Disposable vapes have been a huge issue over here in the UK.I spent a lot of time last year collecting and reusing vape cells found on the roads and building them into various projects.Interestingly after a year of lobbying, the UK government has passed a motion to ban non-reusable vapes which certainly will be better for the environment.
I probably have a lifetime supply of small LiPo vape cells all checked and stored at a storage charge.Speaking of charging, that’s one of the moderately tricky areas you need to address if you are harvesting these LiPo cells.There are lots of options and modules out there but an excellent one we spotted is this EcoCell LithiumSafe PCB.
It’s a neat design and we like that the PCB has some mounting holes specifically enabling you to attach the device to the common size of disposable vape cell.The vape cells are reasonably fragile so attaching to a rugged PCB seems a good option.The PCB has a power switch to turn on and off the battery output making it useful for inserting into small projects.
On the charge side, there is a USB-C connector and the attached LiPo cell is protected from overcurrent, short circuit and both under and over voltages.There’s also thermal protection on board so if you have salvaged and characterized a healthy cell you can be pretty confident in leaving this system in a device.Perfect for small microcontroller projects or periodic remote sensing projects, this product is supplied fully assembled – battery not included! Like this:Like Loading...
