Reuse Old Batteries As A Power Bank

Written By: REWA
  • Comments: 3
Reuse Old Batteries As A Power Bank

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

10

Time Required

1 - 3 hours

Introduction

  • CAUTION: Battery repair/modification can be dangerous. Exercise caution when following this guide. DO NOT EXPOSE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES TO WATER

All batteries have a lifespan. For example, when a phone's battery capacity is below 80%, the phone's battery life will become very short. It’s necessary to replace the new battery with a new one. For old batteries, simply throwing them away is a waste and can pollute the environment. Batteries are made from a number of materials including acid, lead, nickel, lithium, cadmium, alkaline, mercury, and nickel-metal hydride. When battery disposal is not handled correctly, the battery can leak, potentially contaminating the soil and water, and possibly harming human health. Therefore, REWA will share a way to convert old phone batteries into a power bank, turning trash into treasure.

Terminology: Anode = Positive terminal, Cathode = Negative terminal

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    • CAUTION: Before starting this guide, make sure that the batteries are fully drained (0%)

    • We are using old batteries from the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus. Peel off the tape on the battery protector off with tweezers.

    • Please use non-conductive tweezers to avoid short-circuiting the battery.

    • Apply tin to the anode and cathode of the battery with a soldering iron at 365°C. Heat to remove the protection board.

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    • Measure the battery voltage with a multimeter. The voltages of the two batteries we have are 3.66V and 3.76V respectively.

    • As you can see, both batteries have the anode on the left and the cathode on the right.

    • Anode (Positive terminal)

    • Cathode (Negative terminal)

    • We are combining a 2900mAh iPhone 7+ battery with a 2675mAh iPhone 8+ battery and turning it into a 5575mAh power bank.

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    • Apply double-sided tape to the battery and align the anodes and cathodes of the two batteries.

    • Solder together the anode and cathode of each battery with a soldering iron at 365°C.

    • Measure the voltage with a multimeter. Ensure the voltage is 3.7V.

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    • Get a red wire and a black wire. Strip each end of both wires to expose the copper wire and apply tin on the copper wire with a soldering iron at 365°C.

    • Next, solder the red wire to the anode and the black wire to the cathode.

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    • Press down the anode and cathode.

    • Apply electrical tape, making sure to fully cover the anode and cathode.

    • Install the button on the middle frame and the power board.

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    • Apply tin on the bonding pad of the anode and cathode with a soldering iron at 365°C.

    • Anode (Positive terminal)

    • Cathode (Negative terminal)

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    • Solder the anode of the battery to the anode of the power board.

    • Solder the cathode of the battery to the cathode of the power board.

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    • Press the button. For this project, the power bank is 33% full.

    • Apply foam to secure the battery.

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    • Install the middle frame to the housing and put on the bottom plastic cover.

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    • Connect the phone to the power bank. The phone can be charged.

    • Connect the charger to the power bank. The power bank can be charged too.

    What kind of power bank electronics do you use for that & where can I get that? What do I have to look for when buying it?

    Florian Schinnerl -

Conclusion

If you have extra old batteries, you can increase the capacity of the power bank by combining more old batteries. Give it a try and leave a comment of your results.

Author

REWA

Member since: 24/11/20

11871 Reputation

2 comments

Do the batteries automatically stop charging at full? Like can I add iPhone batteries to the powerbank I already have?

Mark Anderson -

@rewatech Hey, would you mind adding the power bank frame and board you bought as a required part? This guide might not work if people don't know what parts you are using

shingle -