DIY YouTuber powers house using 500 disposable vapes

YouTuber Chris Doel has shared a video showcasing a battery pack he built out of the batteries salvaged from 500 disposable vapes. Connected to an inverter, he successfully used this battery pack to power his workshop and his home as well.

This is not the first time Chris has built something out of discarded vapes; he previously built a fast-charging power bank and an e-bike battery pack. According to him, he is doing all this to bring attention to the potential damage these disposable vapes are causing to the environment.

For this build, he collected 500 disposable vapes from vape shops (empty vapes returned by customers), then he removed the batteries from the vapes. To proceed, he had to individually test each battery to separate damaged cells from viable ones, after which he charged them.

With the batteries ready, he 3D-printed frames to hold groups of nine batteries connected in parallel; these groups act just like modules in EV battery packs. He then connected the modules to form a battery pack.

Mounted on a wall in his workshop, the resulting battery pack had an output of about 50 volts. He then connected it to an inverter to convert the DC to AC and step up the voltage to around 230 volts. With this, he was able to power both his workshop and his home (oscilloscope, fan, microwave, and more).

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