Redundant Array of Inexpensive Batteries?

Components & Accessories Power
1

I’m working on a project where a battery failure means I will never see my hardware again because it’ll be sitting on the ocean floor somewhere.

Is there such a thing as a LiPo board that lets you plug in multiple LiPo batteries of the same mAh and then connect a single plug to the Arduino that makes them look like 1 battery? The idea being that they would increase the runtime if they’re all working, but if one of them fails the board just logically removes it from the system and things continue with the remaining battery or batteries.

If I had such a thing I’d have no problem putting five 2mAh LiPo batteries into my project.

Thanks.

2

Sort of…

You could combine these https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13777 ( https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ba … 1615791300) , this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11214 , and this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/18375 to engineer basically any power scheme, triggered via inputs/programming/etc :smiley:

3

Yes, I’ve thought of doing something very similar. It just seems to me like I can’t be the first person to want a plug-and-play solution to this problem. I’ll see what else I can find. Thanks.

4

Diodes are very often used to isolate different power supplies or battery sets.

Unfortunately an ordinary silicon diode has a forward voltage drop of about 0.7V (the exact value depends on the current draw), which can be a significant waste of energy. Schottky diodes have a much lower voltage drop (typ. 0.3V), but significantly higher reverse leakage.

Another option is a MOSFET isolator, which requires a few more parts.