Cheap power pack with free lithium cells (USB or solar charging)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2022
- I've featured the availability of free rechargeable lithium cells from disposable devices often found lying in the street, so I thought I'd show the use of a multiple of those cells to make a power pack that can be used to power lighting or other small loads. It can be charged from a USB charger or a small 5/6V solar panel.
The module is a TP4056 lithium charger with extra cell protection. It lets you plug a USB lead straight into the pack to charge it. Very common on eBay and cheap when bought in multiples of 5 or 10pcs. It is intended for standard rechargeable lithium cells often described as being 3.7V cells - which is the mid charge voltage. The full charge voltage is 4.2V and fully discharged is around 2.5 to 3V.
When lithium cells are connected in parallel they behave as a single cell. It's important to make sure the cell voltages are very close before connecting them as otherwise high current can flow between them as they attempt to match voltages. Even a 0.1V difference can cause quite high current to flow.
The safest way to work on lithium cells is when they are almost fully discharged to around 3V or less. That way, any accidental short circuits will have low energy. Keep in mind that these are energy storage devices, and that the disposable devices for fog inhalation have quite high current cells. They are very popular with model drone enthusiasts as a source of cheap expendable cells.
Always take extra care to avoid short circuiting the cells. Cap the wires with tape when needed.
It's always useful to have a metal dish on hand in case of little incidents.
Pouch cells lack the external armour of cased cells, and should be protected against damage or shorting.
In this video I used the module to power a string of LED lights with a suitable resistor in series with them (33 ohm) to limit the current. They will run for over a day on a charge, gradually reducing in brightness until the protection kicks in and they turn off. You could also use the pack to power a small work light or other 3-4V load.
The pack can be charged while it's running LEDs, so it can act as a decorative emergency light that stays on during a power blackout.
Another approach to this might be to use the original metal tubes to hold two paralleled cells with a suitable connector to the charging module, so one module could be used with multiple power packs.
This power pack is ready for solar charging from a 5V solar panel or a 6V one with diode in series. The cells will be charged with whatever current is available from the panel, capped to the maximum current set by the modules programming resistor. Too high a charge voltage will result in extra heat from the charge chip and it may self regulate the current lower.
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/ bigclive
#ElectronicsCreators - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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Finally got around to making a power bank using these "disposable" cells. 100Wh with 69 cells in parallel and an IP5328P board. Surprised to find it actually works perfectly so far. Videos like this made me aware these batteries could be repurposed in the first place.
Are you balance charging the cells? Are you not worried about overcharging a cell and having a fire risk?
Lol i love it!
To make sure that multiple cells are at the same voltage before connecting them together, you can just connect them together via a current limiting resistor between them (a couple hundred ohms is plenty) and leave them for a while so that they balance themselves. Then once they're stabilized, you remove the resistor and just connect them directly together instead.
But this won't tell you if both cells will charge and discharge equally.
One of them could have way less capacity because it already degraded a lot more compared to the other cell which could be a major problem.
The best way would be to discharge and charge every cell individually to see if they both similar in their performance
Only then it is safe to wire them together.
@@JT_6233 If you're talking about wiring in series, absolutely. A half decent BMS will make up for a certain amount of imbalance, and people shouldn't build a pack without one.
However, if you wire the cells in parallel then it won't matter. The low capacity cell will balance with the higher capacity cell as they charge and discharge.
A BMS is still advisable, for overcharge protection, overdischarge protection and current limiting. But in parallel, the cells will balance naturally.
Love it when the Explosion Containment Pie-Dish. (with the period for the extra bit of formality) makes an appearance. No usage this time, though it sounds like it may have come in handy before filming...
I'm still trying to determine if the fact that the "pie dish" is actually a cake pan is intentional or not.
@@brianargo4595 it should be safe, but you know, the internet an all 😂
Some places people refer to cakes as pies, and pies are tarts. Thats the usage my grandfather used. @@wbfaulk
Collecting these cells has become a small hobby for me. I regularly see them discarded.
I've seen two types of cells so far, the 550mAh like the ones in the video and 1500mAh cells in the larger square tubes.
