Viper Submerge Battery

[Pierre Labbe]

Good day,

The LIPO battery of my Viper Submerge DPV is at the end of its life and will need to be replaced. I am evaluating my options ; OEM battery, other batteries, a new DPV, etc.

Have any of you had good results with other batteries than the OEM? What burn time were you able to get from them?

Cheers!

 

[tbone1004]

Good day,

The LIPO battery of my Viper Submerge DPV is at the end of its life and will need to be replaced. I am evaluating my options ; OEM battery, other batteries, a new DPV, etc.

Have any of you had good results with other batteries than the OEM? What burn time were you able to get from them?

Cheers!

I'd avoid the OEM battery at all costs. Companies like Battery Space can make cells at higher quality.

 

[Ouvea]

@Pierre Labbe :

How old is your scooter and approximately how many dives do you have on the unit? Mine is about 6 years old. The only gauge that I have is the Watt's Up Meter that I check after each dive and it just measures the voltage drop. From that, it doesn't appear that mine will require replacement anytime soon.

@tbone1004

What do you recommend on the battery replacement? Take apart the battery pack, document assembly, order replacement parts & reassemble? I believe you've noted excessive failures with the LiFe batteries. Have you seen the same with the LiPo batteries as well?

Thanks,
O.

 

[rjack321]

The OEM viper is flat foil wrapped li-po cells. Foil li-pos are pretty much the worst battery design ever. I would rebuild it with 18650 or 21700 sized li-ion cells.

Start by weighing the existing battery in the housing. Then use as many li-ion cells as you can squeeze in there to get close to the same weight. 18650s have a higher energy density than the li-pos in there now, so if you do the layout efficiently you'll end up with a higher capacity battery. You'll have to make up the weight difference with lead.

You could use LiFe but you will lose capacity compared to the OEM

 

[Pierre Labbe]

@Pierre Labbe :

How old is your scooter and approximately how many dives do you have on the unit? Mine is about 6 years old. The only gauge that I have is the Watt's Up Meter that I check after each dive and it just measures the voltage drop. From that, it doesn't appear that mine will require replacement anytime soon.

@tbone1004

What do you recommend on the battery replacement? Take apart the battery pack, document assembly, order replacement parts & reassemble? I believe you've noted excessive failures with the LiFe batteries. Have you seen the same with the LiPo batteries as well?

Thanks,
O.

The scooter was built in 2016 and I bought it used in 2018. I've done about 200 dives with it (don't know how many dives for the previous owner). I also check the voltage after most dive and I noticed a decline recently. 5 years out of a LiPO battery is usually good, especially since I use it often to get upstream against current, at max speed, max pitch, for long period of time... exactly what you are not supposed to do according to the manual...

 

[Pierre Labbe]

The OEM viper is flat foil wrapped li-po cells. Foil li-pos are pretty much the worst battery design ever. I would rebuild it with 18650 or 21700 sized li-ion cells.

Start by weighing the existing battery in the housing. Then use as many li-ion cells as you can squeeze in there to get close to the same weight. 18650s have a higher energy density than the li-pos in there now, so if you do the layout efficiently you'll end up with a higher capacity battery. You'll have to make up the weight difference with lead.

You could use LiFe but you will lose capacity compared to the OEM

Thanks! Sounds like this will be my next lockdown project.

 

[tbone1004]

I had battery space spec this pack which will fit in the Viper. You will have to put your own charge/discharge connectors on there, but it will fit and is far superior to the stock pack.
Custom Li-Ion 18650 Battery: 25.45V 31.5Ah (801.6Wh, 50A rate, 7x9, INR18650 MJ1)

 

[rjack321]

I had battery space spec this pack which will fit in the Viper. You will have to put your own charge/discharge connectors on there, but it will fit and is far superior to the stock pack.
Custom Li-Ion 18650 Battery: 25.45V 31.5Ah (801.6Wh, 50A rate, 7x9, INR18650 MJ1)

This is beautiful. But you're paying about $350 for batteryspace to make it vs building it yourself from scratch.

I have ordered li-ions from these folks and from battery junction in the past. Both are reliable vendors
IMRBatteries.com ~ Rechargeable Lithium-ion 18650 Batteries, Chargers, and More

Batteries, Chargers, LED Flashlights, and More! (batteryjunction.com)

 

[runsongas]

not everybody is willing or able to weld together a large battery pack though

 

[tbone1004]

This is beautiful. But you're paying about $350 for batteryspace to make it vs building it yourself from scratch.

I have ordered li-ions from these folks and from battery junction in the past. Both are reliable vendors
IMRBatteries.com ~ Rechargeable Lithium-ion 18650 Batteries, Chargers, and More

Batteries, Chargers, LED Flashlights, and More! (batteryjunction.com)

that is true, but it is also WAY cheaper than anything from SS directly. The LiFePO4 512wh packs were $1050, and the LiPo 777wh packs were $1750. At $950 with shipping and a new charger, I think it's an infinitely better option, especially since it drops right in.
If you have a spot welder, then you're at $350ish for the cells, $100 for the BMS, and probably $20 in supplies so call it $500 to DIY, but I think $350 for someone else to take the risk/hassle of spot welding is probably worth it if you are only doing a single pack.