In a recent DIY project, YouTuber Chris Doel salvaged 500 rechargeable batteries from disposable vapes to build a powerful power bank that runs his workshop and even his entire house. The process appears quite tedious and requires a fair amount of technical expertise, but the result takes a solid swing at addressing the growing e-waste problem.
The UK has been facing an e-waste crisis caused by disposable vapes for the past few years. In fact, a report published by Material Focus in December 2024 estimates that around 8.2 million vapes, including single-use, pod, and big-puff models, are discarded or improperly recycled each week. Doel took this as an opportunity and has been working on repurposing batteries from discarded vapes since last year. His previous projects include a fast-charging power bank and an e-bike powered entirely by recycled batteries.
His latest experiment involved collecting thousands of discarded empty vapes returned by customers to vape sellers. He then popped them open, removed the internals, and desoldered the circuitry from the battery. This extraction process roughly takes him about 3 minutes. Notably, he mentions that a battery is more or less useless if its charge drops below 3V, which meant that he had to separate the bad ones from the good ones. To simplify the sorting process, he then used a small pump to ‘puff’ air into each vape to check whether the battery still had some charge left.
I Powered My House Using 500 Disposable vapes - YouTube Watch On
The next step involved testing each recycled cell to determine its exact capacity using cell testers, which was probably the most labor-intensive part of the process. Since all the cells had to be connected in parallel, they needed to be charged to the exact voltage. After some DIY tinkering and making flexible 3D-printed contact pads to fit smaller cells, Doel managed to charge and sort cells of similar capacity into groups. He also found that focusing on the larger cells made more sense, as using the smaller-capacity cells would have required nearly 2,000 units.
After extracting, desoldering, and testing 500 large cells, he moved on to connecting them all by sourcing custom 3D-printed modules and aluminum rails. Each 3D-printed module would hold nine cells, which were then connected in parallel by soldering copper wires. Four modules were then connected to form a larger bank of cells with a 3.7V output. Once complete, a total of seven large banks are stacked together in two groups and connected in series to deliver around 50V. For protection, a fuse was added between the two groups, along with a battery management system (BMS) module, to ensure that all cells connected in parallel are working as intended.
This massive battery was then connected to an inverter, which converted the 50V of DC output into 240V AC. The setup was capable of powering Doel’s entire workshop, including lights, an oscilloscope, and other testing equipment. Since the inverter was installed between Doel’s workshop and his house, it not only powered the workshop but also sent electricity back to his home, allowing him to run appliances and his editing rig. Doel claims that the entire setup can produce enough power to run his workshop for up to three days or his home for about eight hours, depending on the devices in use.
Doel's project is a great example of how recycling can be turned into something useful and showcases the potential of repurposing e-waste for sustainable energy solutions. Having said that, it’s important to note that this project was carried out with advanced technical knowledge and safety precautions. It is highly advised not to replicate any of the steps at home, as working with lithium-ion cells can be very dangerous if not done properly.
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