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Arduino Li-ion Charger

I’ve had a variety of Li-ion batteries for some time that I’ve wanted to use in projects, but I hadn’t because I had no safe way to automate the charging process. To solve this problem, I built a smart charger powered by an Arduino Duemilanove. With a couple transistors and a few resistors, I built a circuit that could charge and monitor a cell. In addition, I added an LCD display from a hacked caller ID. The original caller ID’s microcontroller still controls the screen, but I send repeated incoming caller id signals containing the information I want displayed. The unit is programmed on the safe side; it aborts at even minor signs of unusual charging. False alarms have been dealt with by simply disconnecting and reconnecting the cell. I prefer this inconvenience over the risk of fire. With easy access to the USB port on the back, I can always upgrade its software with new functionality such a safety checks and charging patterns.

Duration : 0:7:34


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Juan Pablo

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Comments

2 responses to “Arduino Li-ion Charger”

  1. peterlonz Avatar
    peterlonz

    Not quite the usual …
    Not quite the usual level of info, but again a well presented vid showing one man’s approach to a difficult battery charging problem.

  2. field16 Avatar
    field16

    Another great …
    Another great Arduino project from you. I’ve been thinking of building the same thing! And again, you have recycled older parts for a more useful function.

    One advantage to making it yourself is that you could edit the code any time you want. You could write a different program for charging another battery chemistry, like NiMH.

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