In an age where disposable electronics are everywhere, a growing number of engineers and tinkerers are starting to question what “disposable” really means. One of the most striking examples comes from electronics engineer and YouTuber Chris Doel, who recently completed a project that sounds almost unbelievable at first glance: building and driving a road-legal electric car powered entirely by batteries pulled from disposable vapes.
Let's get into it.
How He Did The Impossible
Doel, who has built a following of more than 160,000 subscribers on YouTube, documented the entire process—from salvaging the batteries to driving the finished vehicle on public roads. The idea didn’t come out of nowhere.
In fact, it was the culmination of a series of increasingly ambitious experiments centered around one unusual resource: the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries hidden inside single-use vape devices.
The project also highlights a growing environmental concern. Disposable vapes may be designed for short-term use, but inside each one sits a fully rechargeable lithium-ion battery—essentially the same type of technology used in phones, laptops, and electric vehicles. Despite this, millions of these devices are thrown away every day.
Reports have estimated that more than one million disposable vapes are discarded daily in the United Kingdom alone. In the United States, hundreds of thousands more end up in landfills each day. Each one contains a working battery that could theoretically be reused, recycled, or repurposed.
That staggering amount of electronic waste became the driving force behind Doel’s experiments. Instead of treating the batteries as trash, he began extracting and repurposing them. What started as a curiosity slowly turned into a multi-year engineering challenge.
Getting Started
The first experiment was relatively small. Doel built a fast-charging power bank using salvaged vape batteries. When that worked, he pushed things further by using similar cells to power an electric bicycle. Not long after that, he assembled a much larger battery pack capable of powering his entire home and workshop.
Each time he uploaded a new project, viewers asked the same question: could these discarded batteries power a car?
Eventually, Doel decided to find out.
The starting point for the car project was a battery pack he had already built—essentially a “powerwall” made from 500 extracted vape batteries. The pack produced around 50 volts and stored roughly 2.5 kilowatt-hours of energy. It had taken six months of careful work to assemble, test, and balance the cells.
The next challenge was figuring out whether that amount of energy could realistically move a vehicle.
Finding the Right Car
Modern electric cars immediately proved unrealistic. A typical Tesla battery pack stores about 60 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is more than twenty times larger than Doel’s 2.5 kWh powerwall. Matching that capacity using disposable vape cells would require around 12,000 batteries and potentially more than a decade of work.
Clearly, a Tesla wasn’t the right candidate.
Instead, Doel turned to a much smaller and simpler electric vehicle: the Reva G-Wiz. Originally released in the early 2000s, the compact car has often been criticized for its limited performance and unusual design. But those same characteristics made it ideal for this experiment.
The G-Wiz weighs only about 880 pounds without batteries and runs on a modest 17-horsepower motor. Its original battery system operated at 48 volts—remarkably close to the 50-volt output of Doel’s vape battery pack. That compatibility meant the powerwall could theoretically slot into the car with minimal modification.
Before connecting anything, however, safety became the top priority.
The Risks...
Working with hundreds of lithium-ion cells carries real risks, including overheating, electrical faults, and potential fires. To address these issues, Doel implemented multiple layers of protection.
First, he constructed a reinforced aluminum enclosure to physically protect the batteries from punctures or damage while driving. Inside the pack, a battery management system monitored the voltage of individual cells, preventing overcharging or dangerous imbalances.
He also added individual fuses to each cell and installed temperature sensors that could monitor heat levels in real time. This multi-layered safety approach—physical containment, electronic monitoring, and thermal detection—helped reduce the risks associated with such a large battery array.
With the pack secured, integration into the vehicle turned out to be surprisingly straightforward.
The G-Wiz already had most of the electrical systems needed to operate. The only additional component required was a DC-DC converter to supply 12-volt power for accessories like headlights, windshield wipers, and the horn.
Then came the most unusual part of the entire project: charging the car.
That's Where the "Rechargeable" Comes in...
Instead of using a traditional EV charger, Doel relied on another device he had developed—a system that allows battery packs to be charged using standard USB-C fast chargers. By connecting a regular MacBook charger to the powerwall, he was able to recharge the entire battery system.
That made the vehicle something entirely unique: a road-legal electric car charged with the same cable used for a laptop.
After confirming that basic electronics like the horn and hazard lights were working, Doel tested the car’s movement for the first time. The vehicle rolled forward successfully. Encouraged by the result, he took it out onto city streets for a real-world test.
The results were surprisingly impressive.
Impressive Results
Despite being powered by recycled batteries from disposable vapes, the car reached speeds of around 35 miles per hour and managed to travel roughly 18 miles before running out of power. The drive included rainy conditions and normal accessory usage like headlights.
For a battery pack built entirely from salvaged electronics, the performance was more than proof of concept—it demonstrated the untapped potential hidden inside devices that are normally thrown away.
Beyond the technical achievement, Doel’s project sends a broader message about how society views waste. Many products labeled as disposable still contain valuable and reusable components, particularly when it comes to modern electronics.
In Conclusion
Lithium-ion batteries are energy-dense, rechargeable, and resource-intensive to manufacture. When millions of them end up in landfills every day, it represents not only an environmental concern but also a massive loss of usable materials.
Doel’s progression—from power bank to e-bike, from home power system to electric car—shows how far salvaged components can go when approached creatively. While most people aren’t likely to build their own vape-powered vehicle, the experiment forces a larger question: how much potential is being thrown away with everyday electronics?
In this case, the answer turned out to be at least 18 miles down the road.
If you're needing a refill on all your e-juices and disposable vapes (like the new Rodman MVP 65K Disposable Vape), check out our store on eLiquid.com.
