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5V Dual USB 18650 Power Bank DIY 5x 18650 Battery Box US $4.03/ AU $5.26 Delivered @ AliExpress

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5V Dual USB 18650 Power Bank DIY 5x 18650 Battery Box US $4.03/ AU $5.26 Delivered @ AliExpressAffiliate
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altomic on 02/03/2017 - 10:23 aliexpress.com (338 clicks)
Last edited 02/03/2017 - 10:24
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last year I bought a bulk lot of 20 laptops for "fun". they all came with batteries. plus the seller included extra random laptop batteries.

many laptop batteries are made of individual 18650 cell batteries.

I have a lot of laptop batteries. most of them are stuffed. however usually it is 1 of the cells which has died, which means that (in theory) there should be some ok batteries left.

"what to do with all these batteries?" I was thinking to myself this evening, and then the post by ICstation showed a powerbank circuit. i went to aliexpress to find a cheaper one (didn't find a cheaper one except in a 3 pack). but then I saw these DIY powerbank boxes that utilise 18650 batteries.

Thus I now have an option to: (a) re-use any "ok" battery/cells from the laptop batteries, (b) I can "make" my own battery power bank for less than $6.

the DIY box has a LCD screen which displays charge %. also torch function. 2 x usb out puts (1x 1amp, 1x 2amp)

Features:

100% Brand new and high quality.

Quantity:1.

Color: white, blue, pink, green

Material: plastic

Weight:70g.

Size:1562.3cm.

Input: Micro USB DC 5V

Output: DC 5V/2A or DC 5V/1A

Press Once, to check the electricity of the battery; Press twice, LED lighting is ON or OFF

Battery Type: 18650 lithium battery is 3.6-3.7V(batteries not included)

LCD indicator on front cover, showing the capacity, charging status and on/off status

With side switch for checking battery status and LED flashlight

You can put 1 to 5pcs 18650 battery for one time and please use the same type battery

Can discharge to load and charge the 18650 at the same time

Compatible for 5x 18650 lithium ion rechargeable batteries(batteries not included)

18650 battery holder case holder

Fit for iphone6 and other smart phones

This product is easy to use.

Package Include:

1x 18650 power bank batteries box (without retailed package)

here is a larger 8 x 18650 battery DIY box for US $4.26/AU$5.59 delivered

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/17-8-2-2cm-High-Quality-5V-D…

I bought the 8 battery DIY box. I would have posted this but the seller only has 94.1% feedback (minimum amount for an Ozbargain post is 95%. seller has sold over 4000 of these units with 3500 feedbacks.

TLDR: buy this so you can make your own inexpensive powerpack from old laptop batteries

Electrical & Electronics 18650 Battery Battery Lithium Battery Power Bank

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AliExpress 1392510
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closed Comments

  • furythree on 02/03/2017 - 10:28
    +1

    where do you cheaply acquire laptop batteries

    • Trickey on 02/03/2017 - 10:36
      +1

      Look for clearance sales on old laptop models. You'll almost always find the batteries are on sale too.

      Also, see this link.

    • hal9000 on 02/03/2017 - 10:56

      kerbsides

    • bargaino on 02/03/2017 - 11:28

      I got some new (old stock) from Dell DFO for $10 each a while back. Do they still/often sell them?

      • furythree on 02/03/2017 - 12:54

        whats dell DFO?

        • bargaino on 02/03/2017 - 13:18
          +1

          Dell factory outlet. Is Google down again?

        • cheapoguy on 02/03/2017 - 16:38

          @manic: Hmm, you're missing a D there.

        • bargaino on 02/03/2017 - 17:14

          @cheapoguy:

          Have you hear of PIN numbers or LCD displays?

        • Hirolol on 02/03/2017 - 17:37

          not enough D

        • furythree on 02/03/2017 - 18:28

          @manic: Direct Factory Outlet

          never heard of dell selling old stock for $10, why would they bother? the processing and admin cost would be more than that much

  • garage sale on 02/03/2017 - 10:29

    Thks will get one to have a play with …..

  • speedyaus on 02/03/2017 - 10:44

    Be extremely careful moxing 18650 cells that have been paired with different cells as their discharge rate is off balanced and can explode they are hi amp batteries be verry careful

    • bargaino on 02/03/2017 - 11:53

      Yes, safety first, e.g. always wear eye cover when assembling these.

      The DIY cases have all cells in parallel, so no balancing needed and it does not matter if capacity varies.

      Just make sure they are the same voltage before being joined.

