[Swansea Hackspace] New Project - Powerpack for a laptop

[Richard Morgan]

Thanks ALL - these comments are great.

Ceri scared the life out of me (*smile*) and Emyr and Ioan's comments lead
me to believe that the project is worth a punt!

Will look forward to putting this thing together and should have lots of
opportunity to put it to use too - see you all tonight - might need to
check if encasing batteries in the magical SUGRU can make it flame-proof!
*grin*


.... and Ioan I will definitely be there tonight so looking forward to
chatting through this project.



On 12 September 2014 12:58, ioan hill <shrug123 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> My name is Ioan Hill, I came to the opening evening for the first time on
> Monday. I subscribed to the mailing list and have been following some of
> the things going on.
>
>  I might be of use with this project. I have researched a lot into 18650
> cells, and have recently been dismantling 'dead' laptop batteries bought
> cheaply off ebay. I now have around two hundred 18650 cells, and from the
> ones I have tested so far, I'm guessing half of them will be in a good
> condition. I would be happy to supply some cells for this project. Each
> cell weighs about 45 grams, so that's something to work with when
> considering the weight of this pack. I also have lots of the circuit boards
> from inside the laptop batteries. These have things like thermistors,
> charging circuit and chips etc, which you can have.
>
> If you want to buy cells, I would not recommend the '4000mAh' ultrafire
> cells. There's no chance they're 4 Ah, much more like half that, 2Ah or
> less. They are cheap, but low quality and there are many fakes on the
> market. If you are looking for performance, the best cells are "Panasonic
> NCR 18650B", They have a capacity of around 3,300mAh (3.2 to 3.4Ah). There
> is no higher capacity cell commercially available. They are actually the
> closest you can buy to the cells used in the Tesla Model S. They are more
> expensive though, around £5 per cell.
>
> So if you want performance, go for NCR18650B, AT £5 per cell and 3.3Ah
>
> If you want value, I can supply second hand (but still perfectly good!)
> 2Ah cells for £1-2 each (cheaper than online+tested).
>
> Also I'd be glad to help in other ways with the design of the pack. For
> example I suggest making the cells inside easily replaceable so when an
> individual cell inevitably fails, the whole pack is not lost!
>
> Good luck with your project Richard. Perhaps I will see you at the sugru
> event tonight!
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Ioan
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 08:59:13 +0100
> From: ceri.clatworthy at gmail.com
> To: hackspace at swansea.hackspace.org.uk
> Subject: Re: [Swansea Hackspace] New Project - Powerpack for a laptop
>
>
> Big ask to charge laptop
> my phone If I remember 450 mA
> tablets about 1 to 1.5 Amp
>
> Laptop could be 3 - 4 Amps
>
> as for a battery, then a some 18650 type batteries ?? 40000 mA/H  (4 A/H)
>  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> >>>
> http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-UltraFire-18650-4000mAh-3_7V-High-Quanlity-Rechargeable-Battery-p-87803.html
>
> although some *serious *power path management will be required,
>
> and a good level of safety - electrical, mechanical will be needed,
>
> because in the wrong hands, it's an incendiary device !!
>
> Ceri
>
> On Fri, Sep 12, 2014 at 7:50 AM, Richard Morgan <
> richard.morgan at avocation.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I'm looking to 'make' a battery pack that I can use for travelling and
> charging up my kit (iPhone, iPad, Mi-Fi and laptop) - laptop is a priority.
>
> This is the kind of thing
> http://www.mophie.com/shop/mophie-juice-pack-powerstation-duo-smart-phones-tablets but
> it won't power a laptop.
>
> Need it to:
> - Fit in the backpack (i.e. not too big and heavy)
> - Fast charging for the stuff I charge off of it via USB
> - Indicator to show how much power is left
> - Able to charge a laptop (ideally able to provide power to the laptop)
>
> Has anyone come across a project page that talks of doing something
> similar?
>
> --
> Kind regards,
>
> Richard
>
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-- 
Kind regards,

Richard
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