How to Make a 36,000 Mah Powerbank ?

by HOBBY TO MAKE

7.6K7617

Intro: How to Make a 36,000 Mah Powerbank ?

Hello friends,

I am waqar In this video I will show how you can Make your own 36,000 mah power bank from dead laptop batteries in just $7 without using any specialized equipments or Knowledge. Cells used in this Project are called lithium ion battery specifically 18650 cells.

:: Stuff you Need ::

1:Dual USB 5V 1A 2.1A Mobile Power Bank 18650 Battery Charger PCB Module Board https://www.banggood.com/Dual-USB-5V-1A-2_1A-Mobi...

Price :: 2.62$

2:Old Laptop Batteries buy those from your local retailer shop or You can Buy new cells from amazon or ebay. about :: 5$ (for 10 dead laptop batteries)

3: A plastic Box

https://www.amazon.in/Aumni-Crafts-12x7-8x2-2cm-R...

(optional)

:: Tools you need ::

1:: Plier

2:: some Wires

2:: a screw driver

STEP 1:

The Best way to get lithium ion cells is to harvest them from old dead laptop batteries.

the lipo batteries used in laptops are called 18650 lithium ion cells.

There are 2 way you can get batteries

1:: from your local retailer shop

2:: from online (new cells) beware many seller sell the fake lithium ion cells.

STEP 2:

Please make sure that You cut all the 3 series connection.

don't cut parallel connection (you can cut but i don't recommend this because it is difficult to solder or spot weld).

STEP 3: Identify Good Cells(high Capacity)

This process is very important as it will determine the total capacity of your DIY power bank.

Method 1::

Generally the 3+ volt cells are the good ones (This is the simplest way but not the best)

Method 2::

You can use the specialized device like Imax b6 ac to charge and discharge each lithium ion cell and know the accurate capacity.

so , far in this tutorial i will use the Method 1

if you want to know more about Method 2 you can comment below

STEP 4:

I think this is the most easy just joint all the harvested 18650 cells in parallel connection.

In simple means all the positive terminal of battery are connected to each other & all the Negative terminal are connected to each other,

In the end you will get one positive terminal & one Negative terminal.

You can join as many as you want to increase the capacity of your power bank.

STEP 5:

Just get any plastic box

and fit the battery pack inside the box.

and leave the Both positive & negative Terminal outside the box

as show in the images.

STEP 6: Buy Dual USB Power Bank Circuit

Dual USB 5V 1A 2.1A Mobile Power Bank 18650 Battery Charger PCB Module Board

https://www.banggood.com/Dual-USB-5V-1A-2_1A-Mobil...

Price :: 2.62$

I Purchased this from above You can buy this from anywhere else.

STEP 7:

Make Sure the correct polarity while joining the positive & negative wires coming from the battery pack.

You can also use some tape or hot glue to fix the circuit on top of the box.

like i use tape to fix it .

STEP 8:

:: Charging You Phone ::

Now we are all done just connect your mobile to circuit by usb cable and your mobile is charging.

You have 2 modes of charging in this circuit 1 is normal mode and other one is Fast charging mode .

Choose whatever you want .

:: Charging The power bank::

You Charge this power bank by just any mobile charger

the only thing is that it will take time to charge the whole power bank but ones it is full you are ready for more then week . shown in image 2 of this step.

:: Warning::
Please Take Appropriate care while using Lithium ion batteries.

14 Comments

trekjetta 2 years ago

Why did you remove the inductor?

Maker_exe 5 years ago

Nice but you could use a BMS to manage each of your cells eventually if one dies it may destroy all of them.

the_phantom_boy 6 years ago

Nice work man and thank you for your trouble.
But something is bothering me in your calculations!
They don't seems to be correct.
This is not a 36.000mAh powerbank in my point of view, and that is why...

You have 12 cells from DEAD laptop batteries.
That means that not all of those batteries is working, some maybe dangerous as well, etc.

But lets say that all are in PERFECT condition.
That gives us max of 2600mAh in each battery, since this is the larger batteries out there.
So in case that ALL of the batteries was in PERFECT condition, and you have 2600mAh models in there (which is not easy, since most batteries are lower than 2600) you will have 2600mAh * 12 batteries = 31.200mAh (far from 36.000mAh)

But lets be kind of... "realistic" for a moment.
Your cells, since they are harvested from dead laptop batteries (lets assume that are in mid condition), they can hold max around 1000-1500mAh in the best case scenario.
So you will have around lets say 1200mAh * 12 batteries = 14400mAh (really far from 36.000mAh)

And lets be absolutely realistic for a moment!