      I'm a bit concerned that these use spring contacts, not solder. This is dangerous for parallel li-ion cells.
      Imagine if a contact breaks, other cells are discharged, then contact restored. You can get "venting with flame".

      • Hirolol on 02/03/2017 - 17:38

        welcome to my laboratory where safety is number 1 priority

  • shane2770 on 02/03/2017 - 10:54

    Guys when I click buy now I keep getting this popup please choose product attribute wtf is that

    • altomic on 02/03/2017 - 10:57
      +1

      you have to click one of the colours (A,B,C,D) - not sure which colour each one represents - leave a note for the seller.

      also you have to click on the "plug type" box as well

      • shane2770 on 02/03/2017 - 11:09

        Thanks mate

  • doogiechap on 02/03/2017 - 11:06
    +3

    Anyone in Perth wanting to 'experiment' with these units? I also have a stash of old iBook batteries (18650's inside). Shoot me a PM if you are after some freebies :-)
    Edit: Location Bibra Lake 6163

    • mathew42 on 02/03/2017 - 11:48

      By experiment do you mean verifying Exploding Batteries in Slow Motion - The Slow Mo Guys? iBook batteries might be of a higher quality than required. Some Chinese cheapies would be more 'reliable' and may not require an external heat source.

      • altomic on 02/03/2017 - 12:33

        the old iBook batteries use panasonic cells (from memory)

  • sween64 on 02/03/2017 - 12:41

    Is this a bargain or a tutorial introduction?

  • INFIDEL on 02/03/2017 - 13:04
    +1

    post by ICstation showed a powerbank circuit. i went to aliexpress to find a cheaper one but then I saw these DIY powerbank boxes that utilise 18650 batteries

    Glad I'm not the only one to do the same.
    Bought the au$2.40 ICstation one as don't need the case & have different Lithium-ion batteries lying around. (Building in to a $9 Kmart DAB+ radio 📻 to provide additional 5V power to it & external output.)
    But that circuit only has simple led indication of battery capacity & also has handy led torch (not needed in my use).

    Charger circuit with display is almost cost of this deal with case.
    Great value.
    🔋Happy experimenting🔋

    CashRewards 7% back!

  • scrimshaw on 02/03/2017 - 13:32

    Lithium batteries can be dangerous when punctured, dented or shorted. They will release all the stored energy in a short amount of time. I've had one go up in smoke when I accidentally dropped a cell and had to immerse it in water to stop the smouldering.

    Take caution when extracting laptop batteries from their plastic shells.

    • llama on 02/03/2017 - 20:45
      +1

      Ilso, the laptop batteries will have welded tags, (not individual cells), so that needs to be dealt with.

      But the old cells will be all over the place - some fair, some flat, some dead, some with high internal resistance. The average person has no way of analysing and sorting the cells in a logical way so they are reasonably balanced.

      And yes it DOES matter if they are balanced or not. The shitty cells will draw power out of the good ones, while they inherently try to balance their voltages. Since the shitty ones have high internal resistance, as soon as they get a load on them the better batteries will get sucked dry.

      Also, when charging, the bad cells may never actually charge fully. However the charge circuit might see the voltage of the better ones and say "OK, 4.2V is the max, so I gotta stop now".

      Probably the biggest risk is what happens when bad cells start getting hot while changing. The paralleled arrangement with no thermal monitoring means the charger won't know until poooomffff.

  • Hirolol on 02/03/2017 - 18:14
    +2

    seems like a lot of trouble just for a power bank.
    can get decent ones for $20 odd bucks. xiaomi brand are pretty good

    is this just the novelty to say hey look at my power bank that i made, i guess you could compares sizes with each other? hahaha

    • altomic on 02/03/2017 - 23:57

      for me it's about reusing the 18650 batteries that I already own. rather than recycling them before they are actually dead. get some more use out of them. and also save a little bit of money.

      I found the old batteries from my neato cleaner in the shed today. each battery has 8 186500 cells (but one or more cells in each is kaput). but still there should be at least 8 ok condition batteries among the 16 18650 cells.

      • Hirolol on 03/03/2017 - 09:47

        How big is it?

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 02/03/2017 - 23:44

    'Size:1562.3cm.' is curious…

    I'm assuming that this unit is in fact not over fifteen metres in size?!? Because if it is, I'm gonna' need a bigger shed… ;)

    • outlander on 04/03/2017 - 09:47

      Maybe you can build that shed out of power bank cases :3

  • bamzero on 03/03/2017 - 02:49

    Also be careful with old laptop cells that have dropped below 2v. They may like to catch on fire when passing any decent amount of current in or out.

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