Hi there!

Welcome to my ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE, FOREVER RECHARGEABLE SUPER CAPACITOR

BATTERY PACK INSTRUCTABLE!!!
What's all the Hubbub, bub?
This circuit acts as a never-dying, forever rechargeable battery. If treated properly and with respect,
it will live longer than you do! That's right! You will die before this variable battery does! Eerie, eh?
The circuit employs about $90 worth of circuitry, but it sure beats buying batteries. I use this circuit
every single day when I get home from work to listen to music. Depending on your input charging
method (DC, solar, etc), charging can take only minutes. With this, I can listen to music out of my
computer speakers at high volume for about two hours before having to re-charge. Use it to charge
your cell phone. Use it to power your radio! Use it as a portable power supply! Wire it up to a flash
light, or use it to power your halloween costume! The possiblities are endless! I am selling this in kit
form! See the last page of this instructable for details.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The circuit uses SUPER CAPACITORS, as opposed to batteries. Super capacitors are like other
capacitors, only they have enormous power storage capabilities. Capacitors have two storage
variables: Maximum charging voltage and capacitance (Measured in Farads). Capacitance is a
measure of how much energy can be stored in a capacitor. A typical power supply capacitor or
audio coupling capacitor would have a capacitance of around 0.0001 farads, which is relatively
large. A super capacitor normally has a capacitance of between 1 to 3000 farads, which make them
good substitutes for batteries! We are going to safely charge 2x 400 farad capacitors in series up to
5.4VDC, and feed that voltage through a DC-DC booster circuit. We are also going to employ a
digital voltage display that will be able to read both the charge on the capacitor bank, as well as the
voltage at the output of the DC-DC booster. Let's go over SOMEof the pros and cons of super
capacitors, shall we?
PROS OF THE SUPER CAP:
1) As long as you don't charge them at a voltage higher than they are rated for, or reverse charge
polarity, super capacitors can have charge/discharge cycles of 500,000-1,000,000, or more!
2) If you charge a battery and leave it in the charger, you can deplete battery memory, and it will
eventually die. The super capacitor will STOP accepting any energy once it is full.
3) The internal ESR (Internal resistance) is extremely small in a super capacitor. We're talking 0.01
Ohms or less. A typical battery has an internal ESR or 0.02 Ohms - 0.2 Ohms. Why does this
matter? If means that you can potentially charge a super capacitor in seconds, providing you have
some heavy duty power supplies. Batteries take longer to charge, and cannot discharge as quickly.
4) Batteries have a shelf life. If left fully charged on a shelf for years, you will pick it up one day and
find it dead. Not so with the super cap!
5) Super capacitors give off no emissions, while all batteries give off some form of gas. You can't
keep your car battery in your house, but you can keep your super capacitor bank in your house =)
6) If you cause a direct short along your super capacitors, they will not blow up or be harmed. They
are made to do just that. However, immense heat will be created along the short, as enormous
amounts of current will be very quickly dissipated. This is also a con, because the user can be
burned if not careful.
7) They are environmentally safe.
8) There are so many pros and so few cons, but we don't have time to go over them all =)

CONS OF THE SUPER CAP:

1) If you made a super capacitor big enough to replace your car battery, it would likely be 10 times
the size. Super capacitors have lots of energy storage, but need to be banked in series/parallel to
achieve battery-like storage.
2) super capacitors normally have very low max voltage ratings, which means that you have to be
very careful not to over charge them. As well, what are you going to do with a 2.5v capacitor? You
have to place a bunch in series to keep doubling the voltage. However, when you add capacitors in
series, you lose capacitance. The formula for series and parallel banking will be in the final step, so
if you have time, have a look =)
3) While you need not worry about shocking yourself, as super capacitors offer so little voltage, you
can burn yourself if you create a direct short on a fully charged super capacitor or bank of
capacitors.
4) Super capacitors are more expensive than batteries.
THIS INSTRUCTABLE WILL BE BROKEN DOWN INTO 4 PARTS:
1) The Charging Circuit
2) The Capacitor Bank and the DC-DC Booster
3) The Digital Voltage Display
4) The Parts, the Math and the Conclusions!

