How to make a powerful battery. Do-it-yourself lithium-ion battery: how to charge correctly

Have you ever looked inside car batteries? And we decided to look “inside” battery production. The only Belarusian enterprise that produces batteries for passenger cars, is located in Pinsk and is 75% owned by the American corporation Exide. At the plant they speak two languages and make big plans. For example, they are going to produce batteries for the Volkswagen Polo Sedan, which are produced at a plant in Kaluga.

The plates are delivered from the warehouse, “impregnated” with a special paste (lead oxide with additives). They act as guides. Yellowish color - with a positive charge, greenish-gray - with a negative one. The plates are the most important component of the battery, an element of the electrical circuit. Like the filament in a light bulb. The amount of paste determines such an important characteristic of the battery as capacity. And the surface area of the plates is starting current.

The thinner the plates and the more of them, the higher the inrush current. Starter batteries (they are the only ones produced in Pinsk) - their figure is higher - are compared to an Arabian horse, traction batteries - to a draft horse.

The Pinsk enterprise is only on the way to creation full cycle production of rechargeable batteries, and now such plates are imported from Poznan, from another plant of the American corporation. “When we have our own space (we are renting it for now), we will be able to expand production. Now our limit is 380 thousand batteries per year. The market demand in Belarus is 700 thousand,”- Anton Uminsky, head of the sales department, briefly introduces us to the matter.

The plates are wrapped in envelopes made of special tape, more precisely, the machine does it. Wraps - cuts, wraps - cuts... The goal is to eliminate contact between the positive and negative electrodes.

The separator tape made of porous polyethylene is somewhat reminiscent of rubber, but it is quite thin and has pores. The electrolyte must pass through them.

Everything at the enterprise is automated as much as possible. The equipment was set up by specialists working at the company’s European factories. And in case of a breakdown, technical support staff are always on duty. In an emergency, they are ready to immediately begin troubleshooting. Downtime of one of the two conveyor belts, even for an hour, can result in losses of hundreds of euros.

The conveyor forms a package from a set of plates - the machine alternates them: with a negative charge, then with a positive one, etc.

- The resulting pack is the battery - it can contain from 10 to 16 plates. In turn, each battery consists of six batteries. In total, the battery contains from 60 to 96 plates,- notes Alexander Matvienko, quality manager and one of the old-timers of the enterprise.

At this stage, human intervention cannot be avoided - bad envelopes are rejected. It happens that the edges are unevenly cut and skewed. It's not a matter of aesthetics, of course. Remember above we talked about unwanted contact between negative and positive plates? It’s easier to remove the potential conflict now. The check, of course, will not be limited to this, but the details are below.

If you look more closely, you can see metal “bookmarks” or ears on both sides of the bag. The ears of the plus and minus plates are grouped by different sides package. Why, it will become clear a little later.

Now the packages are placed in another car.

The machine lubricates them with a special solution of organic acid, which removes the oxide film - so that the lead can be soldered better.

Before this, preparations were made to create an electrical circuit in the battery. And now the conveyor begins the main action - the “bookmarks”-ears are “dipped” into molten lead in a special mold (its temperature is 400 degrees Celsius) and the mold is immediately cooled with water. Therefore, the steam is clearly visible in the photo.

Lead ingots are stored nearby, which, in fact, are melted. They look impressive. Dropping one of these on your foot would not seem like much.

By the way, all employees of the enterprise wear special shoes (guests are given galoshes). When something heavy falls on your leg, it protects against injury, which can be quite serious. Goggles and a respirator are also required. It is prohibited to be in this workshop without a mask for more than four hours. All employees are tested monthly for lead levels in their bodies.

Now the future battery receives a plastic box divided into cells - a monoblock. They are also imported from abroad (from Poland and France, where several factories of the American corporation are located). Important point: There are holes in the inner walls. This is also not without reason. We'll remember about them a little later.

Another machine uses pliers to insert already soldered packages of plates into the monoblock: first the even ones, then the odd ones. Like cassettes in a tape recorder.

And here’s what the soldered “bookmark” ears look like. In the future, they will connect to the neighboring cell with a special bridge. Pins for “plus” and “minus” have also been added. At this stage it is very clearly visible electrical diagram Battery Like on the pages of physics textbooks.

