Inside an eBay cordless tool charger - with schematic

A look inside the extraordinarily lightweight 21V "2A" battery charger, often supplied with generic unbranded cordless tools.
The charger is instantly notable for how lightweight it is. Literally just 60g or 2oz. It puts out a current limited supply of around 500mA, and uses a standard USB 5V 2A chip, but with the transformer wound for 20V at lower current.
The end of charge indicator is very simple and mainly triggered by the battery pack's BMS turning off its charge transistor or the voltage gradually creeping up to near the charger's output voltage.
The charger does work, although I wouldn't want to guarantee its life expectancy due to the pointless level of cost cutting and badly positioned foam mounting system in the case.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- www.bigclive.c...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators

[@drussell_]

That is the most accurate Chinese electronics manufacturer name I've seen in ages! 😂

[@markfergerson2145]

They are the preferred vendor for the discerning Mad Scientist.

[@h14hc124]

It says Shenzen *Fu Man* Electronics Group Company (in Chinese). Fu man means wealthy or rich. I suspect "fine mad" is a terrible approximation of the sound of fu man

[@tonyweavers4292]

What a crappy circuit. They just keep removing components until it stops working.

[@abitofabitofabit4404]

Earl Muntz wants to know your location

[@assassinlexx1993]

Or it burst into flames

[@emmettturner9452]

Exactly like Jack Tramiel at Commodore.

[@tubastuff]

@@abitofabitofabit4404 Hence the term "Muntzing". To his credit, I'm not aware of any of his sets catching fire...

[@drussell_]

Yep! Totally *Muntzed* it! Bravo, Shenzen Fine Mad Electronics Co! Well played!! 🙄

[@gregorythomas333]

"Shen Zhen Fine Mad Electronics Group" That is an awesome company name :)

[@AdmiralQuality]

Fine Mad is my favorite Homestar Runner character.

[@jensschroder8214]

A British plug without a fuse. In the event of a short circuit, more than 32 amps will flow through the bridge rectifier. That's more than 7700 watts!

[@sadlerbw9]

You see that tiny squiggle of PCB track in the lower-right corner between the bridge rectifier and the mains input? That is the 'fuse'. I have no idea if that actually meets UK electrical regs, but that is what these cheap boards do instead of any sort of real fuse.

[@aaronmdjones]

@@sadlerbw9 Fuses are to protect wiring, not devices. UK regs (BS 7671) do not require fuses for devices (though they are still a good idea to prevent exciting fires as Mehdi put it, and yes, this PCB has a fusible track). If this had a mains cable going from the plug portion to some kind of power brick (like laptop chargers do), then the plug would need a fuse to protect that cable. This is only because the circuit is capable of supplying much more current than the cable is capable of safely carrying.

[@AnanasGuy]

32 amps will flow through the bridge rectifier for a very, very brief time.

[@willrobbinson]

for a Milli second before the bang!

[@johnschneede]

@@jensschroder8214 Non documented Heater-"Function"

[@bikkiikun]

It's great that you not only point out the cardinal sins, but also how to "correct them". **thumbs up**

[@chrisstorm7704]

I’ve always wondered why we don’t call that inductive spike “Electron Hammer” since it’s effectively the electrical equivalent of water hammer. 😅

[@spvillano]

Especially in the absence of a snubber.

[@dr_jaymz]

@@spvillano the Chinese says that the output stage is bjt with sufficiently high voltage minimum of 750v rating to make it snubberless but all the datasheet examples have a snubber

[@spvillano]

@@dr_jaymz well, they care about the early warranty period only, right after, who cares?

[@Tapsnapper]

I think we should have bets on what new wound Clive is going to have on his hands.

[@twocvbloke]

Same charger as what came with my dodgy chinese tools, I snapped one of them in half (breaking off the mains side) and just went with injecting 21v at some point in the circuit, didn't really work so just gave up and charged them via my DIY bench power supply instead, which is when I found how badly out of balance the cells were...

[@MrHimer12]

BMS does no balancing, only protection. Legaslov said it's cheaper :D I have modified those batteries to be charged with RC charger using JST-XH 6 pin connector for balancing.