A couple tips:
* Make sure the USB port is actually soldered to the pads at the plug edge, I've had some that are only soldered at the back data/power lines and snap off
* Cut the tubing a bit long at both ends and cut a slight semicircle so it can go over the plug-end (align the semicircle cut with the plug) of the board but not obstruct the plug. This also helps keep it sliding back off the assembly if it loosens up any since it'll "wrap" the front edges. I had one pull apart when I unplugged the cable, that was not fun.
* Wrap the entire thing batteries and all with a snug fitting heat shrink, as an extra layer of protection. Doesn't need to be as long, and doesn't need to be fully shrunk tight - just enough to not fall off.
Thanks Clive, you answered my doubts about putting cells in parallel with 1 tp4056. Thank you. I did use a tp4056 with a solar cell in the way you said, with good success.. 👍
I recently got 10x usb-c tp4056 and have many (used) small elfbars that have a 500mah battery, was worried about putting them in parallel as well, this reassured me and will start making some things.
Do you think it's safe to put more than 2 in parallel?
@@NicolaFloris I think you'd better make sure they are at similar health, because some of them degrade quicker than the others.
@@NicolaFloris You can parallel as many as you like, people tend not to go beyond 3 or 4. As Janus said test them and match capacity, otherwise a weak cell will discharge the other and lower the pack capacity. Also the amps the pack can put out will go up, so beware of shorts. This also applies when making the pack, you could have high current between the cell until the voltage levels out.
I doubled the mAh of my drone battery box by adding another identical cell in parallel with the original charge controller. I thought that by using cells in parallel I've change the mAh not the voltage so it'll just take twice as long to charge.
I balanced the cells to within 0.1V and wired them in what I've seen as "perfectly balanced parallel" and not the normally shown ladder type parallel otherwise I've read that the cells closest to the power supply charge / discharge faster.
I love this USB TP4056 modules,
1. programmable Resistor R3 for charging current limit,
2. Li-Poly and Li-Ion protection from over voltage, over current and too low accumulator / battery discharge protection too !
I do use them almost in all of my project, so far 60+ units used and no failure yet,
Have a nice day mate !
🔋
Nice little recycle job that Clive. To add to your already excellent process, I tend to add a small switch to the battery live leg to allow long term storage since the board does have a standby current. Also, I usually paint the charge board with either polyurethane or silicone conformal coating since I've a bunch of these outdoors.
Instead of a switch, fit the same type of connector used on commercial battery packs. Not only can it be safely unplugged for storage, it provides consistent long term replacement options even if people stop throwing them in the street.
@@johndododoe1411 JST connectors can be found typically on small hobby use LiPo batteries. That might be a better connector if you have them laying around, but I agree that a switch would be handy for long term use.
@@agoodballet JST connectors are designed for a limited number of cycles. They're also horribly difficult to plug and unplug, especially the knockoffs.
Some years back, I posted a link to a nice little PCB mount slide switch over on the Ladyada wiki. You could get it with silver contacts rated for somewhere in the 5-10A range for maybe a few bucks at the time.
To balance the cells, one could just use a small resistor, say 10-47Ω. That would limit the current to a few hundred mA in the worst case.
That would work.
The resistor should be there constantly on the connection between the cells, or only while I let them self-balance before connecting everything and then replace it with a single wire?
@@Flashy7 Only for balancing. In use (when charging or discharging the pack) the resistor would have the opposite effect (bringing the cells out of balance).
@@Flashy7 Only to balance them. You'd lose too much power to leave it there permanently.
Ah, crap, I just posted the same comment and then realized you'd already said it.. oh well.
10 ohms might be a bit small for smaller battery packs if there's a significant voltage difference between them. I would personally go with at least 100 ohms or so just in case (but I'm also usually not in any hurry to balance them as fast as possible either)
Like some of the other contributors, I have a fair collection of these cells which I've 'harvested' from discarded devices. Note that some of said 'devices' have a charging socket; either micro USB or the newer oval socket. Obviously I've kept those too as they make very convenient (and free!) charging boards and of course cut the charging at 4.18V - win win!
