Homemade 901 PCC - Questions

[nash076]

Okay . . . I had an idea for kludging together a homemade 901 PCC.

The basis of the charging circuit is going to be this:

http://citysmoker.com/images/usb_copy.jpg

It's the standard USB charger for a DSE 901 . . . but I had some questions about it, and I was hoping you folks could answer them for me:

1) Is this model USB charger a screw-type connector? That'd be more reliable for my design than the push-in type.

2) If I used two 3.6v Lithium batteries (coming in at 6.2 volts, or thereabouts), will it damage the charger? Or will the unit compensate? I know it's designed to handle 5v from a USB source. I don't know if it'll take any higher, which is kind of important.

The plan is to put two AA battery holders from Radio Shack in an Altoids tin, then cut the USB cable off the charger and wire it to the battery holders. Likely I'd have to remove the plastic casing from the charger for it to fit in the case as well. I'd planned on using two 18650 batteries to power it. I was hoping this would be a simple, easy way to make a PCC without spending an armload of cash.

Thoughts?

Nash

 

[fritz]

Unfortunately I dont have an answer for you. However I too had similar ideas for a 401 PCC using a junk charger (cable between usb plug and circuit is broken). Except in my case I'd be trying to run the circuit with a 3.6V Li-Ions in parallel to get more mAh for multiple charges.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread if anyone has an answer.

 

[SmokinScott]

I would think two 3.6v Lithium batteries would be 7.2, not 6.2.
Unless you have something to step down the voltage.

 

[raven9mm]

I was hoping this would be a simple, easy way to make a PCC without spending an armload of cash.

901 - PCC - Cardboard Cover - e-Cigs Mini e-Cig DSE901 901 - Auto - Eastmall International Co.,Ltd

$18.50 when they get them in stock does not seem so bad...

 

[nash076]

Only problem is, they're not getting them back in stock; those were a single run only because they were expecting the casing to be plastic, not cardboard. They've decided to make a different version similar to a cigarette case, and it'll be a while until those are ready because they have to complete a new interior molding.

On top of that, I wanted something I could replace the batteries in.

Also, Eastmall has a $50 minimum order, and then $15 shipping. So it'd be $65 at least.

 

[nash076]

Unfortunately I dont have an answer for you. However I too had similar ideas for a 401 PCC using a junk charger (cable between usb plug and circuit is broken). Except in my case I'd be trying to run the circuit with a 3.6V Li-Ions in parallel to get more mAh for multiple charges.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread if anyone has an answer.

My only sensible idea was to switch to Ni-Cad rechargeables, which would top out around 5 volts from four of them. Only trouble there is, if I use AAA's I'd only get 900mAh, and if I use AA's I'd have 2500 mAh but it'd be a good deal bulkier.

That, and trying to find something off-the-rack to put them in without being too big to fit in my pocket is an issue, too . . .

 

[Kewtsquirrel]

My only sensible idea was to switch to Ni-Cad rechargeables, which would top out around 5 volts from four of them. Only trouble there is, if I use AAA's I'd only get 900mAh, and if I use AA's I'd have 2500 mAh but it'd be a good deal bulkier.

That, and trying to find something off-the-rack to put them in without being too big to fit in my pocket is an issue, too . . .

Try running a pair of 18500s or 18650s in parallel with a voltage booster before the charger pcb. It'll give you your 5v output and you still retain 3k+ maH in a tiny-ish package.

 

[nash076]

Try running a pair of 18500s or 18650s in parallel with a voltage booster before the charger pcb. It'll give you your 5v output and you still retain 3k+ maH in a tiny-ish package.

Well, seeing as I'm limited in my understanding of contructing a voltage booster on my own, I think my best solution is the 4 AA Ni-MH rechargeables. That'll be around 2600 maH's, which should be enough recharges on a single set of batteries to last a day.

I'm trying to do this on the cheap, overall . . . currently I'm using a jewlery box as the casing (approximately 4.5" in length, 3" in length and 1" deep). I've salvaged a 2x2 AA battery holder from an old project, and a screw-type USB charger for the charging units. I'm hoping 4.8v will be sufficient to charge the unit. I'll let you folks know once I have it put together. It's not especially large, fits in my pocket without any difficulty and isn't much heavier than a metal cigarette case. We'll see how it all works out.

 

[nash076]

Did some more research around the web . . . the 4.8v's supplied by 4 Ni-MH rechargeables is within the specs range for USB (4.75 - 5.25). So for starters, this *will* power a USB charger without problems.

Also I was told that you can expect a ratio of about 1/2 when it comes to power transfer from one battery to another. Effectively, it means when I use 2600 maH batteries, it'll only end up supplying 1300 maH's of charge . . . considering these are 180 maH batteries, that means I can recharge a single DSE-901 battery about 7 times from one fully charged set of AA batteries.

This is pretty promising. I'll photo the build process and put up a tutorial to help everyone who's not using a 510 but who really wants a PCC (and can't afford to switch models at the moment).

 

[Robert]

Altoids Box? if I had the time a patients to do what yer thinking I'd use this- TRAVEL Aluminum Hard Cigarette Case Box 20 Cigarettes - Red - Wholesale Factory Direct

look like the same makers of the 510 pcc only a little bigger

I wonder could I rip out my PCC components and put em in here and have room for a 510 fully assembled?

too much work, but it would be awesome, if it fit?

 

[nash076]

Altoids Box? if I had the time a patients to do what yer thinking I'd use this- TRAVEL Aluminum Hard Cigarette Case Box 20 Cigarettes - Red - Wholesale Factory Direct

look like the same makers of the 510 pcc only a little bigger

I wonder could I rip out my PCC components and put em in here and have room for a 510 fully assembled?

too much work, but it would be awesome, if it fit?

Well, going by my build, it'd require a box with internal clearance of 4.25" long, 3" wide and 1" deep. That Altoids box could *potentially* work, depending on how much you can tear apart apart the USB charger.

If you can break it down to PCB and battery connector, and reliably mount the PCB along one of the inside walls, then glue the battery connector at the bottom, it could theoretically work. For the batteries, you'd have to get one of the "bundle mount" AA connectors that can stack 2 AA's on either side; you'd also have to come up with some means of pulling that back out in order to swap out the batteries.

I'm using a jewelry box I found lying around, but I *did* find a readily available plastic alternative that would be more sturdy:

Darice Crafter's Tool Box Storage Neon 4.5x3 4pc Product Detail -- CreateForLess

You'd just need to use some wire snips to cut out the internal dividers, but it's a reasonable alternative . . .