THE CHARGING CIRCUIT:

Let's go through this in steps. It is actually very simple but you have to follow along closely,
especially as we go into the step on the following page.
We start at TERMINAL BLOCK#1 and will continue clockwise around the circuit!
1) This is where you have options. We need a DC source of anywhere between 5VDC-20VDC for
our charge. I use a 11VDC@1A power supply, but I occasionally use a set of mini solar panels that I
have in my window. The choice is yours. Just make sure that when you plug in your DC source, you
are making sure that you have the correct DC polarity for DC+ and ground (DC-).
2) We have a 0.1uf capacitor and a 100uf capacitor in parallel with the input DC line. We only really
need these because this line is for the charging of the capacitor bank, but we will be using this input
line to power our digital display and we want to make sure that this DC line is smooth and without
extra noise. The 0.1uf capacitor takes care of high frequency noise, or rather, lessens it (Decoupling
capacitor). The 100uf capacitor acts to smooth the input DC. These two capacitors are not really
necessary but they are preferred.
3) The LM317 is a variable DC-DC power supply. Using a 240 Ohm resistor in parallel with the
VOUT and the ADJ line, and a 5k ohm variable resistor from the ADJ line and ground, we can vary
the charge voltage from the charge voltage itself, down to 1.25v. For instance, if we have 8v at the
input, we can vary the output anywhere between 8v down to 1.25v. It is EXTREMELY important that
your LM317 is properly heat sinked, as it will get HOT. The LM317 kit can be found here:
4) Varying the current to the super capacitor bank is the name of the game. This is where you have
the opportunity to gamble. Since the super capacitors will literally suck up all the energy it is given
until full (With >0.01 Ohm ESR), we have to limit the current from the supply, or else we're going to
completely destroy our LM317 circuit. As you can see, we have two 2.2 Ohm, 5W power resistors, a
jumper, and a SPST (Single Pull Single Throw) switch. If the switch is off (Recommended), and the
jumper is not attached, then the charge limitation is 2.2 Ohms. Wait a minute! That is too small of a
current limiter! You're still going to hurt your LM317!!! Not the case! If properly heat sinked, the
LM317 will get hot but it will withstand the stress if you have this 2 Ohm load. The output voltage will
drop down but you will see it come back up as the capacitor starts to charge. We have three charge
options here. If you have a charge of 4v or higher, make sure that you have the jumper off, and the
switch off.
A) Charge limited by 2.2 Ohms when JUMPER=OFF/ SPST=OFF
B) Charge limited by roughly 1.1 Ohms when JUMPER=ON/SPST=OFF
When you add the jumper, you place the two 2.2 Ohm resistors in parallel with one another, bringing
the parallel resistance down to half. Please note that these resistors get hot.
C) Charge limited by the line resistance and capacitor ESR only when JUMPER=ON or
OFF/SPST=ON
If the SPST is switched on, it doesn't matter how the resistor jumper is configured. The only
resistance between the output of the LM317 and the capacitor banks is the line (trace) resistance,

and the ESR of the capacitors (Yet to be seen). This is where you have to have cohones! Again,
your LM317 can handle this if properly heat sinked (Heat sink included in kit), as the output voltage
will drop down to the cap voltage and start to charge. However, this should only be used for charges
of 1.5v or less. If you are charging the bank from 0v to 5.4 v, it will charge relatively quickly using the
2.2 Ohm charge option. However, around 3v of charge, it will start to slow down. At this point, take
the jumper off to limit the current to 1.1 Ohm. At around 4.5v, you will notice that the charge will
slow down again. Flick the switch to charge the remaining 900mv, and you will have no problems.
Truth be told, I've charged from 2v to 5.4v with the switch on, but it is NOT good practice, and I was
risking my LM317.
5) We have two IN4001 diodes in series with the charge line. These are not used for any type of
rectification, but rather to allow DC charge to enter the capacitor bank, but not allow for any DC to
travel backwards through the circuit after the capacitor bank is charged. If we didn't have these
diodes here, follow the circuit backwards. Regardless of whether the jumper is on or off, or whether
the SPST is on or off, there is a path back to the LM317, and there is a 240 Ohm resistor in a series
path with a 5k potentiometer and ground. If we stopped charging (without the diodes), the charge on
the caps would leak back through the circuit to ground, making our batteries terribly inefficient.
There are two diodes in parallel to share the current along the line. If you have 1N4007s, or any
1N400X diodes, they will work just as well if not better. There are factors such as thermal runaway
that we could spend time worrying about with these diodes in parallel, but the charge time from start
to finish for this circuit is literally 10 minutes or less , so we're not going to worry about that at all.
6) The jumper (JUMPER#2) like a lot of this circuit is a custom option. If you are not going to watch
the digital display (Seen later) as your super capacitor bank charges, then you are going to want to
follow this step. When you build this charge circuit, probe the output of the diodes (TEST POINT)
with reference to ground using your multimeter. There will be a voltage drop along the diodes, so we
need to make sure that we measure here, and not at the anode end of the diode. Since we have a
5.4v MAX capacitor bank, we DO NOT want to have a charge higher than 5.4v. Check the voltage
here using the 5k potentiometer at the LM317. Turn the potentiometer until you see a voltage of
5.2v-5.4v, then consider using a bit of hot glue to set the pot to steady it. You may think, why use the
pot, and not a fixed resistor? You can, by all means, but you may want to change the charge voltage
down the road. Now, the jumper is here because on the other side of the jumper lies the capacitor
bank. If you test the voltage here when you have the jumper on, you will read the voltage at the
capacitor bank, not the voltage that it will be charging to. You only take the jumper off when you
want to take a charged reading. Leave it on at all other times.

