Brass Monkey / Alpicool battery - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2024, 06:43:20 am
content: Long shot, but does anyone have the pinout on the lithium ion battery pack for the Brass Monkey fridges sold at Jaycar? They are a badge engineered Alpicool.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2024, 07:10:51 am
content: Do you have one open and can take photos of the connectors + PCBs?

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2024, 10:32:05 am
content: No, If I had one of the batteries I could probably work it out myself.If I knew Jaycar were just reselling Alpicool batteries (which I believe use FEB cells) I would buy one. I don't trust Jaycar to not be peddling 3rd party batteries with cells made from alfoil and used chewing gum. So I would like to make my own using Samsung 35E cells.

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2024, 02:04:05 am
content: After not being able to find any information on the Brass Monkey / Alpicool battery online apart from a brief mention at the bottom of an "OzBargain" posthttps://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/822428I bit the bullet and ordered a battery from a random AliExpress seller. Random AliExpress sellers are much more likely to supply a quality product than Jaycar.Although I no longer need to know the info to build my own. I thought I would post what I know here so anyone else looking on the internet for aAlpicool / Brassmonkey / Rovin / Massimo / EENOUR 15.6AH 11.1v fridge battery (alpicool model number FSAK-002, Jaycar GH2053 / GH2054)Doesn't have to buy one and pull it apart themselves.Opening it up is pretty difficult and I mangled the parting line. It is glued pretty well as the 2nd photo shows. After cracking the glue all around you have to press in the release tabs to get the cover off. For completeness there is a few shots of the entire front section removed.The front cover has a PCB with a 6 pin picoblade connector on it. The PCB is labeled T500-C-1 H317-E-1 AK02. The 6 connections areGNDLED4LED3LED2BLUEKEYKEY is the momentary push button. Blue/LED2/3/4 are multiplexed to drive the 6 LEDs on the front.Next up is the board that has the main battery connector on it. The board is labeled AK02 H317-C-2.The Main battery connector looks like TE 6-6447143-6https://www.te.com/en/product-6-6447143-6.htmland is conveniently labeled as P-P-P- P+P+P+ So this answers my initial question about the pin out. It is just Batt+ and Batt- and there is no communications pins.From this board there is a 9 pin JST XH (2.5mm) connector to the main BMS. (You can see one of these wires was pinched badly during assembly on my unit)The pinout of this connector is labeled P-P-P- C- D C+ P+P+P+P+ and P- being straight from the main TE 6 pin connector and C- C+ and D coming from a Dc barrel jack. I'd assume being "Charge+ Charge- and Detect"The interesting thing here is that the barrel jack is blind. The hole that WOULD let you plug something into it is blanked off as shown in photo 10.

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2024, 02:18:14 am
content: The battery block was held down with some double sided foam tape and was quite difficult to remove.The batteries themselves are labeled CMICR18650F8 the same as the Miter10 units mentioned in the OzBargain post. If the ink jet printed rating on the side is to be trusted 2600mA 3.7v does make the 3S6P pack be 15.6Ah 11.1vLooking up the cells themselves might be "Cham New Global" which don't seem to have a lot of positive mentions on the old WWWThe next photo is the BMS. Left hand side has three cell connections and the thermistor. The top has the 6 pin picoblade that goes to the front panel and the 9 pin JST XH going to the other small board. The right side is the battery positive.The four battery connections are spot welded to small metal squares that are soldered to the PCB. I have not seen this before but I guess it means you can reflow solder the metal/nickel slugs to the PCB and then spot weld the batteries later.The other thing that is both funny and disturbing - is the component labled "F1" on the PCB also seems to be one of these metal slugs. Maybe it is one of those optical overcurrent indicators that glows red during an overcurrent event. I am not sure.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2024, 08:33:36 pm
content: > Looking up the cells themselves might be "Cham New Global" which don't seem to have a lot of positive mentions on the old WWWAt least their labelling seems honest. 2600mAh is an achievable and common value for lower tier 18650 manufacturers.> The other thing that is both funny and disturbing - is the component labled "F1" on the PCB also seems to be one of these metal slugs. Maybe it is one of those optical overcurrent indicators that glows red during an overcurrent event. I am not sure.Or a bimetallic strip that pings off the solder padsThey did keep the fuse at B- though,nope that's a shunt resistor

author: Grotman1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2025, 05:32:18 am
content: This is a very interesting topic, thank you for giving the details of the battery inside. I was thinking of designing a 3D printable version of the case, so that anyone can design their own battery pack that will fit in. Hence, to 3d print a case, then build a 3s6p battery pack and then to use it. I want to ask, after dismantling the battery pack, have you tried to build a similar 3s6p to use instead?