Your batteries are a mix of mid conditioned and damaged cells, which translates to some damaged batteries having around 100-500mAh and some in mid condition around 1000-1200 mAh.
If half of those are damaged we are looking at lets say 250mAh * 6 batteries = 1500mAh and 1100mAh * 6 batteries = 6600mAh.
That gives us approximately a total of 8.100mAh (2 planets away from that 36.000mAh statement).

So... are those batteries indeed 36.000mAh... or not?
Am i calculating something wrong?

HOBBY TO MAKE 6 years ago

Your calculation is right .

But I have opened more than 90 laptop batteries.

Luckily i got many good ones.

I use Imax b6 ac for calculating the exact capacity.

i have some cells which can give 2500+ capacity.

But you can also buy new panasonic NCR 18650B for greater capacity.

So that will more than 36000 mah capacity.

Thanks For Writing such a Detailed Analysis.

KISELIN 6 years ago

Hi! No affence here, but just kind of notice’s  to clearify some details in Your Instr.
1.The base unit for current in the SI-system is a capital “A” (Amperes), and it’s declared as capital “I” in electrical systems e.g. P= U*I, P=power; U=Volt; I=Current.
So, the main unit is written in capitals and the fractions/multiplications of it are written with the lower case letters. Them capacity of batterys are often given in “milliAmps/h”. Them larger batterys, like Your car battey, gives You them Amps.
Don’t get diffused, because 36,000mAh equals to 36A, and that’s NOT the case with them Li-Ion batteys from a laptop, 3,6A would seem more correct.
2. First You call them LI Ion batterys, then You call them LI Po batterys, there’s a huge difference between Li-Ion and Li-polymere batterys. I dont know of them using Li-Po batterys in laptops, correct me if I’m wrong?
3. You ”ABSOLUTELY” need to have a charger to monitor ”EWERY” cell individually

the_phantom_boy 6 years ago

To find that many NEW cells (because 2500+ are actually new!) in "used" laptop batteries you are indeed lucky, or the person that sold them to you did a horrible mistake! :P

I did open a lot myself as well, but the best i got was around 2100!
So again... thank you for your time to make this tutorial...!

nhm91135 6 years ago

No, you're not missing anything. And as an extra added bonus, Mixing Lion batteries is dangerous. And unless properly housed and built, even without mixing batteries, this is a fireworks show waiting to happen, not in an outlying condition, but as an almost expected outcome of many people making this. Don't believe me? Ask the TSA about these 18650 batteries. BTW, this device will hopefully be removed from your checked baggage by the TSA prior to you baggage being put on the plane.

GianlucaG1 6 years ago

Please also note that the calculated capacity is the BATTERIES capacity!

If you would use some new 2,4Ah batteries, you would have: 12x2,4=28,8Ah; considering a medium voltage of 3,7V: 28,8Ah x 3,7V = 106,6Wh.

What is the converter efficiency? 85%? 106,6 x 0,85 = 90,6Wh.

Output voltage is 5V, then: 90,6Wh / 5V = 18,1Ah. If the phone internal charger is a linear device, you can charge batteries for about 18Ah.

KISELIN 6 years ago

Hi! No affence here, but just kind of notice’s  to clearify some details in Your Instr.
1.The base unit for current in the SI-system is a capital “A” (Amperes), and it’s declared as capital “I” in electrical systems e.g. P= U*I, P=power; U=Volt; I=Current.
So, the main unit is written in capitals and the fractions/multiplications of it are written with the lower case letters. Them capacity of batterys are often given in “milliAmps/h”. Them larger batterys, like Your car battey, gives You them Amps.
Don’t get diffused, because 36,000mAh equals to 36A, and that’s NOT the case with them Li-Ion batteys from a laptop, 3,6A would seem more correct.
2. First You call them LI Ion batterys, then You call them LI Po batterys, there’s a huge difference between Li-Ion and Li-polymere batterys. I dont know of them using Li-Po batterys in laptops, correct me if I’m wrong?
3. You ”ABSOLUTELY” need to have a charger to monitor ”EWERY” cell individually

spower7 6 years ago

Nicely done. 2 thumbs up.

GianlucaG1 6 years ago

Please also note that the batteries shall have the same voltage when they are connected in parallel, otherwise dangerous high currents can flow!

RichardC162 6 years ago

Please how do I amplify DC voltage from 3.7 to 5v using simple electronics