"Make sure to leave a little space so the chip that gets hot can get some airflow"......continues to put the chip on the tape so it gets NO airflow...lol... clive is my spirit animal. Love you my guy, keeping it real.
If your going to charge the battery with solar I recommend adding a circuit that turns on the led string at dusk and keeps it off during dawn. Such a circuit consists of a a voltage divider (with one of the resistors being an LDR) being feed into a transistor. the transistor would be used to power the LED. If your using an NPN then there would be a resistor that pulls the transistor up to VCC and the LDR pulling it down to GND. Flip the voltage divider around for an PNP.
Can you connect the solar panel directly to the 5V input?
@@wonderwise5493 Solar Modules have different voltage levels at different light conditions while at the same time, they further drop in Voltage when "sucking" energy out of them. When you use a 5V Panel, you need to operate it at optimal conditions, cloud free, panel directly pointed at sun. 6V would work a bit more tollerant and the TP4056 will probably (please test first, im just making hopefully a good guesses) be okay receiving 6V from the panel without load.
However, for more stable charging I would recommend at least using a buck converter to drop a higher rated solar panel (12 V, up to 30V, depending on module) to the ~4.7V to ~5.3V of the TP module.
Best solution would be using a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker), these circuits are monitoring Voltage and current and when they reach maximum power they will try to stay on that level. They come in with built in buck or boost convertes but are relatively expensive.
Also there are many other things you may consider. Like using amorphous (thin film) solar cells for indoors (hard to get, though), monocrystalline cells for outdoors (they have low efficiency on low light levels) and polycrystalline cells for beeing cheap but basicly the same as monocrystalline cells, also their power density is lower due to the fact each cell is a cut strip and some are so badly arranged that the cells overlap or have big gaps.
@@celinematerzok6421 thank you for explanation. I've seen in datasheet that input voltage range is 4V to 8V. So I guess I can connect the solar pannel directly to the module.
I love these types of videos - making power modules for fairy lights. Thanks for explaining why and how to balance the cells. Another video explaining how to use multiple 18650 batteries would be appreciated. Again, thanks!
This is totally cool. Thanks Big Clive. I bought five of these charging circuits for super cheap and am planning to regulate one or two of them down like you mentioned for smaller capacity cells.
I have a ton of the tiny ones my mom gave me that I have been looking to use with a project like this on...thanks Clive :)
I've used those same little connectors for nearly 40 years now and for a long time never knew what they were called except that they are some kind of Molex connector. I finally found out they are Molex KK 254 series. I've been looking out for discarded devices ever since you first mentioned them and finally found one the other day so need to think of something to do with the cell in it.
Also called KF2510 on eBay.
Open the thing you found.. Outside.. use snips to gain the battery...
The end pieces and tube can be of use...
Use long nose pliers to put smelly bit in bin...
Don't handle smelly bit with fingers..
It does make bin smell better...
I use that module to turn my non-rechargeable devices into rechargeable devices. They work well. Good videos BC !
I love those TP4056 modules. Amazing value, and will charge particularly discharged cells with under a tenth of an amp depending on cell voltage. Very useful. If a cell gets warm during charging with this particular product, it's likely the cell has developed 'higher than ideal' internal resistance. The cell is no longer safe. Re-cycle that sucker.
I also keep a little metal pot with a lid next to my bench. Got an inch of sand in the bottom. It's where batteries/projects go if they get 'irritated,' and start to throw a tantrum. Which smells bad and is almost certainly going to make you grow a third nostril. Take the pot outside and let stuff cool down before you peek.
Thank you for the videos, Clive. I've learned so much from you and the other usual suspects on TH-cam.
I also found TP4056 modules with buck/boost output regulators. Thanks Clive for pointing out these handy modules.
I have been using the original product and was suprised by the battery in them considering they are sold as disposable. I have saved a bunch of them in case i could recharge them and use them for different projects. TH-cam recommended your channel today and i am really happy because now i have some good knowledge about them. Thank you.
Ever since you made that video a while back about reclaiming batteries from these discarded in the street I've been on the lookout for them and I've actually found quite a few of them even though I don't live in the city.
Even found a pile of 4 of them a couple of days ago!