[@pluribus_unum]

¼ the performance and ¼ the lifespan at ¼ the price with 4x the danger if the circuitry isn't one that has an _Inspected by Clive_ "rating".

[@AnanasGuy]

I can imagine the manglement meeting. "Ah, Clive, welcome, welcome We are here to circle back on your concerns about our barf-1 charger. We've invited Bob from vale engineering. Bob has an accounting degree, he knows his stuff. " Bob: You raised an issue that we didn't include the...umm.. snubber network. Well, you see that was a value engineering win. By removing this, we saved half a quid on every device sold, and the people who do the circuit stuff tell me that this device will fail in 6-12 months, so you can appreciate the after original purchase opportunity to upsell more chargers"

[@dieseldragon6756]

_Sound of Bob being head-hunted by Apple..._ 💰🍎😉

[@g7eit]

I was hoping for a violent destructive entry 😂. Good to see your hand is better Clive.

[@shaunclarke94]

12V ❌ 2000mA ❌ Wouldn't want to plug that into another device thinking the label was accurate. 🤦‍♂️

[@dieseldragon6756]

Pot-luck of 1.2v at 200A, 12v at 200mA, or 1.2Kv at 2µA. 🎰⚡😉 You could always build a circuit to rectify whatever comes out - Magic smoke aside - Into a safer and more stable supply of course, but then you might as well just skip the lottery and do all the PSU work yourself! 😁

[@imcrazy886]

FM3783 is primary sensing regulator (PSR) and monolithic switch power controller which is designed for small-power supply equipment with current mode control. Built-in accurate CV/CC control circuit, The output current is determinated by R4 at 6:43 . Io= 2/7*500/R4*Np/Ns ;Np:primary winding turns, Ns:secondary winding turns;

[@mrm1885]

Ok

[@bernieshort6311]

Hi Clive, you got me wanting my own spludgers years back after watching your channel. I didn't know the name of the tool and kept rewinding to hear you say "spludger" but for a long time I was still unsure because the tools being shown to me on the internet looked like the tools manicurist would use. Then I tried EBay with no change and eventually out of frustration I tried Amazon and Bingo, there was a two-piece set which I use often. I have my own spludgers 😁 just like you.

[@Slicerwizard]

There is no L in "spudger".

[@bernieshort6311]

@@Slicerwizard Thank you

[@spvillano]

They're in every standard cell phone and other electronics tool kit. Needed some small screwdrivers, found a cheap set for $20 USD on Amazon that included plastic, metallic spudgers (I really do need to get around to looking up the etymology of that word) and some other interesting tools. Huh, Middle English from spuddle, meaning short knife. dates back to the 1400's. I'm actually quite the fan of short knives, particularly after badly bruising my iliac crest after sitting down and my Rambo sized field knife jammed me there...

[@andrasszabo7386]

This planet needs these cheap chargers like a hole in the head. The manufacturer of the charger cheaps out on protection because they think the battery is going to have a good quality protection circuit and vice-versa.

[@tubastuff]

I generally get these glued-together "wall warts" apart by tapping around the seam with a small rawhide hammer. Eventually, the glue gives and the thing comes apart--and intact. Works better than repeatedly throwing the things down on a concrete floor. All of these things seem to be oblivious to the need for heat dissipation/ventilation. Eventually the heat kills something; the capacitors eventually will "cook out".

[@mikemondano3624]

I put one side of the seam in a vise and squeeze until there is an opening for a screwdriver.

[@tubastuff]

@@mikemondano3624 Yes, I've done that too for the really stubborn cases. You many have to try all sides, but eventually, something gives.

[@AK.16]

I bought a cordless impact drill with a slightly different design than the one on the video. Supplies 21 Volts forgot the amperage. It weighs literally nothing, even with the cable attached. It also gets very hot and makes a crackling sound while charging.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The crackling sound doesn't sound right. Maybe a bad solder joint or bad plug fit.

[@monteceitomoocher]

Ditto, cheap chainsaw, extremely light charger and even worse connecting cable, I've seen gramophone pickup wire with more current carrying capacity, really cheap and nasty!.

[@AK.16]

Broke immediately after two charges. Never really bothered to open it after it died, though I assume the main circuitry is as small as the one in the video. That might explain it weighing nothing.

