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Author Topic: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?  (Read 34098 times)

bcroslin

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #20 on: April 29, 2013, 05:44:05 pm »

I've done the swap with the old battery and it's easy but good luck finding any LiFe replacement cells. Not to mention I wouldn't be surprised if the board in the new cells is different. IMO the new battery is worth every penny.
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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stevebri

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #21 on: May 23, 2013, 03:22:56 pm »

Was on location the other morning and round the corner from us in a different cove was a bunch of people doing a music video, they were shooting it with two drone like remote 'copters carrying a red on one and a 5D on the other...

Anyway at lunch their crew were eating just up from my crew and I got chatting to the guys re charging their batteries... To cut a long story short when i showed them the 'before and after' Porty batteries they were impressed and were already trying to see how they could graft them on to their rigs....

The relevant point of the conversation was this:
The reason why our new LiFePO4 Batteries cut out when we try to use full power is because of the C rating, apparently the C rating relates to how much can be drawn 'in one hit' to make it simple.  Not sure what mine are but in the UK a good rating is 4.5.

I'm guessing ours are not that high hence the tripping out.  Found this thread too, it explains it really well.


Also, if you want to sourch these, then google something like LiFePO4 Batteries if you haven't already.

In the UK the batteries cost me £100ea delivered, buying from Hensel including the drawer is £432 plus delivery, so 4 batteries DIY is £400 or 4 new ones from the dealer £1728 plus shipping..

What I did was buy two of the new lighter cells and fitted them myself, in addition I also bought and fitted two conventional cells and fitted them myself, two heavy, two light.

Most jobs don't need full power, fast recycle.  When they do I have the two traditional batteries, everyday location shooting I take the two lighter cells, leave the two heavier ones in the car/van/truck and my assistants speak to me again...

S
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sellersd

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #22 on: May 26, 2013, 02:10:11 pm »

I contacted them yesterday and explained the whole situation and they're on board, even with me modding their batteries myself.

Stereo, would you mind detailing the mode???  pour fave!
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SAUL K

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #23 on: June 24, 2013, 01:54:42 pm »

Stereo,

I wonder if this particular battery will work, it says Maximum Discharge Current (Pulse)(5C) is 70.0A. On another site which sells the battery, the description says "Photography: Perfect fit for Profoto Battery in Pro-7B". From the same battery manufacturer there is also a 12.8V 10Ah 128Wh LiFe Battery with a max Discharge of 40.0A.
I'm looking to change the battery myself too, the original Profoto replacement is just too expensive. Let me know what you think.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2013, 07:49:51 am by SAUL K »
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jing q

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #24 on: June 26, 2013, 02:31:51 am »

that's a great link....I'm surprised you can just put it in an existing casing. I was under the impression that the electronics for the casing would be slightly different to cater for the fact that it's a LiPo battery...esp considering you can't just charge a LiPo battery with a normal DC charger...
well give them a call! If the website says it works with proB, they must have tried it....right?
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SAUL K

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #25 on: June 26, 2013, 07:44:36 am »

I'm not sure if you can just put them in an existing casing, but it seems like a Stereo has at this point done it with limited success.
The main problem seems to be the max discharge current of the PCM board of the LiFe replacements batteries out there. It seems like
the B2 pack draws more power and the existing case is wired to 40A fuses. The batteries I found seems to have a max discharge current of 70A,
but I'm not sure if it really works since it is not something I am familiar with. I spoke with the dealer who sells the LiFe battery, they can't guarantee that it works with Profoto, the specs looks suitable but they have not tried it.
I do have more information of the LiFe battery that Profoto is using. Their battery is made by BMZ, is 13.3V 11.5Ah, made up of ANR26650M1 cells in a 4S5P arrangement.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge on batteries can shed some light eventually.
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Sarge_

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #26 on: April 29, 2014, 04:17:02 pm »

Has anyone tried this battery (as linked above?). I've replaced the battery in my 7b previously (soldered a new lead acid version to the Profoto pack), and it appears there is no trick to using this Lithium "iron" (not ion?) battery. It says you can charge it with a any SLA (=standard lead acid?) charger?

My concern is with being able to use it at full power, repeatedly. I use the 7b (in addition to other units) for architectural work, and I'm frequently competing with daylight in large rooms with bounce or filtered flash (i.e. full power situations).

Any updates to this topic would be great! Thanks!
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Sheldon N

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #27 on: April 29, 2014, 08:40:45 pm »

I did something similar with an Elinchrom Ranger, pulled out the stock lead acid battery and replaced it with one of these...

http://store.starkpower.com/12V-12Ah-StarkPower-UltraEnergy-Lithium-Ion-Battery-LiFePO-Energy-Storage-Battery_p_22.html

Worked fine, no issues thus far. I think you might be able to get the one you linked to to work for the Profoto. Some issues I'd recommend looking further into...

Does the battery have some sort of thermal protection shutoff built into it? If you shoot too fast/aggressively, you will heat up the battery since continuous full power pops at 1200 w/s is more than the 25A continuous current draw limit of the battery. You don't want it to go into thermal runaway and catch on fire.

What are the volt/amp specs that it should be charged at, and what are the specs for your charger? You don't want to overvolt the battery when charging, that's another hazard. (I was lucky and the specs for my Elinchrom charger matched the battery specs)

I would expect greater capacity (perhaps 150% increase in shots), but recycle time may not be any faster. In fact it might be a touch slower for the 7B since these batteries can't dump current into a spiked load quite as well as lead acid, and recharging a capacitor is a very non-linear load. (Starts large, falls off exponentially)

Give it a try and let us know how it goes!
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Sheldon Nalos
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180q

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #28 on: April 30, 2014, 10:16:58 pm »

There is a thread regarding this subject over on FM that you may find helpful if you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1198860/0

-Chad
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Sarge_

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #29 on: May 01, 2014, 02:46:05 pm »

This battery lists a 70A maximum discharge current (pulse), which makes me think it's perhaps better suited to the power demands of the 7b, but I'm guessing that regardless one needs to be careful about doing too many full charge pops too close together...

It would seem like all these batteries would sort of have to be the same (relabeled versions of the same box?), but maybe not.
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The View

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Re: Profoto Pro B battery replacement with lithium polymer batteries ?
« Reply #30 on: May 02, 2014, 09:05:07 pm »

Sylvino's Pro flash in Hollywood, the Profoto rep for the west coast, can replace a lead acid battery with a lithium battery.

He knows what he's doing, this way you avoid the risk damaging your pack.
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The View of deserts, forests, mountains. Not the TV show that I have never watched.
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