Apple MacBook Pro 13" A1322 Li-ion Polymer Batteries - 506971 Cells

brettwatty

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Jan 14, 2017
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Anybody else here reclaim / recycle these. I have found that these are good cells.

An extract from my Battery Database Portal of currently reclaimed 506971 cells:



image_gjvjdi.jpg


 
I picked up one of these packs yesterday and am disassembling it during my free time at work. I've got the pack out of the plastic so far, but haven't separated them. Do you know what the C rating is on these? Aren't lipos generally rated higher than 18650s? I'm fairly new to this, but I got about a dozen laptop packs yesterday and the guy asked if I only wanted the cylinder ones, I don't have a specific project/use yet and I'm learning so I told him I'd take whatever. Aside from the 18650 packs, I have 2 obvious LiPo packs, 2 that are flat but have metal casings so I'm not sure what they are qualified as. And one very strange Sony pack that contains 3 pairs different sized cells. I haven't messed with that one yet. I can send pictures as I get thru them if anyone is interested.
 
I have a few hundred of these. They are more common than 18650s - at least where I source packs from.

There are a range of cells depending on age of the machine. The 506971 are in older machines, and/or smaller form factors, and the 508176 are found in newer/larger machines.

I have found ATL and Coslight brands in genuine Apple packs so far.

I have not been successful in separating individual cells without damage, but they are wired in parallel so I treat them as a combined unit. They have the added benefit of having resettable fuses already built in.


image_zttoke.jpg


Testing so far at 2000mAh discharge, from 4.2 to 3.0 volts yields capacity around 6900mAh. From the data I can find, original capacity is 3500 per cell. Interestingly, the cells have 11.0 Wh listed on them, which indicates a capacity just under 3000mAh. I am guessing they are deliberately under rated so that they maintain their rated capacity for more cycles.

They have the added benefit that the condition of the cell can almost always be accurately determined visually.

If they are swollen, they are trash. If the 'skin' is tight, they will be good. If the skin is loose, they will be somewhere in between.

If you stack a few pairs on top of each other and wobble the 'tower' a little, you can find out very quickly if the skins are tight. No visible movement is what you want. If the tower wobbles a little, then despite their appearance, you have some loose skins.

I am pretty much convinced that these types of cells are going to be the predominant cell in the near future. They are found in every thin laptop, notebook, and tablet. The market is moving toward thinner so their use will increase. While 18650s are convenient they are not very space efficient, and certainly cannot be used in devices thinner than about 19mm.

I think that I should also note that these battery packs are also cloned by no-name manufacturers in China. Some of the packs I have pulled apart are almost as well made as the Apple ones, but others are downright scary, with no temp sensors, no resettable fuses, and shoddy soldering.
 
bpm5cm said:
I picked up one of these packs yesterday and am disassembling it during my free time at work. I've got the pack out of the plastic so far, but haven't separated them. Do you know what the C rating is on these? Aren't lipos generally rated higher than 18650s? I'm fairly new to this, but I got about a dozen laptop packs yesterday and the guy asked if I only wanted the cylinder ones, I don't have a specific project/use yet and I'm learning so I told him I'd take whatever. Aside from the 18650 packs, I have 2 obvious LiPo packs, 2 that are flat but have metal casings so I'm not sure what they are qualified as. And one very strange Sony pack that contains 3 pairs different sized cells. I haven't messed with that one yet. I can send pictures as I get thru them if anyone is interested.

Good one.Sorry I have not found the C rating either I just treat them as 1C. Hopefully somebody else here might know. Yeah send pics. I has many different size Prism and LiPo cells but this one is the most common one I have.


Grumplestiltskin said:
I have a few hundred of these. They are more common than 18650s - at least where I source packs from.

There are a range of cells depending on age of the machine. The 506971 are in older machines, and/or smaller form factors, and the 508176 are found in newer/larger machines.

I have found ATL and Coslight brands in genuine Apple packs so far.

I have not been successful in separating individual cells without damage, but they are wired in parallel so I treat them as a combined unit. They have the added benefit of having resettable fuses already built in.


image_zttoke.jpg


Testing so far at 2000mAh discharge, from 4.2 to 3.0 volts yields capacity around 6900mAh. From the data I can find, original capacity is 3500 per cell. Interestingly, the cells have 11.0 Wh listed on them, which indicates a capacity just under 3000mAh. I am guessing they are deliberately under rated so that they maintain their rated capacity for more cycles.

They have the added benefit that the condition of the cell can almost always be accurately determined visually.

If they are swollen, they are trash. If the 'skin' is tight, they will be good. If the skin is loose, they will be somewhere in between.

If you stack a few pairs on top of each other and wobble the 'tower' a little, you can find out very quickly if the skins are tight. No visible movement is what you want. If the tower wobbles a little, then despite their appearance, you have some loose skins.

I am pretty much convinced that these types of cells are going to be the predominant cell in the near future. They are found in every thin laptop, notebook, and tablet. The market is moving toward thinner so their use will increase. While 18650s are convenient they are not very space efficient, and certainly cannot be used in devices thinner than about 19mm.

I think that I should also note that these battery packs are also cloned by no-name manufacturers in China. Some of the packs I have pulled apart are almost as well made as the Apple ones, but others are downright scary, with no temp sensors, no resettable fuses, and shoddy soldering.

I agree about the 18650 cells are going to be obsolete for Laptops in the future as you are right that they as getting thinner.
This is all the LiPo cells I currently have in my DB:


image_pxrzij.jpg


I pretty much do the exact reclaiming process as you do. I use the iMax B6 for charge and discharge. 4.2v to 3v. I separateswollen ones with a plastic ruler. I show this in the Video I posted.

Cheers,
Brett
 
brettwatty said:
Anybody else here reclaim / recycle these. I have found that these are good cells.

An extract from my Battery Database Portal of currently reclaimed 506971 cells:



image_gjvjdi.jpg



yeah, dude, those cells are really good at being a technician is can assure you that youhave such a nicepack of cells.
 
I haveseveral of these as well as some a1377 batteries. I had one of these packs that had a cell so swollen is was popping out of the pack a good 2 cm.I've been wary of using them in fear of puncturing a cell. I don't see many people using the lipo pouch cells as often as the 18650 or 26650formats ,due to them being more durable and less likely to puncture. How do you use them in your projects?
 
ckvlbatteries said:
I haveseveral of these as well as some a1377 batteries. I had one of these packs that had a cell so swollen is was popping out of the pack a good 2 cm.I've been wary of using them in fear of puncturing a cell. I don't see many people using the lipo pouch cells as often as the 18650 or 26650formats ,due to them being more durable and less likely to puncture. How do you use them in your projects?

I am currentlyhoarding these to get enough to make a big24v pack. The swollen ones normally havea couple of good ones. i still disassemble them. Just have a bucket of sand if you are worried. :)
 
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