“The electromotive force of each cell is 2 V,” continues Alexander Matvienko. - When all six batteries are connected, you will get the desired 12 V battery. It will power both the radio and lighting devices, and, naturally, provide starting current to the starter.

It is difficult to measure the temperature of a metal from a photograph. But believe me, she is tall. Therefore, the future battery is sent to a buffer zone, where the bridges are cooled. At this time, a short circuit test is carried out under a voltage of 2 kV. Even potential contact between negative and positive plates is eliminated. At this stage, defective bags can still be removed and replaced. Opening the candy bar at later stages means incurring losses.

- How do you know that the equipment is not failing?- we ask. - There is a signal copy for this case,- Alexander puts the battery on the conveyor. The red light comes on, and the conveyor “spits out” the rejects into a special compartment.

The final stage of creating an electrical circuit. The plate packs are welded (attention!) through the same holes in the inner walls of the monoblock. Again, no human intervention! Hiss. Welding takes a couple of seconds. Ready!

Before welding

After welding. Pay attention to the indentations in the ears

Another short circuit test, at the same time checking the quality of welding of plate packages. This is the last moment when you can look inside the battery.

Occasionally the operator glances at the light board that hangs right in the workshop. On it, for each conveyor, the number of batteries planned for production and the number of manufactured ones are indicated. Yes, even in a practically American enterprise it will not be possible to get away from the plan.

Gradually, the battery takes on a more presentable appearance. The battery receives an internal cover with plus/minus terminals. Until recently, its design was different. Now it has been changed in favor of technology. Batteries in the same housing come off the assembly line at other Exide factories under the brands Centra, Exide, Tudor, etc.

And now the cover... is removed to finally weld it to the monoblock. It is pressed against the molten plate and pressed against plastic box. Again, the process is as automated as possible.

The entire time we were at the plant, it seemed like someone was missing. The workshop is almost empty, but the work does not stop: there are only about a hundred people at the plant, a minority of whom are involved in production.

Soldering the plus and minus leads (the negative one is a little thinner). A metal pin (born) is connected to a “finger” familiar to motorists, onto which the terminals are attached.

- There are no other metals in the battery other than lead alloy,- notes Alexander Matvienko. - Hand soldering is carried out in order to ensure full contact borne and conclusions.

The battery is checked again. This time for tightness. The machine inserts tubes into the battery filler holes and supplies air under pressure.

- Distinguish between external and internal tightness. In the first case, we are talking about ensuring that the electrolyte does not spill and there are no microcracks on the body. In the second case, the reliability of the walls between the cells is checked. This is also important, since if the internal seal is broken, the battery will self-discharge faster,- Alexander explains.

They put an internal stamp - a brand.

In fact, this is needed more by the enterprise than by the buyer. The code encrypts the date, shift and some technical specifications. For example, "1" means 55 amp-hours, "2" means 60 amp-hours.

We go up to the platform from which the main workshop is clearly visible. At the end of the day, managers hold a planning meeting here. You can feel the Western approach in everything. The speaker walks into a circle outlined on the floor. He is given no more than two minutes. The plant is managed by a Serb of Australian origin, John Nikolic. He practically knows neither Russian nor Belarusian, so all communication takes place in English.

The “dry” battery is transported to the “wet” workshop. There are a lot of barrels and containers here, and the workers are dressed in special aprons, gloves, and oversleeves. Aggressive environment after all. You constantly have to deal with dilute sulfuric acid. Yes, this is where another one happens important stage- electrolyte is poured into the batteries. Again, this is done by a machine. The density of the poured electrolyte is 1.26 g per 1 cubic meter. cm.

After this, the operator inserts plugs and connects the batteries with connector wires - an electrical circuit is obtained, which can contain up to 16 batteries. They settle for no more than an hour. At this time, the electrolyte is absorbed into the plates, and the batteries are cooled, because when filled, their temperature rises sharply.

The batteries are transported to the formation site. When you walk in, you immediately notice the characteristic smell of chemical reaction products; out of habit, we even started coughing. The batteries are still collected in one circuit. But now current is supplied there. For what?