[@jo_bro666]

​@@AK.16 if you have it you should send it to him

[@dieseldragon6756]

Weight isn't necessarily an indicator of quality, though. Crack open enough Temu-bought chargers and you'll probably find a few bags of sand¹ amongst them... 🔌⏳😉 I'll own-up to having a bag of soil dangling down from my own consumer unit, but this is by a length of green/yellow striped cable and the bag bears the appropriate electrical symbol for „Ground“... 🔌🌍😋 (¹ - I don't mean the Cockney sort, either! 🙃)

[@KarldorisLambley]

i was so inspired by this vid, i have gone around my home and collected all the cheap Chinese barrel jack power supplies i could find, now i have a small pile on my bench of them. so i am going to see how they compare to this one, with my new found understanding of the short cuts they have been likely to take. tbh, maybe i am a reactionary old fool, but i just can't love SMPS. Whereas i do love transformers. The way they are so tangible, toiling away with B fields, and making hardly any 'noise'. wonderful. they put me in mind of a Victorian pumping station engine, maybe not terribly efficient, but capable of working for decades.

[@bigclivedotcom]

A properly designed switching supply is very good. But none will last as long as a traditional properly rated transformer type.

[@zh84]

I wonder if Shen Zen Fine Mad Electronics has a partnership with Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories inc.?

[@JimJohnD]

Subsidiary of Doofenshmirtz Evil inc.

[@spvillano]

Just checked our partner list, no such association is possible, this shit is just too awful. Dispatching laser landsharks mk-3 to Shenzen... Had a wee bit of trouble with the mk-2's, they kept swimming into the lair's lava pit. The mk-3 also have a nitrowhisperin destruct charge for when they run low on energy. Don't want to offend anyone when they fail...

[@bethaltair812]

Urrgh,those battery packs are the bane of my life. The grippy connectors break off the pcb every other charge. I'm almost ready to glue wago connectors to the side of the saw and just admit I can't fix them permanently

[@bigclivedotcom]

A dab of silicone grease or vaseline on the contacts might make them slide on and off easier.

[@ralphj4012]

Fine mad, seems succinct and summarises your diagnosis of these devices (yeah, but nah, in Australian).

[@steve64464]

The chainsaw i got had a very similar power supply , Light as a feather and felt like i really shouldn't trust it , I ended up charging the battery under close watch using a buck booster from 12v to 21v with a dps3012 in between to regulate the speed of charge.

[@spvillano]

They gave up on the weight strategy, where they'd do the exact same atrocities in design, but include a steel weight to make it feel legitimate. No, I jest not. Clive uncovered that in one as I recall, right as I had discovered one in my junkheap of failed crap.

[@steve64464]

@@spvillano always good to have a free piece of metal I guess , they are so cheeky

[@steved2136]

My cordless pressure washer uses that exact charger/battery setup- so far its worked ok (charging is basically an 'overnight' affair, but thats of, I can live with that)

[@laserspike]

mmm, "overnight" kinda implies "unattended"... Now that you know how nasty it is inside, you may wish to reconsider.

[@frogz]

my guess is it contains a little voltage gnome inside, voltage goes up it's clacker and a full gnome rectumfryer seperates the voltage out of each of it's eyes(it's quite the painful process to hook up a gnome, they bite when you're glueing wires to their eyes)

[@teardowndan5364]

While poor thermal conductivity foam over a hot chip may not be ideal, you do need to keep in mind that the whole board is inside a plastic housing and the chip packaging itself likely has pretty high thermal resistance. Most power semiconductors sink the bulk of their heat in their leads or thermal pad underneath when present. Heat from the chip isn't really going anywhere regardless of whether there is a foam pad or an air gap. As for ease-of-opening, I really wish power adapters were still held together by some combination of hooks and 1-4 screws. I've repaired dozens of these over the years and most of them only needed a new auxiliary/bootstrap capacitor for the switching IC because the 1.0-4.7uF original ones got the snot beaten out of them by flyback transformer current spikes they likely aren't rated for. Most of the bricks I repair are OEM adapters since I do not want to end up with Chinese knock-off replacements built to no safety standards worth a damn.