This is exactly what I've been looking for. I've collected loads of these cells for a project and wasn't 100% sure how to charge them safely. Thanks for sharing!
I love the yellow tape, it reminds me when, as children, we would play for hours with the yellow cellophane you got with Lucozade bottles !!😉
This is such a great tutorial. Since I first watched your first video about salvaging the lithium cells in question, I’ve had a friend who regular buys and uses said devices and has been donating them to one once the intended use has dried up. I now have quite the collection and have recently purchased a bulk of TP4056 charging boards and solar cells. Excited to start tinkering.
Same mate. Got a couple mates at work who use these things and my wife has been getting caught short with a dodgy smoker so she'll grab them from time to time. I've got a pile of them just waiting to have the cells reclaimed. I'm thinking a nice power bank for a cyberdeck, of sorts. Just need to research coding and sensors. Want to make something that I can use out and about at work.
Excellent video Clive. I'm always on the lookout for these discarded devices now, and I've got a nice collection of salvaged cells sitting in one of your 3D printed battery holders. I also got a bag of the charge boards so I'll make up a couple of these I think!
This and a few other of your videos inspired me to get on ebay and buy a few bits to make my own light project. With batteries harvested from some dead smog pens, an empty vodka bottle and a 3D printer.
Thanks for the inspiration Clive.
I just got a YIHUA solder station a few weeks ago. My old tool for heat shrinking stopped working. As soon as I saw the name YIHUA I thought of you and ordered it. Thanks much!
Hi Clive, I'm not sure if you have tried but with the 13400 cell you can use them if you add a bit of kaptan tape for safety, they can be used in a aaa battery holder. Thought I'd mention it. 👍
I appreciate your wonderful description of those long cylindrical things. Unfortunately the disposable cylinders don't seem to be as popular here in Texas, or perhaps I just don't frequent the proper roadsides. And it's easier to order those boards from the "big river" here. I now have a small panel of them, all like the one in your picture.
Also, I like to use those Danish cookie tins for battery containment.
Lovely stuff. I've seen plenty of these disposable devices lying around, so if I remember next time, I'll start harvesting them for the lithium cells. You never know when you may need to power something via a lithium cell.
my friend has had a genious way of saying the word that must not be said. instead of the V word, he will say "Gandalf's magic"
Great project!
A fantastic tip to use a silicone sleeve with the helping hands. Coincidentally, I just received some silicone tubing I bought from Ali Express. I'll have to remember to try this with my helping hands next time I'm soldering.
That silicon sleeve idea for the helping hands croc clips is genius! I was soldering some tiny little boards (running two cells in parallel instead of just one in my drone's battery holder) and trying to hold them without a short was difficult! I wrapped a bit of insulation tape around ot in the end.
But this is just there all the time. Brilliant!
There's a way of wiring in parallel I've always called "perfectly balanced parallel" that involves keeping all wires the same length and going the opposite way for + & -.
Couldn't post a link so try this, Google "QUESTION TO 12V GURU - CAN I CONNECT LITHIUM BATTERIES IN PARALLEL?" go there & scroll down. There are diagrams of the two types of parallel wiring. Balanced & unbalanced.
If you want to look keep all your cells at the same voltage, use the second, balanced diagram.
Thanks
As a person who has taken part in the "blowing of fog" for 11yrs, made said "fog machines" & has an abundance of 18650s & 21700s & an avid love of Father Clives Christmas projects...
Thank you..
I did stick a solar panel onboard, used an 18650 in a cradle..
Works & charges like a dream 👍 here's to a very sunny winter 😎
That's a clever recycling method, Clive. It's something I enjoy doing; practical and a lot of fun. My best wishes and thanks. 🌻
Great Video Clive, Nice Tutorial! I did something similar with the USB-C version of that board a few weeks back.
I bought an old miners lamp from eBay which used to use a lead-acid battery. I upgraded it to run on 3x18650 cells, but had to also use a boost converter to up the voltage to 6v as I kept the original bulbs for an authentic look. After the upgrades, we go and test it in an abandoned lead mine in Cumbria, along with various Milwaukee LED lights that I previously repaired.
If you get the chance, you might find the video quite interesting!
