Testing questionable LiPo Battery Charger Schematics I found on the internet!

Altium Designer: altium.com/yt/greatscott!
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www.circuitstoday.com/lipo-ba...
www.tp4056.com/d/tp4056.pdf
www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/bq2...
www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm3...
In this episode of testing circuits I found on the internet I will be having a look at LiPo battery charger schematics. I will build up 2 very simple circuits which claim to charge a LiPo battery and test whether they can truly do that. One circuit is based around an LM317 adjustable regulator while the other one is based around an Op-Amp. I will show you the flaws of those simple design and while I am at it also show you my own super simple, very inefficient but safe LiPo charger. Let's get started!
Thanks to Altium for sponsoring this video.
Music:
2011 Lookalike by Bartlebeats
0:00 LiPo Battery charging in general
1:45 Intro
2:25 How to properly charge a LiPo battery
3:56 Testing circuit 1 (LM317)
7:58 Testing circuit 2 (OpAmp)
10:20 Making my own LiPo charger (CC/CV)
11:49 Verdict

[@nothingtoseehere4026]

"Hold my beer, while I draw it up". Love the channel.

[@Mijo0x9]

um is that a bomb...

[@NitinKumar82889]

Screenshot

[@satviksharma1146]

I am going to love this series!!

[@greatscottlab]

Glad to hear that :-)

[@jfk4229]

I find it kinda odd that Altium Designer gets marketed to makers. Like 95% can't afford it anyway!

[@liquidsonly]

99%

[@luizdanielsantos]

99.9995%

[@daanb7894]

Right, even for work I design PCBs occasionally and I thought I'd try Altium instead of Fusion 360 but then I saw it was around 3500 per year and I was like nope. Now the Altium salesman won't leave me alone and keeps calling my work.

[@Asu01]

GreatScott! "Which of these schematics should I pick?" Donut Science: *exists* GreatScott! "Donut Science it is!"

[@greatscottlab]

I mean the name really made my day :-)

[@MCsCreations]

And who doesn't love donuts? 😊

[@JjMn1000]

Hmmm

[@chriskaprys]

Donut try this at home.

[@blackred5155]

Asu

[@navidmafi]

wow i was waiting for another video from "found on the internet" series. Great video!

[@greatscottlab]

Glad you liked it! There will hopefully be more episodes.

[@ayman6516]

I'll hold your beer if you made more

[@KamranKhan-co6ox]

Scott can you please make one such video for audio amplifier circuits found on the internet?

[@CircuitCreator]

Which kind of amplifier you are looking for

[@KamranKhan-co6ox]

@@CircuitCreator any audio amplifier bro...from a simple pre-amp to multi-stage and class A, AB, etc. There're tons of amp circuits you can find on the internet

[@fiordhraoi1]

I appreciate this, especially as a novice. It seems like the bane of all of my projects is trying to fit in Lipo charging/protection boards + a boost/buck converter, so I can understand the temptation to try to find an alternate approach. The fact that I am looking at making wearable things minimizes that temptation to move away from safety, though. :)

[@mr.meticulous1241]

Literally! I would love to portablize so many projects but I always get tripped over "simple" power circuitry like this, worrying about charging currents and battery heat, etc.

[@blanana_m]

Everytime I circuits built without a board, it makes me nervous as hell one wire shorts and the whole thing just blows up

[@geovani60624]

nah, everything used to be like that in the old days

[@stevebabiak6997]

@@geovani60624 - and built like that in metal chassis. For those too young to understand, vacuum tube devices like TVs and radios were built like that in production a long time ago.

[@legominimovieproductions]

Built an 4x 18650 charger once without much knowledge, powered by the 5v rail of 350W atx psu😅 well the diode i had in the setup obviously was overloaded by the factor 4, then the diode cracked, the springs of the 18650 holders began glowing and it was a total desaster with 4 half charged 18650 cells😂

[@keithking1985]

@@legominimovieproductions ITS ALWAYS THAT ONE LITTLE THING YOU OVER LOOK THAT F's IT ON YA!

[@1Hippo]

Isn't that the fun of it?

[@sunilkulkarni4426]

WAITING FOR GREAT SCOTT TO UPLOAD AND HERE WE GO!!!!

[@greatscottlab]

Hope you like the video :-)

[@omaribrahim5008]

@@Rachitkivines it will be too slow

[@vladd9344]

@@greatscottlabI LIKE IT!