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2025, 11:42:06 pm
content: I started to do a 3D model of the battery but then lost interest in Fusion360.I might complete that model in FreeCAD after I finish migrating/learning the new tool.

author: Grotman1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 19, 2025, 02:51:58 am
content: I have noticed that if I build a battery pack with the spacers provided, then the length is 12cm, and this won't fit in a battery box. Hence building it with plastic spacers won't work. Unless you hot glue the battery pack, but then there is no space for the heat to escape. Would you be building the battery pack with hot glue just to ensure that it fits inside?

author: DavidK10
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 09:14:44 pm
content: This is awesome! Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!By any chance, do you happen to have photos about the part where the battery connects to the fridge and the power management from inside?I have a Vevor X50K which has the battery slot, but don't have the connector itself and I wonder if I could add the requred cables and upgrade the PCB.The slot and even the screw holes are part of the device, so I am pretty sure this is just another Alpicool rebrand.I also want to try adding a bluetooth enabled controller board, but don't know if replacing the controller unit would be enough...

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 09:35:57 pm
content: Quote from: Whales on October 17, 2024, 08:33:36 pmMore like having no clue about what it is. Looks like a three-terminal Fuse. Very common in lithium battery backs. Examplehttps://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuses-overcurrent-protection/battery-protector/itv-three-terminal-fuses/itv5432-30a

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 11:43:19 pm
content: @Grotman1I can only fit my 0.3mm feeler gauge between these batteries. An "18650 -> SLA case" kit I got off AliExpress has a much wider spacing than this. I guess the spacers on this Aplicool pack are slimmer than standard.@DavidK10I have not looked inside the fridge. Am too scared to pull it apart. I can confirm the TE connectivity connecter mentioned above is correct part.Quote from: wraper on May 15, 2025, 09:35:57 pmLooks nothing like a fuse. I would have thought that would be obvious from picture #11 above. But here is a closer look. It has no substrate with a molding on top like a fuse does. It is just a solid copper slug with some plating (nickle?) to make it spot-weldable.You can see (IRL not the photo) that there are marks on the side indicating it was punched from a sheet and that it is a solid piece of metal. If you scratch the sides it is copper coloured underneath.

author: DavidK10
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 05:07:41 pm
content: Opening my fridge was definitely easier than your experience with the battery.I wasn't brave enough to do the battery.But unfortunately I can't really tell from the power supply panel whether they add a 6-pin battery input or just combine the 3-3 pins and connect them directly to the input used for the plug.

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 09:08:21 pm
content: I was scared to turn the fridge on its side to get the cover off and ending up with oil in the capillary and a non working compressor.My fridge is the 115 litre version and is too heavy to hold at a reasonable angle and too heavy at one end to put on the edge of a table to work.Looks like the people at the Alpicool repair shop don't seem to think sitting at 90 degrees is a problem.https://youtu.be/I6qvuXhRE2U?t=109That video, at that time stamp, shows what the inside of the Txx fridges look like.You might be out of luck. The wires from the main plug and the battery both go into the grey flanged jiffy box in the middle of the screen, then to the main controller with the ally heatsink on it.Some of the other videos are showing smaller models without battery. In those there is no grey jiffy box and the main power wire goes straight to the controller.So it looks like that thing in the grey box is an MPPT/charge-controller.

author: DavidK10
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 19, 2025, 09:23:25 am
content: Wow, 115 litre, that's a beast!Mine is just 55, so it was easy to disassemble at an angle, but it arrived upside-down anyway, so I had to wait 12 hours before I tried it at first.Yes, you are right, mine doesn't have this controller board and the schematic says that's optional. But based on the video you shared I managed to find a replacement PCB which could still help me.

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2025, 11:08:14 am
content: Nice find on the power management board. Are you Aus or Hungary? The schematic has an AUS address on it.I found the monster 115L fridge would just squeeze in the back of the Yaris. It is a little bit too small for a full Costco trip but is still great to be able to buy frozen stuff without fear of it defrosting on the long drive home.

author: DavidK10
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 19, 2025, 07:05:44 pm
content: I am Hungary, and it came via Germany, so if it was really first imported to Aus from China then it traveled a lot before it got here.That's smart! I only plan to use it for road trips, but we'll see when I feel the need for a bigger one...I'm going to buy one of these boards and a new control unit with a bluetooth chip, to see if I can do the upgrade.