I think, obviously check yours, that some miners' lights I've seen use a single 2 volt lead acid cell. No reason for them no to, so saves expense and makes them more reliable for use with an old torch bulb. Which yeah, they do have a certain charm, I'll miss them when they're gone, though not enough to actually keep some anywhere. Same with the old light bulbs.
I have a box full of these batteries, been saving them from my and my brothers disposables. thanks for this great suggestion and I'll be making a few of these
This inspired me to finish pulling apart one I found near a bus stop. It looked very fancy though. Case was some black custom aluminium extrusion that needed a good squish in a vice to release its contents. Unremarkably enough apart from a very large juice container everything else was the same as this one. The cell still had 3.8V in it. What put me off initially was the three terminal sensor and now I know what its for. Pity I cannot think of a use for it.
@BreatheScotland I have one of those myself. You can easily swap the 18650 cell, there's a USB cable that screws onto the cell for recharging. The juice tank is much the same, you unscrew it from the unit to refill it it or to swap it for a full one.
I think the reason the LiPo cells are used in the disposables is because of their lower internal resistance. When you want to take a puff the heater has to get hot very quickly to vaporise the juice.
I really enjoy your content
I did this a while back. I have access to many of these devices Most of the larger disposable devices already have a charging board in them and also a larger battery. I remove the "product" wick and heating element board to make room for the 2nd battery from a second device although not really needed. The mouthpiece becomes the opening for the wires and there is a lanyard loop which I drill out to add a micro switch. All nicely fit inside the aluminum housing. The twin large batteries (1500mAh each) last for days.
Device used : AirBae Box 5K 5000
I like to keep a few rolls of different size "marine" heat shrink with the extra adhesive inside, really does help with strain relief and waterproofing. I think it's basically just lined with regular hot melt glue. Don't put it on stuff you ever want unstuck!
If you want it unstuck, just use some isopropyl alcohol and the glue will release, great way of removing hot glue that's been schmooed everywhere... :)
? Who sells the magic marine grade heat shrink (to hobbyists).
@@oldbutstillcurious3615 Amazon...ebay...anywhere that sells heat shrink really...
@@oldbutstillcurious3615 harbor freight
@@oldbutstillcurious3615 they're often easy to spot since most are either translucent colors or clear with color band for gauge. Some I've seen also crimp in addition adding extra strain relief reinforcement. Just note, any of these styles are *_far less_** flexible* then your standard heat shrink!
I think we need a video demonstrating the correct use and usefulness of the explosion containment pie dish. After all, if you don't practice, you won't know what to do in an emergency.
Those TP4056 charge controllers are a Godsend for tinkerers. I have an absolute s**tpile of them I've amassed over the years. Mostly because, as you said, the cost per unit gets quite teeny if you buy in some degree of bulk. Though I've now migrated to using only the USB-C kind, only because I find it to be the least irritating of the types. The only thing that can be a pain is trying to change out the programming resistor for the charge rate. The latest batch I got have the uber-tiny 0201 resistors. You know, the ones that if a flea farts anywhere within 30 feet of them, they go flying across the room. Yeah, those ones. I don't typically fiddle around with cells small enough to really require a change in charge rate, but on those occasions I do, it's not a lot of fun farting around with that thing.
So now i know flea farts are a powerful force.
@@assassinlexx1993 To an 0201 packaged resistor? May as well be a full-blown hurricane. Either one will fling it as far as the other.
@@just_saw_dust No, you're very right. That's what I typically do as well. But occasionally I'll get stupid and try to replace it correctly. Doesn't always end well when I do. But boy, does it make you all warm and fuzzy when you do get it right. Also makes fiddling with any other size component feel like kids play. Lol.
You can fit different sizes of SMD resistors or even through hole ones by being a bit creative with the positioning and eventually scratching a new pad on the negative (-) trace that runs on that side
Exactly, pretty much snap em off and replace with 0805/1206 :) Its nice being able to get those charging boards so cheap now, sure beats taking a chance with a LM317!
