Post project 18: Live Fast, Die Old
Although tons of home appliances, kitchen-type utensils and consumer
electronics run off batteries, manufacturers do not seem to care much about
battery health. Electrically, most of the designs consist of no more than a
battery pack, a switch and a motor. As a consequence, batteries get fully
drained sometimes, degrading their lifetime. This .POST project shows how
to extend battery life by means of an Atmel’s ATtiny45V microcontroller, a
power MOSFET and a few discrete components. The ‘patient’ in this case is
an old electric cheese mill. After the ‘surgery’, the mill works way better, and
a much longer battery lifetime can be expected. Needless to say that the
circuit can be used in similar devices, such as a hand-held vacuum cleaner.
Although tons of home appliances, kitchen-type utensils and consumer
electronics run off batteries, manufacturers do not seem to care much about
battery health. Electrically, most of the designs consist of no more than a
battery pack, a switch and a motor. As a consequence, batteries get fully
drained sometimes, degrading their lifetime. This .POST project shows how
to extend battery life by means of an Atmel’s ATtiny45V microcontroller, a
power MOSFET and a few discrete components. The ‘patient’ in this case is
an old electric cheese mill. After the ‘surgery’, the mill works way better, and
a much longer battery lifetime can be expected. Needless to say that the
circuit can be used in similar devices, such as a hand-held vacuum cleaner.
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