- This is formation. If you fill in the electrolyte and do nothing, the process of sulfation, which is undesirable for batteries, will begin, the interaction of lead and acid,- our guide explains. - As a result, crystals and lead sulfates are formed, which in the future will no longer be able to participate in chemical processes, and the battery will lose part of its capacity. By the way, a note to car enthusiasts: it is for this reason that a discharged battery cannot be stored for a long time. To prevent this, the battery is charged with current. Each type has its own programs and algorithms. Depending on the battery capacity, the process can take from 15 to 40 hours.

Already formed batteries are returned back to the “wet” workshop. Electrolyte is added there, the level of which, as a rule, decreases slightly. This is due to the fact that during the charging process the acid is absorbed into the plates, part of which goes to electrolysis. To top it off, the next automatic installation checks the level again.

All procedures with electrolyte are completed. A cover with special plugs is installed on the battery to prevent motorists from inadvertently being splashed with acid. Precautionary measures, of course, are not superfluous. The batteries produced here are maintenance-free. This means that according to at least for a year and a half, car enthusiasts should not look inside the battery on their own to measure the density and electrolyte level. Although it is possible to remove the cover.

All that remains is to clean up the mess. The battery falls into the washing tunnel. Here, drops of electrolyte are washed off.

Stripping the plus and minus terminals. They become beautiful and shiny - this is how the buyer will see them. But this is not only to give a presentable appearance - it is more difficult to remove current from oxidized terminals.

Another test - perhaps one of the most important and decisive. The battery is tested with a “high” current for performance. Within two seconds, an electric current of up to 1500 A is “taken” from the battery, while the voltage at the terminals is measured. The indicator should be at least 50% of the initial value, that is, from 6.0 to 6.5 V. If it is lower, then this is a defect, and the battery, no matter how offensive it may be, is sent to inspectors for analysis.

The controller must find out what is causing the problem. Then the research results are sent to the quality and technical support service to eliminate defective products in the future. Photos of defective items hang above the table.

The needle marker applies another coding. The first digit is the year of manufacture (“3” means 2013), the letter A is the month (in the Latin alphabet: A - January, B - February, C - March, etc.), F - symbol plant (the Americans assigned the letter F to the Pinsk enterprise), 18 is the day of the month, A1 is the shift designation. By the way, the warranty period starts from this moment.

Finishing touch. The worker puts the terminal cover on and places the stickers on the body. There is one trick here. There are several types of stickers, although there is no difference in batteries; they come off the same assembly line. The products of the Pinsk enterprise are known in Belarus under the Zubr brand, and in Russia the same batteries are sold under the Hagen brand. Famous marketing ploy: when one product is sold under different names. Stickers are last step. The batteries are then taken to a warehouse and from there to suppliers.

Of course, the battery is easy to buy at any hardware store, electronics store or hypermarket. However, for the sake of interesting experiments and gaining knowledge from the “school of life”, it’s still worth knowing how to make a battery with your own hands. Moreover, the process of such work is very entertaining and uncomplicated.

Lemon battery: two options

For the first option you will need:

lemon itself;
galvanized nail;
2 small pieces of copper wire;
copper coin;
small light bulb.

The working process is as follows:

Make two cuts on the fruit at some distance from each other.
Place a nail in one cut and a coin in the other.
Connect a piece of wire to both the nail and the coin. The second ends of this improvised wiring should be in contact with the contacts of the light bulb.
And that's it - let there be light!

You can also make a homemade battery from sour fruit using:

the same lemon;
paper clip;
light bulbs;
2 pieces of insulated copper wire with a diameter of 0.2-0.5 mm and a length of 10 cm.

The algorithm is as follows:

Strip 2-3 cm of insulation from the ends of each wire.
Attach the exposed part of one wire to a paperclip.
Make two cuts in the lemon, 2-3 cm apart - along the width of the paperclip and for the second wiring. Insert these elements into the fruit.
Attach the free ends of the wire to the contact part of the light bulb. If it does not light up, it means that the selected lemon is not powerful enough - connect several fruits in series and repeat the experiment.

Potato battery

Stock up:

two potatoes;
three wires with clamps;
two chrome nails;
two copper nails.