I love these modules and they are very flexible in terms of size, in that I mean if you are really constrained by the space you want to put one of these (for example if converting a small gadget to rechargeable) there is quite a lot that can be snipped out from each end (might need to fix the + connection on the usb side if you snip a bit too much but it's super easy) and then you can use a standalone breakout usb connector to power it.
One thing I'd avoid if you can help it is to put them in close contact with the battery, the chip when charging at the full 1A gets quite toasty
You are just the comfortable level of kempt for me as usual, Clive.
Thank you. I am also harvesting these lithium cells and i also thought that i found one driven over by a car, but i found out it was not the case. The battery is just manufactured flat, it's labeled 851542. On the web i found that this battery has 3 protections, overcharge, discharge and over current. Awsome! But, the only thing missing is charging. I still have to use a tp4056.
Totally cool idea. Recommend changing the current resistor as the TP4056 gets really hot and the batteries might have lost some capacity.
Just wanted to say thanks for this video! I managed to follow your instructions and get a set of fairy lights up and running. Used a battery from a vape as well.
Thanks Clive, you inspired me to convert my kitchen scales from AAA to lithium with a TP4056. I added a buck boost converter to get constant 3.3V
Keep in mind that the switching regulators can make the scales inaccurate
@@nyetloki that’s something I hadn’t considered. I haven’t noticed any change in accuracy though so I’ll assume I’ve got away with it
Nice, simple, fun and really elegantly made for a quick and dirty project it is. I like it.
Nice recycling idea! I also use the TP4056 boards for so power my Arduino (LoRa, BME280 sensor, ..) projects with solar cells. Since Li-Ion batteries are pretty expensive, I will think about that solution.
Thanks for the heads up about the voltage difference, I was going to make a big 100 cell power bank.
We're all going to need these when the lights go out this winter
Brilliant little video this one. Need to keep my eyes out for more cells
Always impressed what he can do with 2 hands, a soldering iron, and not even use a table.
I'd be setting up vices, helping hands, clamps, and Clive just gives each finger on his hand a separate task...and away he goes.
Oh man, I spoke too soon....the helping hands make an appearance later on! He is human after all.
I was just watching your other videos
Really hoping you would make a follow up.
Thanks Clive you made my day!
I have sooo many of these up to 1350 MaH
I have an 8 cell pack that runs my led lights in the rv for days on end. Charging them though the charger gets hot
Would love to see more of this type of tutorial vid for different applications 👍
Thanks again, Clive!! Thank you, also, for stressing and teaching awareness of safety issues. 🤩😄 (I need to get a metal pan). 😧
I love these projects. I have seen so many discarded v@pe devices on the road,salvaged couple of cells from them and made one tiny torch size of ballpen and one rechargeable reading light.
Yeah, we use pile of these to make powerbanks for our military forces.
Useful.
What a coincidence, just finished re watching the original episode. 😁
The Cells I've collected are labeled 3.7v 650mA, but appear identical to yours. They charge to 4.2v.
I'm using a Zener, Mosfet, Resistor, atm. Waiting for my order from eBay.
Thanks Clive, perfect re purpose project.
;)
I have many of those, it mostly came from disposable vape in a trash can near any vape store. I used those to extend the battery capacity of my cheap wireless headphones that has a lot of empty space inside of it, so it can last for MORE THAN 24 HOURS in a single charge (from only 6 hours with original, very small 120mAh battery)
@@sihamhamda47 120mAh? What is this? A battery for ants?
@@DrakkarCalethiel Battery for very small equipment. I bought some of the $5 cheap wireless headphones, and when I opened it up, the battery was very small, leading to a short playback time (6 hours at minimal volume and only slightly above 2 hours at max volume) and also leaving a lot of empty spaces. That's why I connected some of the collected vape batteries to the internal battery in parallel to boost the battery life
@@sihamhamda47 The fate of cheap rechargeable stuff is always a tiny battery. The cheapo flash I bought years ago (solid housing and super bright too) also only had a tiny battery. It was 90% empty space. Two 18650s later I had a flash that was worth easily tripple the OG price.
@Siham Hamda Zaula M
I would recommend that you use the Battery Management Circuit that Clive has demonstrated here. Also, only use batteries of the same capacity.
Headphones and speakers often use the empty space to get better quality sound.
