Ambient video, making a very useful power pack
Added 2022-10-06 05:18:51 +0000 UTCSince I'd already shown how rechargeable lithium cells can be reclaimed from discarded disposable vapes, I thought it would be a good idea to show the process of making up a little power pack from them.
It's pretty neat. It charges from a USB lead or solar panel and with a full charge can run a string of LEDs or a work light for a time determined by the choice of current limiting resistor.
In this case the lights will run for well over a day as the current will reduce slowly as the cell voltage drops while discharging.
Maybe this system could find use during the current man-made energy crisis or for those who have lost power during storms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7XB6D7q92g
Comments
The smell does abate with time, but it's extraordinarily potent. like air freshener, which can't be good for vapers to breath on a regular basis. I had a slight incident with a cell that had both terminals brought up to one end. I wouldn't suggest being too harsh on the cells while cleaning them.
Big Clive
2022-10-22 16:18:34 +0000 UTCThat's great Clive, it's beginning to feel like Christmas is en route.. Thanks to your channel, I now have about 30 of these batteries from cylinders I got from a friend. Boy are they stinky - a jam-jar with IPA and a tooth-brush doesn't get rid of the smell completely. I've saved the aluminium cylinders too - nice enclosures for projects for which I have batteries that fit. Or, could make a tiny 3.7V power bank by cramming 2 cells into one cylinder.. so many options.. Btw, I did find one had +ve on the black taped end...
Gordo
2022-10-22 15:12:12 +0000 UTCThanks Big Clive. I didn't know that.
Dave Frederick
2022-10-17 23:48:37 +0000 UTCIf they're in parallel they self balance. It's only when you have cells in series that balancing becomes more complex. As long as the voltages are very close when joined together they will equalise and behave as a single larger cell.
Big Clive
2022-10-17 06:23:59 +0000 UTCNext a daylight switch to turn it off while sensing a charge? This is totally cool. Thanks Big Clive. I've wound up accumulating about a dozen of these little cells. I was thinking I would put a little charge protection strip on each of the cells for balancing but maybe that's not necessary.
Dave Frederick
2022-10-17 05:29:30 +0000 UTCThe game controllers will be expecting between 2.4 and 3V, so it depends on the circuitry whether they will be able to handle the 4.2V of a fully charged lithium cell.
Big Clive
2022-10-09 19:34:02 +0000 UTCHey Clive I have a few Game controllers which use NiMH cells in pairs (2.4v) I wonder how easy it would be to use a Lithium cell to emulate these?
Jon (0ryn) Westgate
2022-10-09 12:47:03 +0000 UTCYou can share the link now if you wish.
Big Clive
2022-10-08 18:29:28 +0000 UTCThis is a quite excellent show-n-tell video, and just the sort of thing that keeps me as a Patreon supporter. When its "live" to the public I'll try to remember to tweet a link to it because "gutter grenades" have been mentioned by several maker folk I follow recently.
Jon Knight
2022-10-08 15:58:04 +0000 UTCThanks for the reply, BigClive!
Curtis Hoffmann
2022-10-07 15:16:28 +0000 UTCThat was a fun thing, but there was absolutely no charge balancing, and it would be difficult to properly detect when one of the cells had reached an upper voltage level. Photonic was relying on luck when he charged the pack.
Big Clive
2022-10-07 13:16:09 +0000 UTCThe Joule Thief is only suitable for a voltage lower than the LED voltage or the current will pass straight from the cell through the LED.
Big Clive
2022-10-07 13:14:39 +0000 UTCThey could definitely use a less volatile system like LiFePO4 cells, even if it did require more area for the same energy storage. (But LiFePO4 offers better capacity retention and cycles.) The problem with some of the other technologies mentioned is that they have no long term proven reliability. It would be a huge cost to build a large array of a new technology to find out that you were the guinea pig paying to solve all the teething problems. But quite frankly, a real government would be funding that sort of trial. At this point in time lithium technology is proven and fires are rare. Some prominent ones may have been down to bad installation and bypassed safety systems. The increasing cost of lithium is probably down to "investors" gambling with it. Once again, a real government would not allow gambling with things crucial to society.
Big Clive
2022-10-07 13:12:38 +0000 UTCThanks!
Curtis Hoffmann
2022-10-06 14:44:16 +0000 UTCHave you ever fancied making a 240V lithium cube with a 3-pin plug like Photonic did a few years ago?
Matt Tester
2022-10-06 12:42:38 +0000 UTCAlthough I try and use rechargeable cells, I do have to use a few non-rechargeable and the wider family tend to use non rechargeable a lot. I have only seen the Joule Thief circuit shown with one non-rechargeable cell e.g., an old AA battery. I have always wondered if it works with more than one non-rechargeable cell connected at a time (that all have a very low output voltage) and therefore power something like a string of LED lights?
John Russell
2022-10-06 11:38:15 +0000 UTCThis article is about large scale usage of Li-Ion as buffer batteries for electrical supplies. The large scale exacerbates a lot of problems inherent in lithium batteries, up to the point where it is indeed questionable if it's a good idea. High energy density, flammability issues, thermal runaways, difficulty of extinguishing fires due to the packaging... Small cells and batteries for portable devices or small-scale energy storage don't have these problems at this level, and the high energy density and small packaging makes them well suited for this use. However, they're still problematic. A better technology favoured by Clive are LiFePo4 cells, which are a very safe technology. However, they have less energy density, are more difficult to get, and are pretty dear compared to Li-Ion (among other issues).
horrovac
2022-10-06 07:43:44 +0000 UTCIsn't that "dirty" tech?
Curtis Hoffmann
2022-10-06 06:26:07 +0000 UTCBig Clive - quick "ethical" question about lithium cells. There's an opinion piece in the latest Japan Times newspaper (in English) about how "bad" lithium is. Comments? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2022/10/05/commentary/lithium-battery-problems/
Curtis Hoffmann
2022-10-06 06:25:37 +0000 UTCWe could wire all the politicians in series and save even more power.
Big Clive
2022-10-06 05:41:23 +0000 UTCI was thinking that we could turn down the voltage in the electric chair to save energy. We'd have to cook them for longer but that's a reasonable tradeoff in this crisis I think.
Immit81
2022-10-06 05:28:32 +0000 UTC
