Re: 用 56 顆 AA 電池為 PC 供電 結 果只玩到 5 分鐘「踩地雷」就沒電了 - 電腦領域 HKEPC

On Tue, 3/3/2026 12:17 PM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:
> 用 56 顆 AA 電池為 PC 供電 結果只玩到 5 分鐘「踩地雷」就沒電了 - 電腦領域 HKEPC
> <https://www.hkepc.com/25171/>
> 
> How Many AA Batteries Does it Take to Power A PC Setup? - YouTube
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5lskFXDbWs>
> 

This style adapter is used for mini-itx lower power systems.

This runs off +12VDC but does not regulate the +12V feeding
the motherboard and disk drive. It makes 3.3V and 5V, some -12V
perhaps.

The total power draw of that adapter is 12V @ 10A (if the
motherboard draws that much in total). That means 10 amps
would be flowing through an Adaptaplug M barrel connector.
That's a bit too much current for the most popular
barrel connector type. Even the fatter barrel connector
is not likely to be rated at 10A, maybe a bit less.
The machine I'm typing on right now, runs at 36W (I have the
power meter connected to it). It used to run at 33W when I had
a small monitor, it runs at 36W driving a 4K monitor.

   https://c1.neweggimages.com/productimage/nb640/AK97_13201846999615423495CeNLx40h.jpg

You could use the dry cells as (7) sets of 8 cells each (8*1.5V).

An automotive 12V lead acid battery would be 12.6V fully charged, and
if it was slightly run down, that would be a better voltage
value for running a PC. 12.5V feeding the ITX adapter would
be about as high as I'd want to go (if you were using a
3.5" hard drive). If there is no 3.5" hard drive, you could
go a bit higher on the 12V. You would not take the battery
off its charger, and use it while the terminal voltage on it
was still 14.4V. You have to wait a day for the battery to
settle to 12.6V .

Other battery chemistries are better (lithium), as the cells can
produce more amperes. With the dry cells, the old ones
would "swell" at 2 amps load or so (which could be gas
evolution in the battery jacket). That's one reason you
have to be careful when playing around with battery power.
You have to know what the failure mode of the batteries is,
and what the consequences could be.

But otherwise, that's a pretty expensive way to power a PC, as
the batteries aren't going to last all that long.

He could have demonstrated his design prowess, by running the
PC off a large solar panel.

*******

If you want to see some desperate science at work, the people in this
area have trouble finding chargers for their BEV cars. So someone
is building "fast chargers" which are powered from solar cells
plus a battery bank. The battery bank only has 200kWh in it.
You can tell from that, how many cars they can fill before the
"station" is "out of gas" :-) These are fast chargers without
mains power. This approach is more practical in summer, as the
solar output in winter is 10x lower. In a couple more years,
a competing solution will come along that can also charge cars.
But this will suffice to make "heroic" trips possible on that road.
Pack a lunch.

   https://www.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg/article/new-charging-stations-open-northern-gateway-for-electric-vehicle-travel/

Some of the indigenous towns have a solar farm, which aids power
generation for homes so it does not all come from the
consumption of diesel fuel and diesel generators. Apparently
the solar farm is large enough, they can turn off the diesel
generators from 10AM to 2PM... if it is a cloudless day
(which is not too likely). That style of solar farm has
no lithium battery bank. In the news article above, the
design uses lithium storage so the station can charge
a BEV later in the day. To build a real charging station
that way, would take a lot more storage than 200kWh. But
since the project is unlikely to be subsidized, the dimensions
of the project must be kept small.

   Paul