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

Is it bad I half expected to see a capacitive dropper in there?

[@alexandermonro6768]

That's also what I was expecting. I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or relieved by what Clive actually found.

[@NinoJoel]

My father owns one of these and I also assumed there was a dropper inside.

[@d.t.4523]

That name does seem over the top. Big Clive Industrial Corporation will have to up it's game. Thank you, keep working.

[@johnnythefixer]

Sometimes a small G-clamp is good for popping small power supply units like this. Just tighten on the sides in different areas. Better than stabbing my hands with screwdrivers.

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

Clive has a suitable tool. It's called something like "the vise of persuasion".

[@sarkybugger5009]

@@manolisgledsodakis873 The vice of knowledge, I believe.

[@abitofabitofabit4404]

@@sarkybugger5009 A vise is not a vice.

[@sarkybugger5009]

@@abitofabitofabit4404 The words are interchangeable, according to Webster's dictionary, but I believe the vice spelling is more common in the UK, where I live.

[@desertdog2282]

Thanks again for another lesson on how stuff works.

[@mikemondano3624]

My similar charger didn't charge and the light stayed halway between green and red. There was a capacitor with only one leg soldered down. Many said I should just have returned it, but my way was actually less work.

[@icecreamtruckog3667]

When opening a glued power supply you can hit it with a mallet bending the plastic back and forth and eventually the glue breaks and you can open it mostly intact.

[@stuartmcconnachie]

7:13 Were they going for “Fine Made”? Actually Google translates it as Shenzhen Fuman Electronics, which is what they seem to be called online. No idea where the Fine Mad came from!

[@foogod4237]

Yeah, the relevant part of the name is 富满, which is pronounced "fu-man", and appears to just be a name (combining the characters for "wealthy" and "satisfied"). However, some Google searches suggest that the official English name for this company is actually "Fine Made Microelectronics Group Co Ltd". I suspect that they decided to take the "Fu Man" from the Chinese name and pick English words starting with the same sounds ("F" and "M") that they thought sounded classy instead. So apparently the "Fine Mad" is just a typo in this particular document (unfortunately). However, I also love the fact that the actual Chinese name "Fuman" does sound sorta similar to "Fu Manchu", who was a famous fictional "mad scientist" and supervillain from the early 1900s, so in that respect it does actually also kinda work, IMHO...

[@SianaGearz]

​@@foogod4237 I've seen other chips by Fuman such as amplifier IC. The fortunate typo was on all the data sheets I have seen. I think they made that header and then copied it all over the place.

[@spvillano]

@@SianaGearz likely, they made copies for all over the place, trademarked it at the same time and well, it might cost a few pennies to change the name, so ran with it.

[@iamfubar1]

Wow...okay...let's go with a very sketchy power supply for this decently good battery pack!

[@spvillano]

@agustinusreynaldi7101 I dunno, looks like a race to see which would burn the structure down, failed battery or failed AC supply. The only thing missing is petrol coolant on the foam pad.

[@MrHimer12]

@agustinusreynaldi7101 Those packs are deleting themselves because IC chip in this copy is only for protection, it does zero balancing at all. While you have balanced pack then this "powerful" lithium charger will work. When pack starts to spread then hatred rampage starts. I have built my own battery with HB6 30 amp cells I also have chineese 3Ah one which is of course worse, my pack delivers 60amps peak. There is a spot near the latch that can be ground away, drilled 2 4mm holes, ideal to attach 5 20awg wires and JST-XH connector for balancing, connector clears with the tools and is protected by it. I charge those batteries with RC charger. Mod for skilled hands take like 15 minutes with soldering and attaching top cap back.

[@ThePurrpler]

I saw that sodium-ion batteries are now available to the public, I think it would be cool if you made a video on that

[@bigclivedotcom]

Julian Illet made some videos about them.

[@ruben_balea]

If the charger can actually charge the battery and the tool seems to do its job the average buyer will write a good review about the tool and nowadays that is what manufacturers are most concerned about.

