Topic: Anyone here make 12v SLA batteries?

[Cobiwan]

I've poked around on the remote power section and it seems mostly DIY. I'm not worried about weight, so I'm looking for 12v SLA type battery and charger to power both a mini me and P2 for 6+ hrs; kinda like an Eco Charge. Anyone here make something along these lines?

[Cobiwan]

I'm looking for something along the lines of an Eco Charge EC-90 with dual 12v. Anyone have any luck pulling the cap from one of these and putting in a new SLA? Any suggestions where I can find something like this now, with a charger? I emailed the guy from EC and he told me they're out of business, but to check Grace Design. Couldn't find anything resembling the EC-90, which is what I'm ideally looking for. Any suggestions? I'm not really interested in carrying around 4 Tekkeons or Naztechs if this would just as easily do the job.

http://www.ecocharge.com/systems_ec90.html

[markrsmith]

Post something in the yardsale...iso.  Or keep your eye on Ebay.   They come up every now and then, sometimes for free and sometimes at 90$ a pop.  The elctronics is what you are looking for, ask the the seller to  pull the battery off for cheaper shipping.  I enjoy mine.

[Cobiwan]

In a different thread someone suggested this:

http://www.batteryspace.com/Li-ion-18650-Box-Battery-12V-13.2V-77Wh-4A-rate-with-Regulator.aspx

How easy/difficult is it to connect dual plugs to power my rig? I used to weld steel but have no experience soldering electronics.

[stevetoney]

LOL, if you welded you'll be able to solder battery terminals,which require no precision.  Just do 5 minutes worth of research on the web, which will basically just tell you to clean the connection, use solder flux, and heat the piece with the soldering iron and then apply the solder to the heated part to get a good electrical joint.

If you do find a dead eco-charge, I'm told it's really easy to replace the old battery by simply pulling the old battery out and putting a new replacement in (probably only need to make two solder connections).  Replacements of the same dimensions and voltage are still readily available.

Finally, I've used straight up SLAs for years (just the battery).  I like them because they're cheap (averaging around $30 - $35), reliable, and easy for me to find in any size at my local Batteriesplus store.  I've got I think six or seven 12V that go something like 10amp hours each and half a dozen 6V at 12amphours each.  They easily get me through a weekend of taping at two stages.

[kirk97132]

To reply to your original post, no one here will "make" any SLA batteries.  Even sealed you are still dealing with sulfuric acid  and lead both of which require special care in dealing with them.  I can verify Tonedeaf's statement about the easy Eco charge SLA replacement.  And no solder required they ues spade terminals.  It is a direct swap, pop out the old pop in the new and you are done.  I also have SLA's and DVD batteries.  For my SLA's I use the same trickle charger I use for my car battery.  Cost about $40.  For an eco charge set up you would need to make some kind of adapter to use the XLR4 jack or pop the top off(thats what I do) to charge the battery.  SLA's can be found cheaply with very little effort and IN a variety of sizes/capacity's and voltages. 

[Cobiwan]

So I realized I can run the MiniMe off 6v power. I was successful in popping the top off of my old 6v 7.2ah Eco Charge. Anyone have a suggestion for the replacement battery, something with spade terminals?
I found this one, it appears to be the same size.

http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BM&Product_Code=6v-7ah-sealed-lead-acid-battery&Category_Code=03-6-volt-sealed-lead-acid-batteries

[kirk97132]

So I realized I can run the MiniMe off 6v power. I was successful in popping the top off of my old 6v 7.2ah Eco Charge. Anyone have a suggestion for the replacement battery, something with spade terminals?
I found this one, it appears to be the same size.

http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BM&Product_Code=6v-7ah-sealed-lead-acid-battery&Category_Code=03-6-volt-sealed-lead-acid-batteries

if you look closely the old battery usually has some model numbers on it somewhere a lot of times around the top edge.  Otherwise you can measure it and match it.  this is a place for decent pricing on stuff:
http://www.allelectronics.com/