New Battery Solution
Modular Sound is excited to announce a new battery solution for the Advanced PSU Kit. Up until now, a custom built DIY battery pack was required to power your MPC. After numerous weeks of searching the internet for possible alternatives, a commonly available battery pack designed for iLife’s product line of robot vacuums was found to be a good candidate for testing. More specifically, the iLife model V3S Pro, as well as the V5S Pro and V8S, incorporates a generic lithium-ion battery pack with a rating suitable for the MPC’s operation.
While there are numerous companies manufacturing replacement battery packs for the aforementioned vacuum models, two battery packs, the FIVO FBL-10 and Cameron Sino CS-FEX750VX, were tested for compatibility. Both FIVO and Cameron Sino seem to be reputable manufacturers and the ratings each company gives their packs seem to be rated without raising any concerns. Both companies have also taken the steps to get their battery packs certified.
The FBL-10 and CS-FEX750VX have a nominal voltage of 14.8V and 14.4V, respectively. Both contain four 18650 li-ion cells wired in series and have a capacity of 2600mAh. They each contain some basic form of a battery management system (BMS.) When the battery packs reach a low voltage level, the over-discharge protection from the BMS cuts power from the battery going into the MPC. As a result, the MPC automatically shuts off and the battery will not activate again until a power adapter is connected to the MPC. Aside from the specifications of the battery pack, the actions taken by the BMS was a very important factor in determining if batteries were a suitable alternative.
FIVO FBL-12 (link)
Cameron Sino CS-FEX750VX (link)
New battery mounting kits were designed to accommodate these batteries inside the MPC. (link)
Here are some pros and cons of using these batteries instead of a DIY battery pack.
Pros:
1. It’s safer. There are risks taken when building a DIY battery pack.
2. Complete. No need to get each component separately.
3. Easier to install.
Cons:
The only caveat is that you are limited. Unlike a DIY battery, you are limited to the 2600mAh capacity. You can build a custom battery according to your own specifications such as a higher capacity, or utilize an advanced BMS with cell balancing to prolong battery life.
Lastly, check out this video dedicated to this topic.