[@Eagle-md6ku]

Please do more of this!!! Totally love these videos! You're sense of humor comes out and makes the video very fun to watch

[@SirDella]

I'm glad the lovely tp4056 module exists, I'm using one as I watch the video

[@prte100]

Im so happy about their existence, made in china, but works perfect and for less then 1$ from china, quiet enough and good for every battery project.

[@jacobwigent1931]

Love the channel! I’ve been waiting for this video today!

[@greatscottlab]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@yigitsubutay]

Examining ccts, making some improvements this concept is very helpful for beginners and college students. I hope you continue this series. Thankss

[@Katupiry]

With a single extra resistor on your Comparator charger setup, you can create hystheresis and end the oscillations. Usually CV charging stages inside dedicated IC's are implemented in a similar way inside the chip dye

[@Freenormable]

You sir are my favorite souce for information and learning. Thank you for your time.

[@prisedeterre1356]

This series really makes my day ! What about some high voltage circuits you find on Google images next time ?

[@michellepowell1956]

"Hold my Beer while I ....." Love it!

[@Gold63Beast]

Okay Scott, this is an AWESOME VIDEO!!!! GREAT TOPIC, GREAT EXPLAINATION, overall GREAT JOB!! Very informative. Right on point Scott.

[@ThriftyToolShed]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing!

[@slappyrats]

Man your videos are so informational! Great content ❤️😁

[@smithperks3313]

Just addicted to Great Scott, I have missed your videos,thanks for this,,,Masterpiece

[@greatscottlab]

Enjoy!

[@princebanini]

It is always most important to understand how a circuit works before using it. That was cool

[@felixbrandau4751]

I learned so much thank you And I love the beautiful diagrams!

[@avejst]

great project 👍😀 thanks for sharing your experience with all of us 👍😀

[@Kyuunex]

Meanwhile ebay sellers: **wiring the USB plug directly to the battery**

[@adlerweb]

Ah - they have internal protection for a reason, right? And noone would ever remove it to save money, RIIIIGHT?

[@Kyuunex]

@@adlerweb at least some flashlights that charge via USB are like that. they also come with a cheap 18650 that probability has no protection.

[@adlerweb]

@@Kyuunex Well, an overcharged 18650 also produces light, so it's a win-win, right? :D

[@caffeinatedinsanity2324]

I never knew negligent batterycide was a legal thing. Turn rechargeable batteries into disposable ones :)

[@newburypi]

Really like this type of video. Thank you, and well done.

[@stalindsouza9486]

Amazing video with great explanations sir😍

[@greatscottlab]

So nice of you

[@jj74qformerlyjailbreak3]

Great Scott Love your work. Glad to see a new vid.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks 👍

[@inceptsquad9516]

This video type is an amazing idea hope to see more in the future

[@greatscottlab]

More to come hopefully

[@sushantadaki6212]

I would definitely love this series I personally like it a lot..

[@vidulabeywickrama7852]

The videos just keep getting better. The only down side to ur vids are that we cant stop watching. Very great content.

[@greatscottlab]

Glad you like them!

[@nixxonnor]

Nice video that adds to people's understanding of how stuff works :D

[@jdpantoja442]

Very inspirational video, thanks Scotty!

[@greatscottlab]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheMechanicGamerVids]

I really like this series 👍 good work

[@greatscottlab]

Glad to hear it!

[@Kl1Ainti]

I love this series, keep it up!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks :-)

[@Casperdroid5]

Very interresting! Thank you!

[@fajakbar1851]

Nice! I really love this, maybe you can test circuit like overcharge and overdischarge. Overall, good job!

[@anuragmahajan5919]

Awesome video, waiting for another episode of, "Testing circuits I found on the internet".

[@Bhavesh_g20]

Waited for you to upload a video I went out of my room and when I came back I saw my laptop giving me notification of your video Was very excited for video And the video completed its expectation correctly :)

[@greatscottlab]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@pcbdesign819]

It's great video, i really like the way you do it.

[@niar491]

This series is great :)

[@melplishka5978]

Good one Scott ty

[@Somgosomgo]

Glad to see you switched over to Altium. I use it at work. Can't see myself ever going back to OrCAD or anything else.

[@m.s.m8918]

Love this series!

