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Charging li-ion batteries

I have a battery pack scrounged from a Dell computer. It is their pn

66WHR rated 14.8V 4460MAH. It is comprised of 8 cells, that is four sets of two in parallel. Each set measures 3.9V, so therefore each cell seems to be 3.9V. The cells are Sony Fukushima STG, bearing the following numbers: US18650GR and STG 6KEO7R. They are all also marked G5.There were multiple terminals on the connnector on this pack and also a small circuit board with many smd circuits on it. Perhaps the charger or regulator? These would make a really nice standby battery pack for a project, but how would I charge them? I understand that there is a specific charging protocol for these type of batteries. Is there a generic charger available to address this? Or can anyone suggest an alternate method? Thanks, Lenny Stein, Barlen Electronics.
Reply to
captainvideo462002
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One thing you don't want to do is to deal with unknowns when charging LiOn batteries. Want a good standby 12 volt source? Buy a gel cell.

Reply to
Meat Plow

You really have to be careful with these things. Have a look at Dallas/Maxim, TI, and other companies that make power electronics. They'll have parts to do just this along with detailed application notes. The caveat is that most of them are tiny surface mount packages, which you may or may not be up to working with.

Reply to
James Sweet

I would REALLY recommend NOT trying to deal with Li Ion charging unless you are willing to do all the research and design to use parts like those referenced above and build a smart charger. Some types of Li Ion batteries may catch fire and explode if not treated properly. I don't know if what you have falls into that category but you can't just stick them on a constant voltage or constant current supply safely or expect to get reasonable life that way.

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Reply to
Sam Goldwasser

quoted text -

Thanks for all the responses. I think I'll just stick with conventional stuff and give these things the heave ho. Lenny.

Reply to
captainvideo462002

If that's the pack that fits the Dell C-series laptops, you can often buy dead laptops with a still-working charger. cheap or free. I used one to charge my dell batteries.

You need to do the research and understand what you're doing to safely charge lithium batteries...but it can be done.

You can easily burn your house down while putting gasoline in your lawnmower. I don't have any statistics, but I bet there are MANY more instances of gasoline fires than lithium fires. Yet we still manage to put gas in our lawnmowers. People who understand the issues and pay attention to them don't burn down their houses. Ditto for people who charge batteries.

Your problem is much simpler if you can live with charging one battery.

And yes, the world is full of idiots and lawyers...so I ain't gonna try to tell you how.

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Reply to
mike

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