<div dir="ltr">Thanks ALL - these comments are great.<div><br></div><div>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!</div><div><br></div><div>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*<br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>.... and Ioan I will definitely be there tonight so looking forward to chatting through this project.<div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 12 September 2014 12:58, ioan hill <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:shrug123@hotmail.com" target="_blank">shrug123@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div><div dir="ltr">Hello everyone,<br><br>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.<br><br> 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.<br><br>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.<br><br>So if you want performance, go for NCR18650B, AT £5 per cell and 3.3Ah<br><br>If you want value, I can supply second hand (but still perfectly good!) 2Ah cells for £1-2 each (cheaper than online+tested).<br><br>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!<br><br>Good luck with your project Richard. Perhaps I will see you at the sugru event tonight!<br><br>Kind regards,<br><br>Ioan<br><br><br><br><div><hr>Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 08:59:13 +0100<br>From: <a href="mailto:ceri.clatworthy@gmail.com" target="_blank">ceri.clatworthy@gmail.com</a><br>To: <a href="mailto:hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk" target="_blank">hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk</a><br>Subject: Re: [Swansea Hackspace] New Project - Powerpack for a laptop<div><div class="h5"><br><br><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">Big ask to charge laptop </div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">my phone If I remember 450 mA</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">tablets about 1 to 1.5 Amp</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">Laptop could be 3 - 4 Amps</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">as for a battery, then a some 18650 type batteries ?? 40000 mA/H (4 A/H) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">>>> <a href="http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-UltraFire-18650-4000mAh-3_7V-High-Quanlity-Rechargeable-Battery-p-87803.html" target="_blank">http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-UltraFire-18650-4000mAh-3_7V-High-Quanlity-Rechargeable-Battery-p-87803.html</a></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">although some <b>serious </b>power path management will be required,</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">and a good level of safety - electrical, mechanical will be needed,</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">because in the wrong hands, it's an incendiary device !!</div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'comic sans ms',sans-serif">Ceri</div></div><div><br><div>On Fri, Sep 12, 2014 at 7:50 AM, Richard Morgan <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:richard.morgan@avocation.co.uk" target="_blank">richard.morgan@avocation.co.uk</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hi All,<div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>This is the kind of thing <a href="http://www.mophie.com/shop/mophie-juice-pack-powerstation-duo-smart-phones-tablets" target="_blank">http://www.mophie.com/shop/mophie-juice-pack-powerstation-duo-smart-phones-tablets</a> but it won't power a laptop.</div><div><br></div><div>Need it to:</div><div>- Fit in the backpack (i.e. not too big and heavy)</div><div>- Fast charging for the stuff I charge off of it via USB</div><div>- Indicator to show how much power is left</div><div>- Able to charge a laptop (ideally able to provide power to the laptop)</div><div><br></div><div>Has anyone come across a project page that talks of doing something similar?<span><font color="#888888"><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Kind regards,<br><br>Richard
</font></span></div></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Hackspace mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk" target="_blank">Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk</a><br>
<a href="http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace" target="_blank">http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br></div>
<br>_______________________________________________
Hackspace mailing list
<a href="mailto:Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk" target="_blank">Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk</a>
<a href="http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace" target="_blank">http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace</a></div></div></div> </div></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Hackspace mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk">Hackspace@swansea.hackspace.org.uk</a><br>
<a href="http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace" target="_blank">http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Kind regards,<br><br>Richard
</div>