[jclars]

So I started building battery boxes with frames of 1" angle and panel sides of 1/8" aluminum plate.

Meanwhile, I got a low end 30 volt/10 amp power source. I hooked four cells up in series for each charge and set it to 3.4 v constant. Wow, seemed to take a long time. But I still had plenty to do construction the front and rear boxes.

But by the time I got to the second box, I had still only charged 8 cells. So, unwisely, I cranked up the voltage to 4.2 in order to raise the amperage. And walked away. Big mistake. When I returned to check on them, this group of four cells had topped out at 4.2v and automatically like it was supposed to do. But I had never intended it to actually go that far, hoping for just a bit of a boost to lessen the charging time. Well, I discharged them back to 3.4 and they seemed happy. No expanding like I had been warned. The next day the grace period was over and they grew at least 1/4" all around. They would no longer fit the boxes I had made. First case of an expensive boo-boo.

Plus, I couldn't plan on speeding up the charging/balancing process without a larger power source. More money, but at 3x the amperage output, things picked up considerably. Plus the new unit was much more reliable at shutting down the charge precisely at target voltage.

I ordered four new cells, at the time $125 each, plus $100 shipping. There went my road trip savings.