So I’ve gone through a few variations of this, those three double A’s are up putting 4.5 volts and this new motor is just about that and a little stronger than that smaller one. That was my previous motor that you see in the back. It’s working pretty well when I have the cat toy on there. It’s going pretty steady and I’m not getting too much heat from the motor like last time, though the battery rail on the back of that casing heats up quite a bit. Do battery rails usually heat up this much and I just don’t see it because they’re not usually exposed.?
I let it run for a bit just to see how bad it would get and it’s not damaging the plastic or anything. It’s just pretty hot. How much of a concern do you think this should be? Keep in mind this is going inside of a cat scratching post that is more or less just cardboard so I’d like to iron out any kinks before I install it
Battery rail? As in a part that’s conducting electricity but not mechanical load? That shouldn’t be getting hot. You’re pulling too much power for that size of wire.
I should add that heat is wasted energy and means a faster battery drain.
Yes please excuse my terminology since i’m still learning. that part on the back of the battery pack, ive never seen them do a circuit that requires a metal rail to complete, so you’re basically saying I should get a new battery holder? I assumed since it just held only 3 AA’s it would be built to withstand that much power but I guess I ordered a crappy part
Most people don’t pull much power from AA’s. It’s not about the size of the battery, it’s about the amps you’re drawing and the size of the wire. Personally I’d probably just solder in a better wire.
Have you tested how long the batteries last? It sounds like you’re going to kill them pretty quick.
I have not since it would rarely Be on unless i was with them, but hey just now checking the motor i noticed that this actually says 6 volts, but 4.5Vdc, that (could) be a screw up on my part, it looks like it pulls 1.58 amps
So your battery will have a capacity, something like 2000 mah. That’s 2000 milliamps for an hour, or your 1.58a motor for over an hour.
Your motor won’t pull 1.5 though if you’re under driving it, probably closer to 1. Or it could pull more than 1.5 if it’s under stress.
If you’re fine with those run times, just beef up that wire.
I mean that’s a bit hard to do if it’s the battery holder which I think it is, bending higher gauge leads into shape could take hours for me. having done some research I found it’s not rated for that many amps and the leads are cheap nickel, I’m looking at a few options that can handle as many as 2 amps, or even a li-on battery, ( but that’s going a bit overkill and like, I would have to find a way to charge it lmao)
Thank you so far though, this has taught me quite a bit!
Usb battery packs are an easy and rechargeable source of 5v. Many will give you 3a I think.
Yeah that could work, whats one more hole for a recharging port? Would have to put it on the bottom though just so my dumbass loveable cat doesn’t start scratching on it
Generally true, but let’s also not forget that the discharge current is limited. For an AA battery, 1A is a typical, safe number, after that, the voltage will drop significantly.
As already mentioned, I’d probably switch to a rechargeable power bank.
Two 18650s and one of those $2 charge PCBs would also be an alternative. 18650s can easily provide 30A from a single cell.
I’d personally stick to a protected cell for projects like this. That means it has an integrated protection circuit that keeps it from being over / under charged, protects you from an explosion if you short circuit it, and provides a temperature cut off.
Thoae generally top out at around 10a, rather than the 30a the cell might be capable of. Still tons of power for OP to work with.