[@dashcamandy2242]

And if it fails in six months, "Well, I didn't pay very much for it," and in the bin it goes. 😆

[@45KevinR]

Think we have to give a small credit to Fine Mad (Fuman) who provided the chip, and the valid schematic. Some other bunch built and sold the charger (with no name on it) and components left out. I guess we also need to encourage or maybe discourage Clive from testing the isolation resistance of the windings and board.

[@echothehusky]

I'm not a fan of poorly made short lifespan products like this, it just seems like a huge waste of the planets resources. :(

[@vladthe_cat]

One day, landfills will become mines for metals and plastics and other related materials

[@iindium49]

​@@vladthe_cat dude I came here to say this, you are absolutely correct. There are serious discussions concerning scrubbing atmospheric CO2 and chaining the hydrocarbons into gasoline or even plastics. Sure it's not energy efficient. But we have this large unshielded fusion reactor 1 au from us that we can tap to do much. I have great hope in people's ability to find interesting ways to reuse waste products.

[@cheeto4493]

@@iindium49 Mr. Fusion

[@dr_jaymz]

I think the charger is supposed to last the life if the battery and no more, so that would only be 5 years or so. I didn't say that was a good thing but a 21v psu isn't standard so you likely get one with every battery.

[@PaulSteMarie]

Worse case, that 2M resistor is dissipating 76mW, so it's not being pushed very hard. Voltage rating might be a concern, but that's not shown on the label.

[@Graeme_Lastname]

Those cardinals are a sinful bunch. 🤣👍

[@SianaGearz]

Diddling the electrons till they go wild.

[@spvillano]

As a cradle Catholic, I quite concur!

[@Graeme_Lastname]

@@spvillano 😃

[@Graeme_Lastname]

@@SianaGearz 😀

[@markedis5902]

I always go for decent power supplies however recently I’ve had two Anker USB supplies fail. They claim to supply up to 5A but failed with a 4A load on a single output. O/P1 failed so I moved to O/P2 which lasted a day and the other outputs only lasted a few minutes. I had another the same and checked the outputs with a USB tester and dummy load. All outputs claimed to be IQ3 but would only supply 2A at 5V and the 5A was total load. Not sure how they got the 60W unless it dissipated more wattage than it supplied. I opened it up and it did have the Qualcomm chips but there were piggyback boards stacked on piggyback boards and everything crammed into a tiny space. Couldn’t see any obvious damage and I wouldn’t stand a chance trying to reverse engineer and fault find so it was unceremoniously consigned to the large round filing cabinet in the corner of the room. If Anker USB supplies are starting to go the same way as everyone else, who is there left that you can rely on for quality ?

[@SianaGearz]

IKEA?

[@dr_jaymz]

Some of the later switchers claim to have snubbers built in to reduce component count further. I guess if it runs for 10 years then a snubber isn't necessary. But then again it depends on how you decode the chinglish. It is surprising how beefy mosfets diodes and capacitors beyond a few picafarads can now be implemented on silicon.

[@LawpickingLocksmith]

My cheap whipper snipper came with the same charger. It does the job and even carries a fake EU approval. A fusible resister at the mains side would make me feel a little less iffy.

[@marcse7en]

I've got a Crey Galculator, Big Clive! 🤣 The trouble with modern electrics, Big Clive, is that they're no fun anymore! ... Back in the 60's and 70's, things used to go ⚡ bang 💥 much more! ... I can't remember the last time I had a good bang? Oh, I've embarrassed myself again? ... I'll close the door on my way out of the comments, shall I?

[@bikkiikun]

As for the name, it's curious where the "Fine Mad" comes from. 富 means wealth, fortune or abundance. 滿 means full, filled up or satisfied. It's also an abbreviation for Manchuria. Combined it just means being very rich / wealthy.

[@amorphuc]

Thanks Big Clive. I always immediately want to go to the Vice of Knowledge! LOL Do the bean counters really wind up with significant profit increase by requiring such shortcuts in the product? So weird. I wouldn't think a pick and place machine would really take much longer to implement correct components. Maybe it's more the planed obsolescence.

[@simno345]

The resistor is more likely 20k5 (2052) as this is a standard EIA96 value, not 25k0 (2502), which isn't.

