring questions given it's in a platform you should be able to duplicate and build off of.

Reg-Mosfet-Emaple-001_small.jpg


... this lacks any regulator capacitance, etc... but it's an example and the output was 4.96V with an input ranging from around 6V and up. In my example, I used an LM7805 I had laying around... and that device is only rated for 1.5A output... so at 5V... it's only going to be 7.5W... and you are only going to get that with about a 3.5 ohm coil.
 

JimmyDB

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 3, 2014
2,351
3,978
Wow! Thanks, again! That is a lot more than I was actually expecting! Though how would I calculate capacitance? I've been looking into it since you mentioned it, but everyone is using a 12v source, so its different. I am also looking into components with higher amp limits.

The capacitance info should be outlined in the regulator datasheet (although it can be driven more by the rest of the circuit versus the reg)... however, since we are using the output to drive a resistive load (coil)... it doesn't matter how 'clean' the power is, so you should be safe just going with the example application values or you could just skip them. They are just bypass caps (normally)... again, depends on what your regulator needs and why it needs it. My example was just using a simple 3-leg regulator... higher current models and adjustable models may have more pins and external circuit requirements.

Everything you should need to duplicate someone elses box should be here on the forum... you can probably find 90% of any other information you would need in order to build your own simple box as well, even if you are using hardware not previously discussed on here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread