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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Li-ION battery pack charger....
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9745 |
Hi everyone.  I have often wanted to incorporate one of those silver bag looking Li-ION batteries in some of my products, but I know you have to be very careful about charging them correctly. These type of things here... My normal method I use for NiCd batteries which is just a simple series load resistor and constant trickle-charge will not cut the mustard with these kinds of battery. So, does anyone have any IC part numbers for - ideally - a fully managed Li-ION battery charger, so that I can consider incorporating these batteries in the next series of projects and products? I am currently eyeing up something like this to handle the charging of TWO of those 3.7v cells to give me a final voltage of 7.4v for the circuit. There are SO MANY cheap Chinese bits of junk on eBay, I have no idea if this is actually what I need or want when it comes to Li-ION batteries. Any and all comments welcome. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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Bill.b Senior Member  Joined: 25/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 239 |
Hi grogs You could try on of these at AU$2.06 http://www.banggood.com/USB-Lithium-Battery-Charger-Module-Board-With-Charging-And-Protection-p-924048.html?rmmds=search Bill In the interests of the environment, this post has been constructed entirely from recycled electrons. |
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CaptainBoing Guru  Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2171 |
I use these (from ebay - same item by the looks of it) they work fine |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9745 |
Thanks for the posts. Those are single-cell chargers though, and I need something to do 2x 3.7v cells. I need at least 7.2v, cos I have some 5v devices I need to power, which won't run on 3v3 from a single 3.7v or 4.2v cell. I think I will get a couple of those bag batteries and charge things I linked to above, just for the purposes of experimentation at this stage. Anyone else have any opinions on this subject? Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 10565 |
How about this |
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lew247 Guru Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
What about These ? Batteries with protection circuitry already in them? I am using 4 of these (Panasonic ones I bought from Amazon) in my weather station charged by a solar cell going through one of these that I got off Ebay not Banggood |
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| RonnS Senior Member Joined: 16/07/2015 Location: GermanyPosts: 121 |
hello Grogster, mo worries it works perfectly with a single lipo cell, all additional Voltage you only convert into heat- Use a LowDrop line regulator and a big Lipo and that above-mentioned single charging module with protection I have the whole with a CP2102 TTL converter combined and can load and program in once it runs with an LCD backpack to the full satisfaction regards Ron PS: Except of course , you need exactly the 3.3Volt |
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| paceman Guru Joined: 07/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1329 |
Why not just stick with one Li battery with one of the above chargers like Bill suggested and add a 3v-5v DC-DC converter module. These are made for the job and about $3 ea. e.g. at Bangood DC-DC converter Greg |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2959 |
This topic seems to keep cropping up.  My recommendation is still the same: Use a 'branded' Li-Ion Power Booster Pack (readily available from 'decent' sources at low cost) which outputs 5v and deals with all the necessary recharging (which is important you get right!). Then feed your 5v stuff from the Booster's 5v output, and use the usual suspect vReg to drop to 3v3 too. The Booster packs use a 5v input to recharge them; and most now come with some form of charge status (either a row of LEDs OR a LCD display showing approx %). The most economical charger is a branded Raspberry Pi PSU for around £6 (5v, 2.5A output). I would NOT buy cheap Booster Packs from auctions sites as there are many dangerous fakes out there (I mean they can literally explode!). Buy from a retail outlet - they often have sales on and you can pick up a 10,000mAH pack for around £20 (complete with LCD % display). IF you need higher than 5v, then use a Booster module from somewhere like AdaFruit or Sparkfun. And with the addition of a couple of MOSFETS, you can convert the above so that you can power your circuit(s) whilst also recharging the Booster Pack. IF designing your own circuit, then do be very careful not to short out the Li-Ion battery as they can delivery a ton of current - often resulting in a mini-explosion or fire. WW |
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| mikeb Senior Member Joined: 10/04/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 177 |
@Grogs, Whatever you do mate buy the battery pack from a source that has a reputation to lose. Samsung, and Boeing, know only too well what happens when a lithium battery pack goes wrong. Those hover boards have had some great 'air' time, on the news, here in Oz. Personally, I would stick with one cell and use a boost converter for your final voltage. That way you can always charge from a USB port whether on a computer or 'wall wart'. If you have the budget then a battery pack pack with inbuilt protection circuitry may be the go. Over discharge is important also. There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. |