[@coughcough5839]

great to see a new video i can sleep to

[@perhansson6718]

0:30 are we sure we don't need some new glasses Clive? It says 21v and not 12v @ 2A as you said :D

[@bigclivedotcom]

I'd just made a video about a 12 V pack at that time.

[@methanial73]

Ooooooh, you had me at design sins.

[@simontay4851]

If you populate the snubber components and class Y capacitor then it'll probably be ok. Could also stick a heatsink on the switching chip.

[@SianaGearz]

I don't know if that transformer is OK. It looks sus.

[@johnsenchak]

hey at least it has a isolation slot on the board

[@sokoloft3]

Sometimes a BMS is too smart for its own good. In saying that I'm just salty one cell went bad in this laptop battery and now I need to buy a new one. It was one of those wrapped up ones. Manu's should be forced to make marks on where to cut them so people can safely open them. As well as holes you can pierce into it so you can get access directly to the cells. 3 of the 4 cells are absolutely fine. Guess I need to order a boost converter and make them into a power bank.

[@SianaGearz]

The problem is you have a series pack. While the laptop will run on say 3 cells instead of 4 (not ideal, could cause more VRM heat, but maybe it doesn't or maybe it's fine either way), well the charging current goes through all the cells. If one cell is getting 5000mAh, so do all of them! And in case one cell can't take that, well unfortunately the pack just can't be charged safely. Sure there's balancing but it has the current capability of like maybe 100mA, it can't shovel the current fast enough during the bulk of the charging cycle. So unless you're willing to make the BMS even more complex, the effective capacity is the same as the capacity of the weakest cell plus maybe a little extra, not much. It's not too smart, it's just the only sensible way it could go about things.

[@baqcasanke]

That’s why we should use 18650 cells that can be replaced. I hate built-in lipos!

[@Alacritous]

To be fair, it's for brute force charging a battery. Batteries aren't really vulnerable to noise or interference.

[@hpdv0276]

I see that this charger relies on the overvoltage protection inside the battery. The matching battery did not have overvoltage protection.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The batteries usually have a proper cell management system in them, that will stop the charge when any of the cells approaches 4.2V.

[@curtishoffmann6956]

My brother is a tool. Will this charger work on him?

[@randycarter2001]

That label is most likely hot stamped. Very cheap to do since the data doesn't change from one unit to the next. Come to think of it, the die doesn't need to be particularly hot.

[@hobbesip1]

I've studied electronics since I was 7, as a hobby. I figured by my current age of 44 I would be able to look at a schematic or board and work it out like Big Clive does. Turns out I cannot 😞

[@spvillano]

As a hobby, exposure is limited, occupationally, while one's exposure is increased and proficiency arrives, so does penury.

[@NiyaKouya]

Hey, it should at least provide 2A on the primary, so the rating on the label was only half a lie xD Thanks for dissecting and analyzing those tools, makes one realize that it's really worth spending a few extra bucks on tools (and chargers) from reputable brands so you get decent electronics that won't set your living space on fire.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

Some of these machines nominally have a voltage of 20v to I think DeFault for example does that. 20/40.

[@jeffdayman8183]

Boy, that one's a junker both electronically and mechanically. The housing does not look safe or robust enough for a line voltage device at all. Seeing all the usual safety / good operation / snubber devices not present and a real iffy transformer in place, as well as using foam to mount the PCB, I'd be pretty nervous plugging that in. But the thing that really shocked me badly was the exaggerated 2 amp charge spec! Never seen that before. (much) 8^) Cheers!

[@g8xft]

Ta. I think my charger is probably one of these so I may try modding it

[@nelchan2421]

Tips alert: don't use this type of charger. It can cause damage to your battery if the charger is getting too hot for the 18650 to handle. The charger name is: Power Tool Battery Charger Replacement Suitable For Makita 21V Li-ion Battery Portable Fast Charger Universal 0.8A 2A EU Plug

[@aaronag7876]

I have 2 of these cheap devices, a multi drill and impact. I also have a DeWalt multi drill. Guess which one performs, last longest and doesn't let me down lol😂 The cheap multi Drill is so rubbish and can't drill into bricks lol The impact drill is not bad and been really good. Even if the battery doesn't last more than an hour lol I also have a cheap Chinese cordless garden strimmer, as they are now flooding the market lol Same batteries and charger It's ok for general strimmer work but doesn't last long. All came with 2 batteries each, so can interchange the empty ones with the charged ones

[@braddofner]

Hello from Pittsburgh, PA! I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a bare-bones example circuit from some book or online source that they blindly replicated without thinking of ANYTHING, then told a 12 year old to remove every component they can while still having it charge the pack. Then I get to the part of the video where you show the crappy schematic😅😂. Amazing!

