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Posted by rsanek 11/3/2025

Building a 2.5kWh battery from disposable vapes to power my workshop [video](www.youtube.com)
269 points | 159 commentspage 2
hereme888 11/10/2025|
Now power the CT scanner used to screen for lung cancer.
jonesjohnson 11/9/2025||
The thought that disposable vapes are still not forbidden in my country (EU) is making me sick.
PeaceTed 11/10/2025||
They are banned here in Australia, unfortunately it has created a huge black market for these things.

Almost every neighborhood now has a cigarette store that also sells gifts and US chocolates that are basically just fronts for this stuff. Black market vapes and cigarettes. Even the police in many parts here don't really enforce this stuff.

What I find even crazier than the batteries being disposed is that some of these have some decent processor tech in them. Like this one that has a 48Mhz ARM processor in. https://ripitapart.com/category/disposable-vape-hacks/

pjc50 11/9/2025|||
My reading of the WEEE directive is that no electrical equipment can be "disposable", it should all be recyclable and recycled.

Actual enforcement of this is non-existent. If you see a "disposable" vape discarded in the street, look for the crossed out bin logo.

hamdingers 11/10/2025|||
There is a massive gulf between "be recyclable" and actually being recycled.

Depending on energy and cost intensive recycling, which can only ever capture a percentage of the waste, is silly. This kind of thing needs to be stopped at the source.

Aachen 11/9/2025||||
> no electrical equipment can be "disposable", it should all be recyclable

Disposable paper wrappers can be recycled. Is there no disposable paper anymore now?

xboxnolifes 11/11/2025||
What?
Aachen 11/11/2025||
Exactly!

I didn't get that logic either

dingnuts 11/9/2025|||
Manufacturers should be required to actually take back anything with that logo. You can buy so much stuff that becomes a serious problem to dispose of and that stupid logo is all that's required of the manufacturer. Cost of disposal would then get added to the price of the object, as it should to begin with!

Everything with a sealed, soldered battery makes me furious on this front. Every item with a battery that recharges through the device instead of having a battery door like a Game Boy is on a timer, and for no good reason other than planned obsolescence.

trollied 11/9/2025|||
They are illegal now in the UK.
detritus 11/9/2025||
'illegal' in that manufacturers add on a usb port and the basic board to tick the reusable check box.

I'm still seeing almost as many of these cast on the streets as I did a year ago.

tstrimple 11/10/2025|||
All of the disposables I've seen have USB ports for charging because they come with more juice than battery power sufficient to vape it all. You will have to recharge multiple times for one disposable. I'm not in the UK, but I have seen something of a shift to separating the battery component from the vape tank such that you can just buy a new disposable tank and reuse the batteries. Maybe something like that might work in the UK grey areas.
erinnh 11/9/2025|||
From what I know the law is passed already. And they will become illegal end of 2026.
Aachen 11/9/2025||
In the EU/EEA or where?
userbinator 11/9/2025|||
On the other hand, free parts!

Everything is reusable if you're determined enough.

garyfirestorm 11/9/2025||
The problem is how do recover these parts from a heap of trash
agumonkey 11/9/2025|||
i see more and more of them thrown in small streets and parks these days (FR).. if I had secure storage i'd take them just like that youtuber, alas
Gigachad 11/9/2025||
They are illegal in Australia, but they are all over the ground. Littered like cigarette butts. Only now instead of just being plastic and some slightly toxic substances. It's a whole e-waste package.
skopje 11/9/2025|||
i did not know these existed. very sick indeed.
bethekidyouwant 11/9/2025||
Not designed to be charged? So its also disposable?
neuroelectron 11/9/2025|
Does he ever once mention where he gets all these disposable vapes or what we can do about stopping them from entering the landfills?
embedding-shape 11/9/2025||
When I first read your comment, it makes it sound like you've been watching the video for 20 minutes and it wasn't mentioned once. Turns out he starts talking about it around the 2:00 minute mark...
halfmatthalfcat 11/9/2025|||
Yeah he does, watch the video.
Mashimo 11/10/2025||
He started with festivals, but then he went to a vape shop and asked.