Anyone ever try nickel plated copper strips

DIY Builds Battery Builds
#21

I have no experience with this so forgive my ignorance. What exactly are the issues with copper straps?

  1. Welding might be tough? I can understand that but that might be a problem that can be fixed with the right equipment.

  2. the copper oxidizing? Why is this a problem? I have systems (not skateboards and batteries) running >200A with bare copper bus bars with high reliability.

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#22

Idea: copper busbars soldered (nice and tidy) to pure nickel “coins”. Probably enough space for 2 weld pairs on each side

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#23

That’s really the poorest comment I read it for long, please keep in mind that is not strictly necessary to post, and quality comments matters.

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#24

Gonna try asap, I think the idea of plated copper is amazing, just I hope my spot welder is up to the task

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#25

We would love to hear your results. Thankyou for trying this for science. I hope you have a k weld

#26

I got the malectrics, Arduino spot welder

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#27

Hmm, I beg to differ on that for two reasons, first you didn’t create this thread with a [Serious] tag and therefore pretty much any opinion relevant or not can be posted. @Flasher is simply stating that going to a plated offering with no understanding of the purity of either material (Copper or Nickle) is asking for trouble. Which it is. Furthermore if you go to a “sandwiched” method as you mentioned, then you also have to contend with additional failure points, interfacing points, wear and assembly complexity which again echo’s @Flasher’s concern.

I would like to say that no one person here is out to shit on your ideas, but you asked for opinions, and he gave you his.

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#28

Oh, you already had an answer to my question. Didn’t see that.

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#29

I’m not telling anyone not to do it. Data and new findings are always a great thing here. That said, good luck and keep us posted on whatever you find

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#31

I agree with the grey zone but not for the same reason. My main concern as you pointed out is “which quality is the copper and nickel used” and next “do the plating process used ensure a strong or at least decent bond between the metal and the plating”

I’ve been looking for a secure source of exactly this since last year and wasn’t able to find it, so I do that at home : DIY electro plating with both pure nickel and pure copper (purity tested) as base materials. Not pretty but functional.

That’s why if, and only if consistency of the rolls is proven and tested, I’d vouch for it :+1:t4:

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#32

I think a lot of this is herd mentality (no offense to the herd)

  1. We use copper all over the rest of the battery, it’s a long time before it oxidizes enough to become a problem. My 30 year old car still works fiiiine.
  2. the steel cans on the cells is much more likely to rust.
  3. IMO, batteries fail most often from manufacturer defects, like a cold solder joint
  4. The cells will croak long before the corrosion becomes a problem, unless you expose to saltwater. This is a different problem that will affect all but the most noble metals (basically, gold)

Ideally, there would be as little nickel as possible in the construction. We use it because it welds and solders easily, but copper is a much better conductor. Unfortunately, it’s so good a conductor, it won’t spot weld.

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#33

Alright gold strips it is

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#34

Copper can be spot welded but my diy budget doesnt allow for the proper welder. Adding nickle to copper might allow one to do this at a much lower cost.

#35

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I dare you to spot weld some of these materials without laser

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Here’s aluminum , copper and silver sitting in front of me. Anything is better then pure nickel. But how the fuck are us mortals going to weld it

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#36

Yup. Don’t be dumb and believe everything you read

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#37

I dont have $ 10,000 for a proper welder. I thought i said that. Please read

#38

I think @kevingraehl is saying “if it welds, and stays welded, it’s probably better than nickel”

I’d love to see what you think once the material is in hand. Try and weld it to a razor or a wasted cell, let us know what you find. yolo.

edit: I almost bought some, but it’s not the right size for me… going to try and find some wide sheets

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#39

the only wider nickel plated copper is this, but looks like they’re bulk only.

http://m.copperfoilroll.com/sale-10457968d-double-sides-nickel-plated-copper-foil-with-weldable-nickel-plating.html

here you go @kevingraehl
screw pure nickel :joy:

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#40

Geezus, that website just tripped me out

#41

Its tin plated copper. I tried nickel plating on copper and the process makes copper brittle.

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