Hacking A Laptop Battery

[Chasm]

The thing to mention at this point is that mixing lithium and water is a really bad idea. No problems while the containment is intact, but if not you have a problem.


When it comes to hacking lithium batteries together this video says it all:

[Kiriakos-GR]

When it comes to hacking lithium batteries together this video says it all:

Nop  it does not , lets stick to the subject ....
( He did an silly use of batteries , and he did not build an adjustable output , so to act as an welder,
and so its a massive Fail and waste of parts  )  

[Lance]

I did direct soldering by having  the half battery body sunken in to water .

Even If I did wipe the battery with a cloth , few days after, there was signs of rust.

Even today, I could not tell , if the rust caused by the water , or  , if the heat damaged the shield that protects the battery from leaking . 

That's why I want to keep it in a plastic bag. Unless the container itself leaks no water should get to the cell, and it will still sink heat from the soldering.

[Kiriakos-GR]

The true solution about the CGR 18650A , are to be replaced by the industry ,
with something more safer , like an enlarged Sanyo NiMh ,
the new ones that they hold their charge for long time.  

EDIT  

Lance , because of my experiences from my own adventure ( wasted hours about getting info and parts & labor),
I have to discourage you up to the point to let it go , its best of getting even an Chinese medium quality battery,
than wasting human energy about rebuilding this pack.    
Mostly because the rebuild , it has less than 5% success rate.

[Chasm]

Nop  it does not , lets stick to the subject ....
( He did an silly use of batteries , and he did not build an adjustable output , so to act as an welder,
and so its a massive Fail and waste of parts  )  

The use in the end of the video is stupid, it is actually the battery for a electric bicycle.

[Kiriakos-GR]

The use in the end of the video is stupid, it is actually the battery for a electric bicycle.

I should had guess it because of the 36V output,
but I was negatively charged ,
because of the poor video , and the fact that he does not inform, about what he is doing.  

[Hypernova]

Personally instead of trying to make a new battery pack I would build a portable version of the power brick. In that case you just need to satisfy the voltage and current ratings and you can make the pack as big as you are willing to carry. Get it big enough and you can even take it on camping trips. Not being limited by the case of a particular model also means that you may be able to use the pack for other things.

[GeoffS]

Personally instead of trying to make a new battery pack I would build a portable version of the power brick. In that case you just need to satisfy the voltage and current ratings and you can make the pack as big as you are willing to carry. Get it big enough and you can even take it on camping trips. Not being limited by the case of a particular model also means that you may be able to use the pack for other things.

This sounds like an excellent idea. I'm about to take a trip where I'll need my laptop but will not be near mains power to recharge it.
An external, luggable power source would do the job. Size and weight (within reason) would not be an issue.

[Lance]

I guess that works. Depending on how heavy they are. I would still need to put them together though, which brings us back around to the whole soldering issue.

[Hypernova]

I guess that works. Depending on how heavy they are. I would still need to put them together though, which brings us back around to the whole soldering issue.

If you are worried that much with soldering you might as well get premade packs with all the protection circuits, or use a car battery + DC-DC's.

[Mechatrommer]

I guess that works. Depending on how heavy they are. I would still need to put them together though, which brings us back around to the whole soldering issue.

get a replacement battery. EOS.

[Kiriakos-GR]

The all idea behind the laptop battery , are to work :
1) as mobile source
2) backup power if mains stop for any reason.

And so every laptop must have one working battery in it.

About extending the operation time, with out mains .
You can use freely any electrical source that can offer 18V ( or what ever are the specs of your laptop) ,
connected to the external power jack.

The most paranoid about the " external power jack " are that its very hard to find an male jack at the market.
And if you do , they cost as 5$ or more .
The inner pin size VS the external diameter usually , its far away of regular plugs that cost 0.30$   

[Lance]

Or, I could use the cord that goes from the transformer to the laptop, a male version of that would be easier. To come across.