[@janosnagyj.9540]

0:31 Output DC 21V, not 12! 😅

[@waqasahmed939]

Yay. I've got one of these and normally I'm like "maybe I shouldn't" but there's no alternative to the stuff that comes out of China So I'm glad I'm not gonna burn my house down

[@dieseldragon6756]

The diode at 10:05 might not be a _Shottkey_ diode...But it'll certainly be a _Shot to ribbons_ diode after about 100h of use! 🔋💥😉 But then, that's the standard for these parts. So long as they work for longer than the returns window stays open... 📦⛔😉

[@chuckthetekkie]

I don't like how thin the gauge of the wires they used are. I'm sure they are "probably" fine, but I would have preferred them to be a bit thicker for a higher margin of safety.

[@MsLancer99]

What get me is when it say on the back of a charger it's say 2A at 21V then I look at the very thin gable from the charger I'm thinking 2A at 21V I don't think so

[@spvillano]

So, D4, D5, D6 and D7 are those new fusible diodes. Once the smoke goes out, they open. I'll not go into the oddity of numbering diodes only no other component actually rating a designation... Really nice blind faith regulation system, totally overload protected. Who needs failsafes when one can simply rebuild the buildings it burns down? Are you sure that the foam pad wasn't saturated with petrol as well? Or is the pad simply a plastic explosive? To quote the Colossus computer, "Missiles launched".

[@brianallen9810]

Maybe it needs the hammer of knowledge to open it.. They probably just ran out of parts for the snubber.

[@tubaman66]

Probably best that the Class Y cap is missing as they are often fake and just another electrocution hazard.

[@JohnSmith-gs4lw]

I can NOT believe you got that wall wart open without cutting sonic welds. 2:50 Nearly every single one I’ve ever touched requires power tools or, my favorite, a hacksaw blade. When you saw it by hand, you can sneak up on cutting all the way through it without putting your Dremel cutting disk through the side of a lytic hiding right up against the seam.

[@kyoudaiken]

I wouldn't touch that charger with a 4000 parsec long pole.

[@TerryLawrence001]

You got it all wrong Clive. The foam on the chip is supposed to make additional smoke. They were worried that the tiny chip didn't have enough smoke inside.😅🤣😂😆😅🤣

[@CrazyOregonBeaver]

I wonder if it's a division of the Yu Mad Electronics group. For using this piece of crap. 😂😂😂

[@CrazyOregonBeaver]

I know the chip isn't bad. Probably reversed engineered and stolen from some american company, now I'm probably on some chinese hit list. 😂

[@water9111]

What does the chip do, is it inverting the DC and increasing the frequency?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Yes. It converts the high voltage DC to pulses of current through the transformer.

[@何馬士]

SHEN ZHEN FINE MAD, the key words are "Fine" & "MAD" 😂😅😊

[@markfergerson2145]

Cheap and easy charger for cheap and easy battery packs used in cheap and easy power tools. Well, at least they are consistent. I’ve seldom seen a better example of the lower end of the “you get what you pay for” scale.

[@spvillano]

I have. The brand is Harbor Freight Tools. Pretty much single use tools, use them once and they'll quite often never function again. Literally. Got cheap drills and angle grinders there for a single use, next time I needed one, tried them to find their gears stripped round into wheels with no contact between them, but plenty of metal shavings inside of the head. Calling them shit would be in insult to excrement.

[@3rdpig]

It's probably designed to last as long as the cells in the battery.

[@DumahBrazorf]

And no fuse, fusible resistor or ntc to ease the inrush current. It's a ticking fire hazard. SUPER DODGY!