So, how to make a battery from tubers:

Give a symbol for each of the potatoes - “A” and “B”.
Insert a chrome nail into the edges of each tuber.
On the opposite side is a copper nail. The nails should not intersect in the body of the potatoes.
Take any battery-powered device, remove it, and leave the compartment open.
The first wire should connect the copper pin of the tuber "A" to the positive terminal in the battery compartment.
The second wire connects the chrome pin of potato "B" to the negative terminal.
The last wire connects the chrome nail of tuber "A" to the copper nail of tuber "B".
As soon as you close all the wires in this way, the potato will begin to supply energy to the device.

Potatoes in this experiment can be replaced with banana, avocado or any of the citrus fruits.

Battery made of foil, cardboard and coins

Before making a battery, prepare:

copper coins;
vinegar;
salt;
cardboard;
foil;
scotch;
two pieces of insulated copper wire.

Is everything ready? To the point:

First you need to thoroughly clean the coins - to do this, pour vinegar into a glass container, add salt there and add money.
As soon as the surfaces of the coins have transformed and shone, remove them from the container, take one and trace its outline on the cardboard 8-10 times.
Cut out cardboard rounds along the outline. Then place them in a container with vinegar for a while.
Fold the foil several times so that you end up with 8-10 layers. Trace a coin on it and also cut it out round parts along the contour.
At this point, start assembling the battery. This is done like this: a copper coin, cardboard, foil. In this order, put all the components you have in a column. The final layer should only be a coin.
Remove the insulation from the ends of the wires.
Cut a small strip of tape, glue one end of the wire onto it, place an improvised battery on top, and place the end of the second wire on it. Securely secure the structure with adhesive tape.
Connect the second ends of the wire to the “+” and “-” of the device that needs to be saturated with energy.

Eternal battery

Prepare:

glass jar;
a silver element - for example a spoon;
cling film;
copper wire;
1 teaspoon baking soda;
4 bottles of glycerin;
1 teaspoon 6% apple cider vinegar.

Wrap the spoon tightly in cling film, leaving the top and bottom ends slightly exposed.
Now it's time to wrap the spoon over the film copper wire. Remember to leave long ends at the beginning and end for contacts. Make space between the turns.
And again a layer of film, followed by wire using the same method. There should be at least seven layers of “film-wire” on this improvised reel. Do not tighten the layers too much - the film should wrap freely.
In a glass jar, prepare a solution of glycerin, salt and vinegar.
After the salt has dissolved, the coil can be immersed in the solution. As soon as the liquid becomes cloudy, the “eternal” battery will be ready for use. Its service life directly depends on the silver content in the base element of the coil.

Graphite rod: application

The graphite component from old batteries is not only the basis for a new energy source, but also an element that can be used for electric welding. This is done according to a simple scheme:

Sharpen a graphite rod from an old battery at an angle of 30-40 degrees.
Using an alligator clip with a non-conductive handle, connect it to the "+" and "-" AC or DC power sources.
Connect “0” and “-” to the stripped part.
As the electrode burns out, it must be sharpened periodically.

How to make a battery at home? You will need available materials, a little enthusiasm and perseverance. In exchange you will receive alternative sources energy.

A battery is an energy storage device that usually operates on the principle of reversibility chemical reaction. Arranged simplest battery simply, his idea was first tested in practice by Ritter in 1803, it was a column of 50 copper plates, lined with a damp dense cloth.

How to make a battery with your own hands? Build from copper plates? There are more simple methods creating an electricity storage device from improvised means. You can make either an acid homemade battery or an alkaline type device.

Acid and lead

The simplest design is the lead-acid design for storing electricity. To assemble it you need:

stable container, with the possibility of tightly closing it with a lid;
electrolyte – a solution of battery acid and distilled water;
lead plate - you can use a flattened piece of lead from cable insulation or purchased at a hunting or fishing store;
two metal pins - electrodes, which must be driven vertically into the lead plates.

Next, we present the manufacturing process of this device. Lead plates are placed on metal pins, with a small distance between them. After which the structure is immersed in a container filled with electrolyte. The lead must be completely under the solution. The contact ends of the pins are passed through the lid of the container and securely fixed to it. An electricity consumer can be connected to the ends of the electrodes. The container is placed on a stable surface, after which the device is charged. By complicating the design, rolling the lead plates into a roll and, accordingly, increasing their area, with a small volume, you can achieve good performance of such a device. The same principle is used to make rolls in modern gel energy storage devices.