[@greatscottlab]

Brilliant :-)

[@dodutils]

As usual excellent, I do have a question when you use your multimeter in current meter mode do it change the voltage as such multimeter may uses shunt resistor method.

[@fabianrudzewski9027]

Those lipo batteries should have a charge C rating printed somewhere. You get the max charge current by multiplying with the capacity.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I really appreciate this topic. The fire with lipo batteries is bad enough, but the huge amounts of toxic smoke they produce is another huge danger. I see a lot of youtubers treating lipo batteries very casually, using very dodgy practices and not taking the risk seriously. i have firsthand experience with a lipo battery fire. thank goodness, it occurred outside (due to the smoke) but wasn't near flammable vegetation.

[@antkoos]

I think there is a schematic with a lm317 where you don't need to use 2 IC's, just one could regulate the voltage and keep a constant current

[@allasayegh1411]

great as always

[@greatscottlab]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@oakkar7]

Simple and clear as usual. Can you kindly recomnend or test any simple lipo low voltage cut off circuit with only discrete components? Most cheapo lipo charger and bms module seem didn't support low voltage protection.

[@JawadAhmadsahibzada]

Great 👍🏼 Scott !!!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks 👍

[@ott0dott0]

Hey GreattScott! I was wondering if you can review some Google circuits about temperature regulation for a soldering iron. Thanks, love u !

[@Car_Ram_Rod]

I love this series!

[@blackred5155]

Obat gigi yang murah, apa yah?

[@Johennessy]

Sehr cooles Video. Danke.

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Isn't an "anti trickle charge" cutoff an important part of lithium charging? I thought that leaving them on a CV source for a while can cause issues, which is why the tp4056 shuts off once it decides the battery is charged

[@eDoc2020]

Yes, at least if you use a constant 4.2v. If you use a lower cutoff voltage it might be okay.

[@fixnreview]

Watching from Ormoc City Philippines

[@vitruzicka7542]

You should consider changing the name of the series to: Anyway, I went on the internet and I found this:

[@CircuitCreator]

🤯

[@clems6989]

Waiting on next video in this series..... BTW, I think this is a great !

[@prasadvasu8462]

Could you make one with an OpAmp like the one on the internet but safer it would be great

[@diy-fun509]

Love you man ❤️. A true engineer.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks mate :-)

[@GODAXEN]

I made one using the L200C instead of the LM317, is a 5 pin TO220 voltage&current regulator lamentably if I'm not wrong nowdays is considered obsolete and possibly also out of production.

[@Leroys_Stuff]

The sketchy circuits I found on the inter webs is the best.

[@bundokz1997]

I can use this to charge my 18650 cells laying around here. Nice video as always

[@electronic7979]

Helpful video. İ like it

[@MoisesCaster]

Please make more videos like this one.

[@pesho9971]

I've always wondered why put the CC lm317 before the CV one.Wouldn't it make more sense to go CV first then CC since when the current start to drop the CC lm317 wont have to do any regulation?

[@PaintmanJohn]

Dead Bug style would be better than all those parts suspended in MID AIR. I like to build ONE OFF designs without a breadboard. Simply mount your biggest parts that will support others to a piece of perf board , or even a sheet of plastic. I have used Double Sided tape, hot melt glue, Super Glue, NYLON nut & bolt hardware, and even just solder to hold parts to a copper sheet. Also makes a great RF shield. Others have used a piece of wood or GLASS to support parts, as well as insulate them. Some groups even get together for "UGLY CIRCUIT" CONTESTS ! Any takers ?

[@chrisellingson123]

I was going to say working with lithium is more nerve-racking compared to mains supply. 😂 These are missing an important feature; charge termination based on the cells specified termination current. If left in CV the cell will heat up, overcharge and swell/pop a CID.

[@RoyalTech_2024]

Hi Great Scott, any scope for a MIDI synthesizer project?

[@sheogorathboon8256]

One thing I noticed with most of these circuits on google or bought on ebay, none feature redundancy i.e a fuse or voltage supervisor. if the circuit fails it has to fail safely.

[@sudheerkumar5966]

Very good sir 🙏🙏

[@Geniusinventor]

Please do a video on found on Internet on sound amplifier circuits . I want to know how chip and good and a Internet amplifier can get

[@thekaiser4333]

Testing questionable Schematics found on the internet! That's a great idea!

[@francescobattaglia5322]

Thanks!!!!

