<
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/disposable-vapes-from-a-music-festival-can-power-a-beefy-e-bike-20-miles/>
'Disposable vapes are indefensible. Many, or maybe most, of them contain
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but manufacturers prefer to sell new ones.
More than 260 million vape batteries are estimated to enter the trash stream
every year in the UK alone. Vapers and vape makers are simply leaving an
e-waste epidemic to the planet's future residents to sort out.
To make a point about how wasteful this practice is—and to also make a pretty
rad project and video—Chris Doel took 130 disposable vape batteries (the bigger
"3,500 puff" types with model 20400 cells) found littered at a music festival
and converted them into a 48-volt, 1,500-watt e-bike battery, one that powered
an e-bike with almost no pedaling more than 20 miles. You can see the whole
build and watch Doel zoom along trails on his YouTube video.
To be clear: Do not do this. Do not put disposable vape cartridges in a vise
clamp to "pop out" their components. Do not desolder them from vape cartridges
that have a surprising amount of concentration still in them. Do not wire them
together using a balance board, group them using 3D-printed cell holders, and
then wire them in series. Heck, do not put that much power into a rear hub on a
standard bike frame, at least more than once. Doel has a fire extinguisher
present and visible on his workbench, and he shows you what happens when two of
the wrong batteries happen to make momentary contact—smoke, coughing, and
strong warnings.
And yet, when you see Doel get 33 kilometers (about 20.5 miles) on his
vape-powered ride, almost entirely without pedaling, hitting 32 miles per hour
once, the point is made. We are tossing out a lot of battery materials that
could be doing a lot of other things. Doel estimates his "dodgy bike" cost
about $60 in filament and materials to piece together. Most of the cells are
rated for a minimum of 300 cycles, which is both not a lot, but also more than
some bikes and scooters actually take on.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