Important! When working with homemade electronic storage devices, follow safety rules: the acid used in the electrolyte is a rather aggressive substance.

Salt, coal and graphite

This device does not require acid as it uses an alkaline reaction. How to make this type of battery? The basis of this type of energy storage device is a container with an electrolyte in the form of a solution of water and sodium chloride - table salt. To create it you need:

graphite rods, with a metal cap for soldering the contact;
activated or charcoal, crushed into crumbs;
fabric bags for storing coal powder;
container for electrolyte with a tight lid for fixing the ends of the electrode.

The electrodes are a graphite rod coated with dense carbon. Graphite can be used from deteriorated batteries, and charcoal can be used from charcoal or activated carbon from gas mask filters. To create a dense lining, coal can be placed in a water-permeable bag, then a graphite rod can be inserted inside, and the fabric of the bag can be wrapped with thread or wire with an insulating coating.

To increase the performance of this type of design, you can create a battery of several electrodes placed in one container.

Important! Storage capacity and contact voltage homemade devices for storing electricity are relatively small, but at the same time they are quite enough to connect a low-power light source or other purposes. A battery of several electrodes has higher performance, but they are more bulky.

Lemons and oranges as a container for electricity

Lemon is not only tasty and healthy fruit, but also a natural battery. To use it, it is enough to combine several lemons in a series circuit using metal electrodes. After which you can connect the “fruit” drive to charger. Instead of lemons, you can use other citrus fruits that contain acid, which will serve as a natural electrolyte. The more citrus fruits are involved, the higher the parameters of the “natural” battery.

Lemon juice, acid or its solution can be used separately. To do this, just pour them into a jar small size and install copper there and steel electrode. The voltage of the natural energy storage device is low, but, nevertheless, it is enough for a low-power lighting source.

Even in the absence of a factory-made energy storage device, you can easily make a battery with your own hands. To create it, you only need knowledge of the basics of physics and chemistry, as well as having any type of acid or alkali on hand. Almost any metals that are available can be used as electrodes, but best option– this is the use of steels with a high content of iron, as well as copper and its alloys.

Video

Do-it-yourself eternal battery 2.13 volts.

Today I’ll tell you how to make a battery that can last about half a year.

Today I’ll tell you how to make a battery that can last about half a year, or you can use an alternative, for example, a 12-volt solar battery produced by Chinaland Solar Energy.

We will need:

body, it will be glass jar, plastic will not work;

some piece of silver in this case this is a spoon, it will serve as a core and will also participate in a chemical reaction;

copper wire, it could be an old winding from some old electrical appliances;

cling film, it will serve as insulation between the layers of the winding.

For the solution in which all this will happen:

apple cider vinegar 6%, teaspoon;

glycerin, it is sold in any pharmacy, costs ten rubles, four bottles;

regular table salt, fine, a teaspoon.

First, wrap the spoon in cling film so that there is no direct contact with the copper wire. I wrapped the spoon with film, as you can see, the upper and lower ends of the spoon are exposed, this is so that there is interaction with the solution, now let’s start wrapping it with wire. We leave a longer piece, this will be one of the contacts, and wind the first layer. I wound one layer, as you can see the turns are not close to each other, there should be space for insulation between them. Now you need to wind the cling film again, I wound the second layer, the film needs to be wound as freely as possible so as not to impede the flow of the solution between the wires and now you need to wind the second layer of wire and so on, the film, then the wire and so on until you get tired.

Method one: lemon battery

This homemade battery will use an electrolyte based citric acid, contained in lemon pulp. For electrodes we will take copper and iron wires, nails or pins. The copper electrode will be positive, and the iron electrode will be negative.

The lemon needs to be cut crosswise into two parts. For greater stability, the halves are placed in small containers (glasses or shot glasses). It is necessary to connect the wires to the electrodes and immerse them in the lemon at a distance of 0.5 - 1 cm.

Now you need to take a multimeter and measure the voltage on the resulting galvanic element. If this is not enough, then you will also need to make several identical lemon batteries with your own hands and connect them in series using the same wires.

Method two: a jar of electrolyte

To assemble a device with your own hands, similar in design to the world's first battery, you will need a glass jar or glass. For the electrode material we use zinc or aluminum (anode) and copper (cathode). To increase the efficiency of the element, their area should be as large as possible. It would be better to solder the wires, but the wire will have to be attached to the aluminum electrode with a rivet or bolted connection, since it is difficult to solder.

