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Ambient video, making a very useful power pack (Patreon)

Published:
2022-10-06 05:18:51
Imported:
2022-10

Content

Since 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

Files

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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. 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. 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. Supporting the channel with a dollar or two on Patreon helps keep it independent of YouTube's quirks, avoids intrusive mid-video adverts, gives early access, bonus footage and regular quiet Patreon live streams. https://www.patreon.com/bigclive #ElectronicsCreators

Comments

Anonymous

I 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.

bigclive
>>93048688

We could wire all the politicians in series and save even more power.

Curtis Hoffmann

Big 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/

horrovac
>>93050333

This 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).

Anonymous

Although 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?

Matt Tester

Have you ever fancied making a 240V lithium cube with a 3-pin plug like Photonic did a few years ago?

bigclive
>>93050333

They 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.

bigclive
>>93058748

The 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.

bigclive
>>93061437

That 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.

Jon Knight

This 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 (0ryn) Westgate

Hey 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?

bigclive
>>93244705

The 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.

Dave Frederick

Next 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.

bigclive
>>93736263

If 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.

Gordo

That'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...

bigclive
>>94088474

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.