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

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

#51

Post by gruez »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #37
extr wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't unique to Telsa, all vehicles are becoming more difficult to repair as computers and software replace what used to be handled by mechanical systems. I would actually much prefer to drive next to a Tesla knowing that the guy behind the wheel (potentially staring into space as it drives itself) hasn't implemented any "hacks". A similar argument exists for why DIY battery banks are not ideal. It's not inconce…

About the same as I feel about 95% of software running on the internet being copied from StackOverflow. Rather Meh. I would worry if the engineers at Boeing did it, but a bunch of crappy javascript apps running on the web? No. As for the neighbor, I don't live on a zero lot line, so let him burn his house down all he wants.

>About the same as I feel about 95% of software running on the internet being copied from StackOverflow. Rather Meh. I would worry if the engineers at Boeing did it, but a bunch of crappy javascript apps running on the web? No

This is exactly the type of attitude that leads to the proliferation of vulnerabilities on the web.

"It's not like we're using it to fly planes, so who cares if we're not checking every SQL statement for injection vulnerability"

Then the code gets used on some ecommerce site, the site inevitably gets hacked, and customers' PII gets leaked.

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

#53

Post by esturk »

DIY Powerwalls aside, the idea of procuring cells across various "dead" batteries is amazing for the environment. A lot of times, people just throw out the entire battery even though only 1 or 2 cell is dead which shuts off the entire thing. But this is literally the 2nd-R in "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle", which comes before recycle. I know there's a notion that recycle makes everything so much cleaner but there's a reason why its the 3rd-R in the motto.

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

#54

Post by shagie »

heartbreak wrote: post #48
gamad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone licensed by their (US) state as an Engineer, and the only person (in most states) who can legally call himself an Engineer. https://www.nspe.org/resources/licensure

That’s not true for any of the United States. You can’t call yourself a Professional Engineer without being licensed, but anyone can call themselves an engineer. Train engineer, growth engineer, happiness engineer, and software engineer are all perfectly valid titles without a P.E. license.

Try calling yourself an engineer in Texas without proper licensure.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politi...

And the relevant court case:

http://www.soah.texas.gov/pfdsearch/pfds/460/16/460-16-0550-...

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

#55

Post by sumoboy »

heartbreak wrote: post #49
jjeaff wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luckily, home owners' insurance covers stupidity as well as acts of God. So as long as there is no evidence of intentional arson, then insurance would have to pay.

If they can prove you knew it was an increased fire risk, they won’t cover it.

If it's not in the policy "we don't cover homemade lithium projects", your covered. Very few things a home policy won't cover like nuclear war, terrorist acts for example. If your operating as a home business building these then that could be an issue, otherwise you can be an idiot and build whatever you want and your covered.

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

#56

Post by giannidunk »

kwiens wrote: post #52

The original story is far better researched and more technical. Can we change the link to that instead of this repost? https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kzz7zm/diy-powerw...

You're right, this is way better!

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

#57

Post by chris11 »

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 looking for flashes from electrical arcs. It also involved going out at night with night vision goggles to check for arcing on the antenna. If we saw anything we knew what needed to be fixed. Safety was important there, but I developed a healthy respect for electricity. After working there I'm a little freaked out about the idea of dealing with high voltage systems.

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

#58

Post by castratikron »

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.
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