Monday 28 March 2011

How to build external battery for Laptop


How to Build an External Laptop Batterythumbnail
Building your own external laptop battery pack is cheaper than buying a ready-made replacement.


Replacement laptop batteries can cost a third, if not more, of the price of a new laptop. Discounted prices constantly offered on new laptops often result in people choosing a new laptop instead of a replacement battery, even though the laptop is fine. Build an external laptop battery using lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries to save a lot of money and keep your existing laptop. Wire a few LiPo cells in series and your laptop will be ready to go.


Difficulty:
Moderately Easy

Instructions


things you'll need:


  • LiPo batteries
  • Electrical insulating tape
  • Wire strippers
  • Small knife
  • AWG 16 wire
    • 1
      Check your laptop's required input voltage. It's on the base of your laptop clearly labeled. Most laptops operate on 19 volts, though it does vary.
    • 2
      Calculate the number of LiPo battery cells you need to power your laptop. One single LiPo cell produces 3.7 volts, so if your laptop operates on 19 volts, you need five LiPo cells wired in series. Wiring in series combines the output voltage from each cell. Don't build an external laptop battery pack that exceeds the input voltage for your laptop: the damage is irreparable.
    • 3
      Place your batteries on a suitable surface and lay them flat. LiPo batteries are similar in size to regular AA batteries, except they are shorter and fatter. The positive battery terminal is on the top and the negative on the bottom.
    • 4
      Alternate the terminals of each battery. For example, if you are using four batteries, have two positive and two negative terminals at each end. Label the batteries numerically, so, if you're using four batteries, label then 1 through 4. Wrap electrical insulating tape around the batteries to form a tight pack.
    • 5
      Cut strips of AWG 16 wire using a small knife. Cut two strips long enough to be able to reach your laptop and the external battery. The other strips need to be only an inch long so they can attach to the battery terminals. The numbers of short strips needed depends on the number of batteries you are using. The rule when you're wiring in parallel is to count the number of batteries and then deduct one. The result is the number of strips of wire you need.
    • 6
      Remove ¼-inch of plastic coating off the ends of each strip of wire using wire strippers or a small knife. Each wire has ¼-inch of metal wire exposed. Label the two long strips of wire "+" and "-."
    • 7
      Attach the wire labeled "+" to the positive terminal of Battery 1 and attach the wire labeled "-" to the negative terminal of the last numbered battery. Use a strip of electrical insulating tape.
    • 8
      Attach a short strip of wire to the negative terminal of Battery 1 and the other end to the positive terminal of Battery 2 using insulating tape. Repeat the process connecting a short wire to a negative terminal, then a positive terminal, for all the batteries in numerical sequence until you use the last short wire to connect to the positive terminal of the last numbered battery.
    • 9
      Wrap the complete battery pack neatly in insulating tape. Ensure you keep the two long wires exposed but the other wires and the battery terminals should be concealed.
    • 10
      Attach the wire labeled "+" to the positive input of your laptop and the wire labeled "-" to the negative input of your laptop. Your external laptop battery is set.

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