The electrodes are immersed inside the can so that they do not touch each other, and their ends are above the level of the can. It is better to secure them by installing a spacer or a cover with slots.
For electrolyte we use aqueous solution ammonia (50 g per 100 ml of water). Aqueous ammonia solution ( ammonia) is not the ammonia that is used for our experiment. Ammonia (ammonium chloride) is an odorless powder white, used in soldering as a flux or as a fertilizer.

The second option for preparing the electrolyte is to make a 20% sulfuric acid solution. In this case, you need to pour the acid into the water, and in no case vice versa. Otherwise, the water will instantly boil and its splashes, along with the acid, will get on your clothes, face and eyes.

When working with concentrated acids, it is recommended to wear safety glasses and chemical-resistant gloves. Before making a battery using sulfuric acid, it is worth studying in more detail the safety rules when working with aggressive substances.

All that remains is to pour the resulting solution into the jar so that there is at least 2 mm left to the edges of the vessel free space. Then, using a tester, select required quantity cans.

A self-assembled battery is similar in composition to a salt battery, as it contains ammonium chloride and zinc.

Method three: copper coins

The ingredients for making such a battery yourself are:

copper coins;
aluminum foil;
thick cardboard;
table vinegar;
wires.

It is not difficult to guess that the electrodes will be copper and aluminum, and an aqueous solution of acetic acid is used as the electrolyte.

Coins first need to be cleaned of oxides. To do this, you will need to briefly dip them in vinegar. Then we make circles from cardboard and foil according to the size of the coins, using one of them as a template. We cut out the mugs with scissors, put the cardboard ones in vinegar for a while: they should be saturated with electrolyte.

Then we lay out a column of ingredients: first a coin, then a cardboard circle, a foil circle, a coin again, and so on until the material runs out. The final element should again be a copper coin. You can solder wires to the outer coins in advance. If you don’t want to solder, then the wires are attached to them, and the entire structure is tightly wrapped with tape.

During the operation of this DIY battery, the coins will become completely unusable, so you should not use numismatic material that is of cultural and material value.

Method four: battery in a beer can

The anode of the battery is the aluminum body of a beer can. The cathode is a graphite rod.

Additionally you will need:

a piece of foam more than 1 cm thick;
coal chips or dust (you can use what is left from the fire);
water and regular table salt;
wax or paraffin (candles can be used).

You need to cut it off the can top part. Then make a circle of foam plastic the size of the bottom of the jar and insert it inside, having previously made a hole in the middle for the graphite rod. The rod itself is inserted into the jar strictly in the center, the cavity between it and the walls is filled with coal chips. Then an aqueous solution of salt is prepared (3 tablespoons per 500 ml of water) and poured into a jar. To prevent the solution from spilling out, the edges of the jar are filled with wax or paraffin.

You can use clothespins to connect the wires to the graphite rods.

Method five: potatoes, salt and toothpaste

This battery is disposable. It is suitable for starting a fire by short-circuiting the wires to produce a spark.

To create a potato lighter you will need:

large potato;
two copper wires in isolation;
toothpicks or similar thin slivers;
salt;
toothpaste.

Cut the potato in half so that the cut plane has the largest possible area. Use a knife or spoon to select a hole in one half, pour salt into it and add toothpaste. Mix them together until a homogeneous mass is obtained. The amount of “electrolyte” should be level with the edges of the recess.

In the other half, which will be the top, we pierce two holes at some distance from each other so that they both fall into the recess with the electrolyte when assembling the “battery”. We insert wires into the hole, previously stripped of insulation by about a centimeter. Place the halves together so that the ends of the wires are dipped into the electrolyte. Use toothpicks to secure the halves together.

We wait about five minutes, after which, by connecting the wires to each other, you can strike a spark and start a fire.

All the methods described above are not a full replacement for a battery purchased in a store. The voltage on homemade elements can fluctuate and its value cannot be adjusted accurately. You won't be able to use them for a long time either. But somewhere in the wilderness, in the absence of electricity, assemble a battery with your own hands for mobile phone or an LED light bulb, everyone is quite capable. Naturally, if you have the appropriate materials at hand.