[Swansea Hackspace] New Project - Powerpack for a laptop

[Emyr Morris]

when I posted this on my Facebook... I gave it this title

"Peli case prevents air disaster"

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-08/undeclared-batteries-sparked-plane-fire-at-melbourne-airport3a/5728574

The only time I have had a LiPo explode on me was on one of those small RC
helicopters

Got to be careful handling NiCd (not that common nowadays), Cadmium is
nasty, and it can cause Brittle Bone Disease amongst others - Cadmium was
used against our boys in Iraq War #1 :-(



On 12 September 2014 13:38, Richard Morgan <richard.morgan at avocation.co.uk>
wrote:

> 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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>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Kind regards,
>
> Richard
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Hackspace at swansea.hackspace.org.uk
> http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace
>
>


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