2A lithium battery charger module - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Ragingwasabi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 08:07:34 am
content: Hi,After watching this video,I'm now attempting to build my own power bank out of 2 old laptop batteries.Each battery is 5.6Ah with 3 pairs of cells in series. So connecting all salvaged batteries in parallel would give 33.6Ah (i could be wrong).So charging the power bank with the TP4056 module at 1A will take 33.6 hours -___-My question is: is there a cheap board similar to the TP4056 that charges at 2A or even 3A? or is there a resistor i can change to make it output more current?

author: djQUAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 08:17:44 am
content: I'm planning a similar idea since I have lots 18650 cells. My charging trick would use two or three of those boards and use a barrel connector and a diode on each charger input.When you need fast charging, use the barrel jack and a high current 5A supply to run all chargers at the same time. If you don't need it fast, use one and you can use the USB connector to run only one. Use multiple USB ports and cables connected to multiple charger boards and you get faster charginghope I made sense.

author: Ragingwasabi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 08:46:03 am
content: Quote from: djQUAN on February 07, 2016, 08:17:44 amThanks for replying!Would it work if i just have the multiple boards always connected but powered by one source? i have USB phone chargers which i can use, some 2A some 1A.Also are the diodes required? im worried the voltage drop will reduce the charging performance

author: djQUAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 09:31:37 am
content: Yes, it should be fine. I have seen several power banks that do the same. Since the TP chips do CC output, they share current well but the end termination stays at 0.1A (defualt of the boards) as the last TP chip with the highest output voltage tolerance will stay on last.The diode is fine as long as you use a decent rated schottky. The TP chip is a low dropout regulator so I think if the input to the chip is 4.5V or more then it should be fine. Diodes are required if you plan to do what I do using only one if a slow charge via usb port is an option, if not then simply paralleling all would still work.Do keep in mind these things need heatsinking to work best.

author: Ragingwasabi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 10:42:28 am
content: Sorry im just starting with electronics. What are the diodes for exactly?Im liking with this idea, considering the charger modules are so cheap and mostly sold in packs

author: djQUAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 11:11:01 am
content: The diodes are used so that if you decide to use a USB port to charge, only one PCB will be used and the power will not go to the other PCBs and overload the USB port you are charging from.The outputs are simply paralleled together no problems.(see attached image)

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 12:10:28 pm
content: if the laptop is enough old to make it not usable anymore,chances are the battery is pretty much dead.

author: Ragingwasabi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 10:53:27 pm
content: Quote from: hamdi.tn on February 07, 2016, 12:10:28 pmOne battery is at 40% capacity according to software but another is 100%. Both were from school laptops, one was never used much. but both are broken now :|

author: Ragingwasabi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 11:24:45 pm
content: Quote from: djQUAN on February 07, 2016, 11:11:01 amhmm i don't really understand how the overloading happens. i have a lot to learn about electronics...lol