DIY Powerwall Builders Are Using Recycled Laptop Batteries to Power Their Homes

Post by susi22 » Sun, Aug 27, 2017, 5:29 AM UTC

robbles wrote: post #62

castratikron wrote: post #58

I take old laptop batteries apart and use the cells for USB power banks. You can buy cases off of eBay for a couple bucks that hold two cells and have USB connectors and a charge controller built in. It's no Powerwall, but they're still very useful. I power my bike light with them.

Would you mind posting a link to the specific case you use?

Post by susi22 » Sun, Aug 27, 2017, 5:35 AM UTC

ficklepickle wrote: post #3

This sounds like it could be rather dangerous, no? Connecting up a bunch of old lithium cells of unknown origin and using them hard. I'd also worry about an insurance claim being denied if it burned my house down. However, I very much approve of the DIY ingenuity and repurposing of old stuff.

Post by Aron » Sun, Aug 27, 2017, 5:44 AM UTC

noddy1 wrote: post #70

Question.. All my device lithium batteries seem to lose ~70% of their ability to hold charge after 500-1000 cycles, however the tesla car batteries/powerwall claim to give a decade+ of use despite being built of the same cells. How does that work?

Post by throwaway613834 » Sun, Aug 27, 2017, 6:19 AM UTC

Zak wrote: post #45

userbinator wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But there is a big difference between someone specifically buying them for use in a high-discharge device like a flashlight or vaporizer versus picking up a pack at Walmart next to the AA/AAA You can find 18650s for sale on walmart.com . I'm not sure if the physical stores carry them, because there aren't any where I live, but I know that in Shenzhen/HK and other parts of Asia you can easily find 18650s for sale amon…

> I'm not sure if the physical stores carry them Flashlight geek here. Several people on flashlight forums have reported finding the Westinghouse branded 18650s in physical Walmart stores. They have a low capacity - 2000 mAh, compared to 3000-3500 for the latest cells from Sony/LG/Samsung/Sanyo/Panasonic. They also use a cell of unknown manufacture, so I can't be sure of the quality. Specialty battery stores, higher-…

Post by digi_owl » Sun, Aug 27, 2017, 6:41 AM UTC

chris11 wrote: post #57

seabird wrote: post #46

I appreciate the engineering and time people are putting into these projects. I absolutely hate the way this article is portraying these people's work. These are not "consumers who can't afford commercially produced powerwalls." These are people who could probably work professionally in the field if they're not already. These projects are not "a little research, invested time, and a little ingenuity," they are the cu…

I really agree with you. The idea of a homebuilt powerwall sounds really cool. But it's not something I would come close to working with. Awhile ago I did a some volunteer work at a radio station. One of my tasks was to check for arcing. That involved going into the transformer room, disabling the safety systems, unracking some of the electrical components, powering the system on, turning off the lights and then look…