[@BrendonGreenNZL]

The PCB _is_ the fuse. Failing that, one of the diodes will surely pop.

[@janosnagyj.9540]

Soo disappointing, there is no antigravity inside!😭 Maybe they hid it in that HUGE transformer 😅

[@jaycraft21]

Just bought a couple of cheapy tools with these batteries and chargers, actually surprised how well the tools themselves performed, between charges, 3 hour charge, 10 minutes of use, after watching this I now suspect the charger isn't actually charging as it should, Is there an alternative or 1 hour fast charge charger available that anyone has found? Would love to see Clive put one of these right and safe just out of curiosity to see if it would improve the charging ability.

[@985D]

Hmm, USB C phone charger with PD/QC dummy/trigger/decoy module set to 20V (and 2-3A ?) should be much better

[@Benbearjones]

Being a makita knock off I always wondered if I should put them on my genuine charger but not being knowledgeable enough on the matter and preferring not to have an indoor fireworks display I avoided the idea

[@rolfs2165]

My guess: the circuit board is half the size of the case at most, only held by being soldered to the plug terminals. No protection or anything, just the bare minimum.

[@bikkiikun]

For some odd reason, I expected a capacitive dropper, rendering the popping batteries live with mains voltage. The disaster you showed us, is not that dangerous.

[@tpcdude]

and no emi filter?

[@fredfred2363]

Why don't we have DC mains voltage? Everything including motors are now run on DC. Lights, tech, EVs, fridges, washing machines, heat pumps etc etc. All DC now. Variable speed DC controlled motors are much more efficient than regular induction motors.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Due to the AC legacy for motors and transformers it's going to be hard to change.

[@BrendonGreenNZL]

AC is also just very much easier to generate and transmit, since electricity is almost universally generated from mechanical rotation (solar farms being a notable exception).

[@worroSfOretsevraH]

Hi Clive. Do you know anything about Panzer 18V Li-Ion tools batteries? It uses a PT6111 IC for charging/balancing and a microcontroller for the 5 series cells. There is a USB socket, a button and 3 led's for charge status. I have 2, they are not charging, nor providing any voltage at the output or USB port. When I press the button, it works briefly. Is it possible that the microcontroller locked the battery for some reason? On a tool? Like a laptop? Have you seen anyting like this before? I cannot find any damaged component on the PCB. I've charged every cell individually to rule out balance problems. Thanks.

[@bigclivedotcom]

If the cells are above 3V it should work. It might be worth disconnecting the cells from the control module to see if it resets.

[@CubbyTech]

The missing components may have been excluded during the supply chain shortage? Although in this case, if they can save 5 pennies, they will!

[@simontay4851]

Not even 5 pennies. Its 0.5 of a penny.

[@tncorgi92]

​@@simontay4851adds up if you're building 1 million of them

[@phonotical]

No way of boosting it up to 2a?

[@bigclivedotcom]

No. It's a limitation of the chip.

[@dashcamandy2242]

...Wire four together in parallel? 🤣

[@randycarter2001]

It may be a chip for a USB power supply. The output voltage is determined by the turns ratio between FB and output windings. So it can do just about any voltage. But your sill limited by the number of watts it can handle.

[@ibrahimkocaalioglu]

How these things can be imported to UK.

[@robertsmiczsmiczamplificat593]

The tool isn’t too bad, the battery is mediocre at best, but the charger is junk. If non tech people only knew how unsafe the junk they are buying is? Maybe they would stop buying it? Wait!! who am I kidding? They will buy it anyway. People are addicted to buying this cheap junk. It’s fun to buy to bash to bits and see how cheap it is, but to buy it thinking it will be as good as a name brand, proven product is kind of silly to me. That was fun. Thanks BC.

[@skyll4141]

more quality items

[@colinbailey6236]

It says DC 21V not 12.

[@smalcolmbrown]

Thanks :)

[@TCASAnalytics]

If I want to contact Clive about sending him a device to "take it to bits", how would I go abouts doing so?

[@V0S1N0]

I wonder if it's possible to have a high carbon content foam that actually conducts vs. insulates a thermal load?

[@BrendonGreenNZL]

Not when thermal transfer pads/putty are already a thing.