DISCLAIMER: this solution intentionally uses an appliance outside its official specification. Warranty may not cover any potential damage.
As a part of my portable PC project I started tinkering with a battery solution for a PC. In the end my "lapdesk" doesn't have an integrated battery, but I thought I'd extract what I learnt into a separate topic and finish this as a side-project.
Rough diagram (10 AWG cables are double lines, 16 AWG cables are single lines):
As a part of my portable PC project I started tinkering with a battery solution for a PC. In the end my "lapdesk" doesn't have an integrated battery, but I thought I'd extract what I learnt into a separate topic and finish this as a side-project.
NOTE: if you're using a different plug-in PSU than GxR-ONE, test if it's still stable at as low as 10.5V and check specifications that 12.6V max is safe. If not, 3S LiPo without voltage correction will not work. DO NOT GO OVER THE MAX VOLTAGE IN SPECS!
Rough diagram (10 AWG cables are double lines, 16 AWG cables are single lines):
Code:
PSU ========== RELAY == DIODE == CAPACITORS == GxR-ONE
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CCCV ||
CONVERTER ||
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BMS =========
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BATTERY
Parts:- Battery: 3S 11.1V LiPo pack from an RC store. Max 9000mAh for air travel (100Wh allowed), otherwise any capacity
- cheap and cheerful: ZIPPY Compact 8000mAh 3S1P 30C Lipo Pack, around £40
- BMS: separate ports 3S LiPo 11.1V 60A BMS from Daly, around £15
- CCCV converter: Voltage Converter 400W DC-DC Step-up Boost Converter Constant Current Power Supply Module LED Driver, around £10
- see this video for details and setup
- basically any adjustable, wide input Constant Current Constant Voltage Step Up converter with 4-8A output (0.5-1C for the pack above). Wide input because my modded server PSU has a voltage drop from cables on higher load. Step-up is important because output will always be 12.6V and there are a lot more step-down converters.
- Electronics:
- 1x 5-Pin 12V 60A relay switch, around £8
- 1x 12V 50A ideal diode, around £11
- 2x 10000uF 25V capacitor (for decoupling), around £8
- Cables/Connectors:
- 16 AWG cables
- 10 AWG cables
- 2x male, 2x female XT90-S (anti spark) plugs, around £5
- PSU: any 12v brick powerful enough for your PC, a modded 750W server PSU in my case, around £25