[@rpeetz]

Those multi batteries chargers are expensive but it is worth, easily adjustable charging current, multi cell lithium battery charging feature, not to mention the presets for various types of batteries.

[@melplishka5978]

Funny thing I used a 12v battery charger one and needed to modify a bit for added safety lol but wasn’t too bad , even efficiency was pretty good lol

[@DoctorX17]

Personally I just go for cheap little charging boards that use a LiPo charging IC, which usually you can just integrate into a design if you get to the PCB stage

[@micromachine9975]

Este cargador vale tambien para las 18650? Thank you!

[@pranavjikate4856]

Make video on Lead acid battery /SLA battery charging circuit

[@sebastiannobody1142]

As you have a common model rc lipo you can charge them with one 1C (600 mAh). Better ones are also rated up to 4C. But this could reduce their life span.

[@FictionalEngineer]

Hey scott, do we need bms for lead-acid/gel batteries? Its in series to give an 48v output Is bms really necessary?

[@alexstone691]

Can you explain Kasyan t12 solderin iron circuit, it looks simple but it's quite complex for me

[@Kevin-xw1eo]

DYI or buy suggestion. Scoreboard for a ping pong table. Most that I've seen are either just flip boards or like $200+ units. I feel like 2 buttons, an LED display, an Arduino, and some holes drilled in a table could be had for less than $50 and an afternoon.

[@harrison8021]

Ah...the sarcasm This will be an awesome series 💥

[@KC-yk5xe]

I charge my drone lipo at 2c with temp probe going to the charger, and i usually do 1c on lipo and .5c on liion (when doing it safely?) Btw great vid as always

[@thisfeatureisbad]

Would it be also possible to use your circuit with CC and VC to charge an AA battery?

[@pavelperina7629]

I was thinking about something maybe even more crazy - capacitor that is charged by PWM (up to 10mA limited by resistor) from MCU and discharged via resistor and also connected to gate of mosfet. Then monitoring current and voltage on battery via ADC inputs and controlling and regulating PWM->Mosfet gate voltage accordingly.

[@norm1124]

Danke 🙏

[@rp1570]

Love u videos of 'circuits I found on the internet '

[@greatscottlab]

Brilliant :-)

[@edvardfranke]

Love it!

[@nistakmahmud]

Best series....... Love from Bangladesh

[@nikilvernongoveas8371]

You are awesome . How can I expand my knowledge about circuits And other electronics components ?

[@walangpart2]

I think the custom circuit you built is redundant because the data sheet actually have a lipo battery circuit where there is a series resistor in the output before the connection of the voltage divider so pretty much compresses you circuit? I dont know hahaha just assuming

[@RichardSmithers]

I am surprised they were mostly safe and mostly worked. I expected some horribly dangerous circuits hooked up to mains voltage.

[@akhurash]

Great video. With how cheap components are now a days (well I guess before COVID), it’s safer and easier to just go with a charger IC/module.

[@navidmafi]

wait how tf this comment is from a week ago. i guess the video was private

[@zzlg]

@@navidmafi he's a patreon member

[@TomUSAF_VET]

I have a question I would like answered please. I have 2 Bluetooth speakers that have around 10 hours of play time each, but I work 12 hour shifts. At one point the charge port broke off, so I opened it up to add a more robust charge port. There are two 18650 LiPO batteries inside and lots of spare room. Is it possible for me to solder in one more 18650 LiPo battery to this pair so I can get more play time? Thank you for your awesome channel! I am learning so much.

[@ppsps5728]

Even though I do more software that electronics , feed by electronics loving brain mainly through KZbin channels like yours.. Keep up your great work and nice explainations.. A small request from my end .. SW radio and Plasma ball .. Please add to your list ..

[@keithking1985]

waaheeyy. the two LM317 circuit would have been the way i would have solved it.. its great when you see that your actually learning this stuff. : ) PLEASE DO MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS ON CIRCUITS YOU FIND ONLINE.. p.s. anyone who wants to know which to put 1st when making a CC/CV circuit with 2 LM317's you always put the CC one 1st & not the other way around..... CLASS BLOODY VIDEO BUDDY.. 10 THUMBS UP. ; )

[@Delwin_Cardozo_27]

It's better to buy a branded and high quality charger for such lipo batteries 🔋. Thanks 👍

[@greatscottlab]

Yes, true

[@ashwinkv2918]

Please make a video on sine wave inverter using aurduino