Step 2: The Capacitor Bank, and DPST Switch, and the Booster Circuit

THE CAPACITOR BANK:

As you can see, we have the capacitor bank circuit here on the left hand side of the below
schematic. It is comprised of 2x 400 farad 2.7v super capacitors
When connected in series, these capacitors will form a bank value of 200 farads at 5.4v. This means
that we have doubled our maximum charge voltage (2.7v *2 = 5.4v), and halved our capacitance
from 400 farads down to 200 farads. If you want to learn more about series/parallel capacitor theory,
go to the final page of this instructable. We need approximately 3.4v to power our DC-DC booster
circuit. This means that our booster circuit will work between the charged range of 3.4v to 5.4v,
which means we can afford 2v loss before the booster circuit cannot boost anymore. There is an
arrow coming from the positive side of the capacitor bank that indicates that this is the charge
reference. This is just an indicator and is not connected anywhere.
THE DPDT SWITCH:
Just to the right of the capacitor bank, you will see what looks like a piece of lego with 6 little holes in
it. This is my own little schematic symbol for a Double Pull Double Throw switch. As you can see,
there are little arrows coming from the upper and lower middle circuits. These are the wipers (or
PULLS). When in the off position, the wiper on the top is connected to the upper left pin (as seen in
the picture), As well, when in the off position, the bottom wiper is connected to the lower left pin (as
seen in the picture). When you press the DPDT switch on, the wipers connect to the pins on the
right hand side. These switches are independant of one another, but are located in the same
package, and are switched on and off at the same time. These only cost a buckand can be
purchased with anything from my store.
The top switch (Top left, middle and right pins) act to connect power to the DC-DC booster
board. The bottom switch (Bottom left, midle, and right pins) act to supply the digital voltage reader
with either the charge voltage of the capacitor bank (when switched off), or the DC booster output
voltage (when switched on). The digital voltage reader will be talked about more on the next

page. This switch business may sound tricky, but follow along with the schematic, and you'll be in
good shape =)
THE DC-DC BOOSTER:
This is where things start to get easy! As stated earlier, this DC-DC booster circuit will boost any
voltage at the input between 3.4v MIN to 34v MAX to any voltage between 3.4v and 34v. The output
can be adjusted by using an on-board variable resistor. All you need is to turn the pot!
Examples:
VIN = 3.4v
VIN = 28v
VIN = 8v
VIN=3v

VOUT = Any voltage between 3.4v and 34v

VOUT = Any voltage between 3.4v and 34v
VOUT = Any voltage between 3.4v and 34v
VOUT = 3v (Input voltage is to small to boost)

These booster boards are available in my store: There is a three-pin screw-type terminal block
for safe connection, and a variable resistor that allows for you to change the output voltage for your
desired application. The three pints are labeled VOUT/GND/VIN. So, VOUT is your varied output,
GND is common ground, and VIN is your input voltage pin; requiring at least 3.4VDC. It is VERY
easy to use. DIMENSIONS: 32x34x20mm. It can supply up to 3A of current, but that is not
suggested for continuous draw. It is highly suggested that you keep continuous draw under 2A. This
bad boy is rated for 15W and has an efficiency of 90%. As you can see, when the switch is flipped
on, power is connected to the VIN terminal of the DC-DC booster board. The second terminal of the
board is connected to the ground line, and the third is connected to our output terminal block. There
is an arrow coming from the output line that is labeled "BOOST REF". This is just for reference and
is not actually connected elsewhere in the circuitry.
The terminal block (TERMINAL BLOCK#2) output can be used as our battery terminals. The DC
value at this terminal block is adjusted using the on-board variable resistor on the DC-DC booster.

Step 3: The Digital Display

THE DIGITAL DISPLAY:

This is one of my favorite characteristics of this circuit. The 0-20v digital digital display is easy to
use, and will act to show us both the capacitor charge voltage and the DC-DC booster output
voltage. This circuit requires roughly 8-14VDC to operate. Both of the bottom pins are connected to
the ground line. The upper left pin is the DIGITAL DIISPLAY REFERENCE. The voltage at this pin
will be displayed digitally on the display. The digital display will display any voltage between 020VDC. When the DPDT switch is not connecting the capactor bank voltage to the booster circuit,
the digital display will be displaying the charge on the capacitor bank. When the DPDT is switched
on, the output of the booster will be displayed. Since the display has a 20v maximum limitation, it is
suggested that if you are going to implement it, that you keep the booster output limited to 20VDC or
under.
The voltage at the upper right pin is the line that powers the entire display. This can be hooked
directly to the input DC voltage line. It will work anywhere from 6.5v to 15, but it is preferred that you
use 8-14v. The 0.1uf and 100uf capacitors that are placed at the DC input are implemented for
the sake of protecting this digital display. When you stop, disengage the DC input charge, this
display will shut off.
OPTION:
If you want, you can add a monotary push switch between the DC-DC booster and the power line of
the digital display. This will enable you to have a look at the output of the DC-DC booster when you
push down and hold the monetary switch by adding secondary power supply for the display.

