OK, am I just incredibly #electronics ignorant or... Are power banks a huge scam?
I'm trying to understand why we can't just buy rechargable 18650 enclosures that have ports for charging our devices on them?
That way, when the cells die, the rest of the battery bank doesnt end up in landfill.
Repairable battery banks when?!
@QueerMatters
China sells what you seek and if you've already got the batteries they're cheap too.
@QueerMatters yea I've seen those on ebay. The catch that I found a few years ago is that they can only do 5v. If you're willing to spend some bucks you can get a really nice one that can deliver over 100 watts. I have an anker power bank and it was totally worth it. Also recycled batteries from laptops typically don't have a built in protection circuit, so it would be VERY dangerous to use them like that. You would have a very hard time convincing me that the benefit outweighs the risk of burning your house down.
@QueerMatters I've bought a few 18650 chargers from aliexpress. Not terribly expensive, <$20 IIRC