;)
Very nice Clive - I despise the waste from these 'devices' (name not mentioned), there really should be some very strict enforceable laws against them being manufactured and sold in this disposable and hence wasteful manner.
I've seen flashing blue LED's at the edge of the road whilst I've been cycling home in the dark, and now I know what they are!
Subject to two provisos, you can directly connect a solar panel to a Lithium-Ion cell. The two provisos are:
1. The cell must be protected.
2. The solar panel must not be able to supply more than one-tenth of the C value of the cell it's charging, at a maximum of 6V.
The protection circuit makes sure that the cell voltage is clamped to a safe limit while having a low current available from the solar panel ensures that the solar panel's actual output voltage is "dragged down" by the cell until the cell reaches close to full charge, at which point the protection circuit stops the charging process.
I've had an old mobile phone battery charging from a 6V panel by day and supplying around a dozen LEDs at night for over a year. I've never seen it run out of power, although to be fair, I've never stayed up late (or early) enough to see if it's still on as the sun comes up and turns the lights off (it has an auto-switching circuit).
(The LEDs provide just enough light in my carport so I can see where the keyhole is to open my car door)
I found this channel back in the day from the video talking about how to make your own "fog machine" juice with stuff on amazon
Clive is turning devices that emit flavoured vapour and glow dimly blue into devices that glow brighter in different colours but don't emit vapour (at least if you're using them correctly!) ... 😁
De-vaping them
I do the same thing. Changed all the remotes in the house over haha. Bought a dozen of those charging circuits off ebay for dirt cheap.
Superb upcycling. You can buy sticky inside heat shrink - impossible to rip apart. I've done a "50p Helping Hands" video, by the way.
Great video and project, i have loads of the vape batteries pick up from my local park on my daily walks 👍👍
You pipped me to the post lad! I bin working on this exact idea the last few days if you find any of the elux legend vapes they are encased in a oblong aluminium case great size to fit two of the larger cells in perfectly . Nice bid as ever Clive ☺
Sadly the newer Elux larger ones have added a charging port and skimped on the capacity of the cell. It used to be 1500mAh.
Unfortunately, Lithium rechargeables are not suitable for outdoor use in cold climates, where the temperature can drop bellow freezing.
Most of my projects are used for outdoors and I'm stuck using lead acid or NiMH. 😪
I work in a hotel, and unfortunately, is not that common here (in spain) to find these... luckily, i managed to salvage 2 with still usable lithium cells. The only difference is that i like to use the TP5100, since it's a buck charger, more efficient, but without the DW01A and dual mossfet protection circuit (wich i add from a dead salvaged lithium cell). Also lacks of any connector, but if you want to use them with the solar panel, they allow you to use up to 18v input, so a 6-12v solar panel could be used... It's allways good to see the modifications you make, i already modified all my christmas fairy lights with salvaged lithium cells inspired by your videos (almost a copy-paste), can't recommend it enough.
I would have loved to have seen a video of the flaming batteries you spoke about 😂😂😂
I use this same setup and salvage for powering most of my low-power applications honestly
Exceptionally useful video! I just recently came into fifty 1000mAh lithium batteries... with no charger or ideas. This certainly provides a lead and some food for thought!
@@just_saw_dust Thanks for the tip!
For the time being I ordered some from Canada as I live in the USA. $2 for 5 seemed reasonable as a start, and if the boards work out for me I figure I'll buy the rest of what I need along with some inexpensive solar panels for trickle charging.
@@just_saw_dust I reckon you're lucky with 10-15 days to Europe. Which shipping method do you choose for that?
have put these cells in a 3d printed 18650 sized case with paperclip wire for end connectors, charged by a TP4056 in a print in place 18650 battery holder. Works fine and currently in use on a torch. Currently redesigning the pla plastic case tube to take advantage of the aluminium cases the tossed cells come in.
That's a great idea it could also be used in lots of other applications
Recycle/reuse... well done Clive.
I have a question, the answer is probably common knowledge. Why does this video say its 8 hours old and there are a bunch of 2 week old comments?
