Make a Portable Charger With Old Batteries!

Hello there! I know that you're curious about this project because of its awesome existence. Have you ever heard that you can use old batteries to charge your phone? That's strange thing right? Well, the most strange thing is that a snake trying to save a fish from drowning... oh yeah! alright!

WARNING: This project is loaded with awesomeness and you might forget the things around you!

This project is very easy to make and beginner friendly, but you're required to solder the parts if you want to make it permanent or make a prototype version if you want to develop and improve this project. Make sure that put credits properly.

Let's get started! I prepare this instructable for more detailed instructions on how to make your own portable charger that uses two old batteries to charge any phones. However, I prepare a video of this project so you can watch it on how I made it. If you want to follow this project offline then you should download the PDF version of this project if you're a premium member here on Instructables.

Here's the video!

I made this project for the reason for recycling my old batteries. I have a bunch of old batteries and I don't know what to do with them. I just measure their voltage and I found out that the voltage is between ~0.5 to ~1.4 volts. This voltage rating can be converted to ~5 volts which is enough to charge any phone. I never thought that used batteries can be used as a way of charging phones and gadgets with an input of 5 volts.

The inspiration for this project is my willingness to conserve energy in a proper way. So I decided to think of a device that can be used to recycle the used batteries and yeah, this project become reality.

What I am expecting with this project is that you can use it in case of emergency, disaster or calamity where the electricity is not available to charge our phone. So by keeping old batteries, you can use it together with this project and power up your gadgets and your phones!

Wanna make one for your own use? Then jump to the next step!

Step 1: What You'll Need!?

This project requires few electronic parts and also you'll need some tools to be able to make your own portable charger. However, you can order the kit by sending me a message or sending me an email regarding the kit at this email address: [e-mail].

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Here's the list of all parts you'll need:

* AA Battery Pack

* DC-DC Booster Module USB Step-up Power Supply

* SPDT Slide Switch

* Used/Old Batteries

* Spare Jumper Wire

Here's the list of tools you'll need:

* Third Hand Tool

* Dremel Soldering Torch or Soldering Iron

* Soldering Lead

* Multimeter

* USB Power Detector

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If you think that you have the parts needed then you may now proceed to the next step!

Step 2: Build the Circuit

This time we are going to build the whole circuit! The circuit is super simple and anyone can do it. If you don't have any experience in electronics you can go and enroll yourself in Electronics Class! We are going to solder the parts so we can make it permanent and has better functionality. If you want to test it first before making it permanent you should use a breadboard and try it out!

Check out the second picture of the circuit diagram. It is easy to understand for beginners in electronics. Nothing is hard in the connection. If you have any question then leave a comment and let me reply within 24-48 hours.

Successfully build the circuit? Jump to the next step!

Step 3: Testing

Grab your Multimeter and your USB tester! Why!? because we are going to test the circuit if it is working. Follow the pictures above so I can guide you in testing the circuit. Get your Multimeter and dial it to 20 volts. Place the positive probe or the red one to the red wire of battery holder or battery pack. Next, place the negative probe or the black one to the black wire of battery holder or battery pack. For more visual guide check the second picture.

While testing, I found out that the average output voltage of the two old/used batteries is 2.85. It should be 3 volts if it these batteries are new. They might be slightly used, however, we can still use them for this project.

Now, we know that the output voltage from the old batteries is 2.85 volts which is not enough to charge mobile phones. The output should be ~5 volts to charge any mobile phones. Universal chargers have ~5 volts output and ~0.55 amperes. Plug the USB tester into the DC to DC USB booster as you can see in the fourth picture.

Switch ON the circuit and see the resulting voltage output in the display of USB tester. Look at the sixth picture and you will see that the resulting voltage is 4.95 volts. This voltage is enough to charge a small phone which has a small battery capacity. Here's the thing, higher Ampere can charge high-end phones because most of the high-end phones have the specification of higher capacity measured in mAh or milliamps per hour.

After measuring the output voltage of our portable charger we are now ready to glue the parts together!

Proceed to the next step...

Step 4: Glue the Parts Together

Using Glue Gun loaded with Glue Stick, glue the parts together as you can see in the picture! No more things to say in this step. Just glue them together and make it permanent.

Step 5: Finish

Here's the finished product of our very own portable charger! Look at the pictures and see how I glued them together. It is the time to use it in real life! Grab your old and used batteries and squeezed it off to get all the left juices of electrons on these batteries to use it to charge our phones. What do you think? Brilliant?

Step 6: Use It and Enjoy!

Here's my actual usage of this portable charger and I am using MyPhone MYB1. It is working and the phone is charging! You can use any phone you want to make sure to support the mAh or the battery capacity of phone you want to charge. Again the concept is the more ampere more battery capacity to support. Alright!

I would like to thanks to MyPhone, it is a Philippine mobile phone brand and multimedia company by MySolid Technologies & Devices Corp. of Solid Group Incorporated. They invited me as a speaker for the robotics topic from the recent Hack to the Future: Tech Summit 2018 event.

So yeah! The practical application of this project is that you can use it in case of emergency or in case there is no electricity available to charge your phone. You can use it also to reduce your electricity bill by collecting old batteries! By collecting old batteries you're saving the earth!

I hope you enjoy this project as I enjoy making it. If you have questions about this project feel free to comment the same thing if you have a suggestion to improve this project. I really love feedback from you guys please be constructive as possible.

Shoutout to my most beautiful girlfriend for supporting me!

If you love this project please hit the heart button and follow me on the future projects!

Don't forget to vote this project if you think it has potential.

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Email: [e-mail]