[sonicj]

external is a whole different ballgame. you have a lot of viable options. whats the voltage & current outputs of the ac/dc converter? what type of connector to the laptop? do you own any battery chargers?
-sj

[Hypernova]

The most paranoid about the " external power jack " are that its very hard to find an male jack at the market.
And if you do , they cost as 5$ or more .
The inner pin size VS the external diameter usually , its far away of regular plugs that cost 0.30$   

That's easy, cut off the existing one the brick (by the time you do this its probably out of warranty anyway) and add common jacks, now you can choose if you want to use the original jack for the brick or your new pack.

[sonicj]

The most paranoid about the " external power jack " are that its very hard to find an male jack at the market.
And if you do , they cost as 5$ or more .
The inner pin size VS the external diameter usually , its far away of regular plugs that cost 0.30$  

That's easy, cut off the existing one the brick (by the time you do this its probably out of warranty anyway) and add common jacks, now you can choose if you want to use the original jack for the brick or your new pack.

agreed! i use anderson power poles for all sorts of dc devices. they are non-gender specific, polarized, high current, you can color code for different voltages, self-cleaning, good for 10,000 matings, solder or crimp, lockable or can be left as a breakaway for the inevitable child/dog vs power cord... anywho, an excellent connector for this sort of application
-sj

[Lance]

external is a whole different ballgame. you have a lot of viable options. whats the voltage & current outputs of the ac/dc converter? what type of connector to the laptop? do you own any battery chargers?
-sj

I have a couple, but I don't have any that I can take apart. The output is: 19VDC and 4.74A.

That's easy, cut off the existing one the brick (by the time you do this its probably out of warranty anyway) and add common jacks, now you can choose if you want to use the original jack for the brick or your new pack.

I would have to modify the brick, the cord goes directly from the laptop the the brick. I could just put my own jack in there, not too complicated.

I'll take a look at those connectors, they look useful. What happens after 10000 matings?

[Kiriakos-GR]

What happens after 10000 matings?

 

Interesting question ... 

I do own anderson power poles the SB50 , I had build an extension battery pack for my APC UPS.

About the 10000 matings, its the warrantied limit for 100% good contact.
Logically after that limit , you had to inspect the connectors more regularly.   
 

[sonicj]

I'll take a look at those connectors, they look useful. What happens after 10000 matings?

i would suspect that 10,000 matings would exceed the useful lifespan of most consumer electronics, but if not, you simply clip off the connect and crimp on a new one.

check out what i found in my box-o-wall-warts...
its a compaq 12V to 18V boost converter for a laptop. the pics should give you a good idea of the usefulness of the APPs.

*yea, yea... i know, i know... direct driving the converter from a solar panel is a bit of a stretch/bad idea but you get the picture 

[Kiriakos-GR]

you simply clip off the connect and crimp on a new one.

No no no no no no no , its not that simple !!  

You have to buy another connector = pay the price premium for it , and replace the old.

And something more , I bet that  "anderson" also haves and an special crimping tool,
also wild priced , as the connectors does.

If I was not forced due the UPS to use those "anderson" ( The UPS had the plug on it ) ,
for common things I would use the three pin metallic connectors for microphones ( Canon type ).

Internationally known as XLR   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector

[Lance]

Actually XLR would work. The pins are wide enough to handle the current.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Yes practically the XLR  can handle 10A continuously even 15A max.

But if the size of the XLR ( length male + female ), become an issue , then we move at the 3-6A solution,
I do not know the part number ( commonly called as CB-VHF 4 poles power connector )

It has the half length from the XLR ,  3.4cm per connector , 7cm for male + female .
  

[Lance]

That seems like a much better alternative. How about the cells? What are some good places to go for those? Also I haven't been able to find that connector, can you provide a link?

[Polossatik]

IF you're talking about connectors... I like EC3 ones

[alm]

I'm not a big fan of using standard connectors like XLR for non-standard applications like power. What if someone plugged it into their amplifier/mixer, or plugged their microphone into your power supply? But at least low voltage DC is unlikely to kill/seriously injure people.