Thanks for your videos. Even your descriptions are top notch. I appreciate you sir
I'm curious if the output is cut off when the USB is plugged in. [during charging.] The reason is for a solar panel garden light.
If not maybe do a video hotwiring the board so that it will cut the output during daylight with the solar panel charging???
Flaming batteries. You just have to love the Clive.
Clive, here in the States we don't need a photo id to shop at scrap yards, and I've found a number of things over the years. I e bought generators table saws, a band saw, several working welders, many hand and power tools, and sever batteries for ride on mowers all the way up to automotive types, and sever very nice tyres, and pairs of them. People tend to be very wasteful. While I don't use smoking products, I have found a couple of the units that bear these batteries.
absolutely brilliant clive 😊
I use these modules in a similar application in my yard with solar. They work very well. Be aware that connecting the battery backwards will destroy the module.
Thank you so much for this informative video, love watching all your vids, take care and ill look forward to your next vid! take care and have a great day!
Awesome video, always enjoy seeing the reuse of lithium cells rather than disposal.
Hi Clive.
Regarding using TP4056 as a solar charger: I had some negative experience with it. Because it's a linear regulator, it just wastes a lot of energy. Due to how solar panel work, it's not only quite wasteful, but also makes it very hard for the charger to "start up". Would be nice to see some experimentation here :)
There's also an impulse alternative to TP4056 starting to become popular now, maybe it will work better.
I've also found something REALLY interesting that you might be interested to review. It's a "DYI power bank" where you have to insert around 12 18650 cells... in parallel. By the looks of it, there's absolutely no balancing as well. There are a couple of reviews mentioning fire ;)
I definitely have shorted several of these recently. Thankfully they are only $5 for a 10 pack. I have a collection of these batteries I have saved myself. I rarely see these where I am even outside the shops that sell them. The ones I do spot have already been flattened.
earlier in the year i made a solar powered night light the same way as this. i also used a pnp transistor between B+ and V+ which gave the ability to turn it on and dusk
Always good upcycling lithium
These cells are great but also quite terrifying when something shorts, I had used a rechargeable cell/board to power an RC drone camera. I soldered everything fine, but accidentally shorted it while probing the solder joints. Melted a few wires and had quite a scare! I can't stress enough how great it is to have an explosion tin around! XD
Bought 20 of them boards with USB c on amazon for a tenner thanks for heads up!
Really cool! It's criminal that so many valuable cells are being discarded so irresponsibly!
indeed. lithium is becoming more and more of an economic and political issue every day. all of these should be recycled at least to extract the lithium.
Have amassed a pile of cells over the last wee while just from finding random sticks on the street, and have been putting them into little PIR lamps around the house. Handy for late night walking around the house without turning on all the lights.
Hadn't even thought about doubling up on cells 🤦♂️
Walmart is quite as common as you can think... interesting DIY project, also love the fact you include pics of the said item you have/had in your hand... any more neopixel projects planned? supercomputer style?
Thanks Clive. Those little USB boards are great and very cheap. I get the ones that include a boost converter that can be varied for 4-27v out - great for turning any low current, battery powered device into USB-rechargeable with the addition of an 18650!
Have you every thought of screen casting the zoomed-in photos instead of printing them to save on ink/toner bills?! 😉
I like to sketch on the images. I use a bulk ink system.
Actually you don't need to even pay for the charger boards. I often find these "Devices" with a build in charger board. You only need one of them and you can charge all your free batteries
I used a similar, cheap 1A charging board for 3s NI-MH pack;
Also with heatshrink over it. The problem was that it would get super hot while charging with heatshrink on.
Apparently heashrink is a good thermal isloator.
A mouthpiece on one end, a cloud of fog and they've been in your mouth?
Sounds like a good night out with a ships company of Royal Navy Sailors!
Great content as always BC
As per usual great wee idea big man.
Yes I agree Clive. sadly the majority of smokers just throw their Ash and butts straight out of the car window. Often still lit. The habit hasn't changed much with vapes. Recently I picked up a still burning butt after a guy threw one on the ground from his open top bmw. I tossed it into his car saying " hi mate I think you dropped something". His panic to find it on his carpet took away the risk of him belting me lol.
I love that LED string!