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| joebog1 Senior Member Joined: 07/11/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 114 |
I dunno how much money you wanna spend!! I play with quadcopters, and I have a large variety of batteries. I paid $60 for an Imax B6AC Dual Power charger. That included freight direct from manufacturer in China. It can charge : LiLon/LiPo/LiFe 1 to 6 cells NiCd/NiMH 1 to 15 cells and lead acid from 2 to 20 volts Charge rate is controllable from .1amp to six amps and discharge is from .1 amp to 2 amps. Also has a built in balancer. Its also idiot proof because mine still works  It runs from the mains, and has a built in inverter that runs from 12 volts. Connect the battery or batteries and it auto senses what type of battery it is, what size it is ( in Ah) what construction, and what condition the cell or cells are in. It DOES require balancing lead if you wanna balance batteries!! Copter batteries already have them fitted, and the lead and plug are standard so I can use any charger while in the field. Sorry about the rant Joe |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9745 |
@ WW - I know of those 5v banks, but WAY too big to get into the product. I have 50mm of width and about 20mm of height to play with. Also, the battery needs to be secured inside the project WITHOUT you taking it out to change it or charge it - that's why I was looking at those little silver bag batteries. @ mikeb - yes, this is kinda what worries me. I may well in fact, stick with the rechargeable 9v batteries I have always been using. These batteries do not explode or go on fire like the Li-ION ones can, and you can simply trickle-charge them(float charge) overnight without them getting unhappy. @ joebog1 - Interesting thing. Do you have a link? I don't plan to buy this for my project, but I am curious to see and read about it a little more. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Bill.b Senior Member Joined: 25/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 239 |
http://www.banggood.com/SKYRC-iMAX-B6AC-V2-Professional-Balance-ChargerDischarger-SK-100090-p-945684.html?rmmds=search Bill In the interests of the environment, this post has been constructed entirely from recycled electrons. |
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| joebog1 Senior Member Joined: 07/11/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 114 |
Billby beat me to it !! Yep thats the one. For the money ( and its easy to get that price down) you cannot buy the case and screws!! It works superbly. ( nope I dont get kickbacks) and in my fiddling its impossible ( for me anyway) to put it into a modt that will damage either it or the battery under test/charge Joe |
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palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2006 |
For anyone in OZ this is a lot cheaper and local and free postage. Battery Charger Paul "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2959 |
That looks just a little bigger than Grogs' available 20mm height and 50mm width limits |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 10565 |
Grogster I'm doing a battery powered design at the moment - currently in the prototyping stage. I would recommend using 18650 cells - much safer than pouches. Buy from a reputable e-cigarette supplier so you know they are genuine. They are happy to be paralleled (see Tesla) if you need more capacity. These cells are becoming ubiquitous in most lithium powered tools, e-bikes and electric vehicles. My starting point is a PCB mount cell carrier (e.g.)and one of charger/protection modules referenced by Bill.b. I'm only looking for 3.3V so will use a linear rectifier after the cell but for more I would, as recommended elsewhere in the thread, use a boost converter 3.7-5V |
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| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1667 |
Grog, I don't know your exact requirements, but what about something more primitive like 4xAAA Eneloop NiMh. or their 9V offering. No fancy Charging requirements, but then I don't exactly what you need. Phil. |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9745 |
Yes, I looked at 18650 cells too - they are, as you say, everywhere. The Tesla car uses hundreds of these things in a gigantic battery bank from what I recall, and the Tesla Power Wall is the same.  You know those battery protection PCB's I linked to at the start of the thread - would you or anyone else recommend their use for charging or are they too crude/not advanced enough? EDIT: 18650's are too long for my project case, which is only 50mm wide. 9v rechargable still seems rather attractive as it is a perfect fit for the case I have to work with. That, or the silver bag ones. But I am leaning more towards the 9v idea at the moment. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| joebog1 Senior Member Joined: 07/11/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 114 |
9 volt battery ?? try these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OKcell-9V-800mah-Batterie-Accu-Battery-Pile-LED-USB-CHARGER-Rechargeable-Li-ion-/291870171716 ?hash=item43f4d16244:g:QbQAAOSwCGVX~c9L Joe |
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