However, if you choose to go this route, it is necessary to add a diode into the mix. If you want to go
this route, as I did in the circuit viewed in the video, let me know and I'll include another schematic.

Step 4: The Parts, the Theory, and the Conclusions

THE PARTS:
I can offer a kit that includes the bulk of the parts in the schematic for $90 + $12 shipping. The
LM317 kit, the 400f super capracitors, the digital display, and the DC-DC booster board cost more
than $90 in total. If you are looking for parts singularly, they can be found here:
I'll include the following for $90 +$12 for shipping with tracking:
2x 400f 2.7v super capacitors
1x LM317 DIY kit
1x 0-20v Digital display
1x 3.4v-34v DC-DC Booster board
1x DC plug (input and port set)
2x 2.2 Ohm power resistors
2x 1N4001 diodes

1x DPDT switch
1x 0.1uf capacitor
1x 100uf capacitor
****
The Jumpers, terminal blocks, PCB, Input DC source, and SPST switch will not be included.
Send me a message if you are interested. You can also reach me through and through ebay.
THE THEORY:
Most of the basic circuit theory was covered in the instructable. However, I'll go a bit further in depth
regarding super capacitors. When you place a super capacitor in series with another super
capacitor, you can up the voltage; doubling it, if the two capacitor voltage values are the same, but
you lose capacitance. The formula for lost capacitance is the same as the parallel resistor formula:
1 [ (1/ C1) + (1 / C2)] Let's use it in the example of this instructable, where C1 = 400f, and C2 =
400f
Example:
CTotal = 1/[1/ C1) + (1 / C2)]
CTotal = 1/[400) + (1/400)]
CTotal = 1/0.005
CTotal = 200 f
Example#2 (C1 = 3000f @ 2.5v / C2 = 10f @ 2.7fv)
First, add the two voltages. (2.5 + 2.7 = 5.2v) This is your max charging voltage.
CTotal = 1/[1/ C1) + (1 / C2)]
CTotal = 1/[3000) + (1/10)]
CTotal = 1/0.100
CTotal = 9.97f
The total capacitance is always lower than the lowest capacitance added to the series string, so
beware. Play around with this. A good way to check your answers is to play with this capacitor
calculator: When placing capacitors in parallel with one another, you are looking at much easier
calculations. When you place a capacitor in series with another capacitor, you just add the two
capacitances together, and that will be your total capacitance. The maximum voltage you can
charge to is always the lowest value. Let's use three capacitors in our example:
Example: (C1 = 2.0v @ 10f / C2 = 2.5v @ 100f / C3 = 2.7v @ 1000f)
Max voltage charge is 2.0v (The lowest of the three)
CTotal = C1 + C2 + C3
CTotal = 10f + 100f +1000f
CTotal = 1110f
You can also place strings of sets in series, in parallel with one another for the sake of compensating

for lost capacitances. Let's say we have 9x 2.7v @100f capacitors. We want a capacitor that is
higher than 7VDC and has the most capacitance possible. If we place three if these 2.7v capacitors
in series, we get 8.1v, but the capacitance of the string is only 33.3f. We have 9x of these
capacitors, so if we make three strings of three, and place them in parallel with one another, we have
a capacitor bank that has a value of 8.1v @ 100f. Neat, eh? See one of my capacitor bank videos
here:
There is so much theory that goes into capacitors. If you guys have a specific question, or perhaps
a project idea, I will consider building it and displaying it for you all, right here on instructables.com.
CONCLUSIONS:
This circuit was a prototype, and I will be using it for years and years to come. I have a solar panel
on my window that allows for me to listen to music using free energy all day long, and even for a few
hours after the sun goes down.
There are two things I'd like to do with my next version. I'd like to create a bank that employs
thousands of farads, has a more advanced charging circuit, and has safe-charge features that are
controlled by a microcontroller that cut off a charge once the device has reached the proper level of
charge.
Super capacitors are the wave of the future, relative to energy storage. I am always looking for new
ways of implementing them into projects. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. PLEASE
VOTE FOR THIS INSTRUCTABLE OR SUBSCRIBE IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE!

THANKS EVERYONE!