Disposable vape batteries from eBay used to power e-scooter

Tobiasz Stanford wired the lithium-ion batteries to a £30 scooter he bought off eBay to prove that the often-littered devices are not as expendable as people think.

The Trowbridge 23-year-old worries about the effect that these smoking substitutes are having on the environment and wants others to know that they can be reused.

He said: “I use [the scooter] every day and it's very reliable. It can go up any hill, has been used in rain, and drives through puddles.

"It's quite noisy but other than that, the performance is crazy.

"The amount of vapes I see on the street is really upsetting. These batteries have the potential to power a scooter.

"They're very active still yet they're marketed as disposable.

"When those chemicals break down, lithium will start to spill out. The consequences of that will be ridiculous.

"We need to do what we can to stop this from happening. That includes banning disposable vapes."

Tobiasz found a new use for the batteries after taking several vapes apart and discovering that, after one cycle of recharging, the batteries were almost as good as new.

Vape batteries used to power an e-scooter (Image: SWNS)

He noticed other students at his university in Stoke-on-Trent riding e-scooters and decided to use the batteries to build his own.

He added: "I've always had a fascination with electronics and moving parts, wondering how things work, and built my own drones before.

"I saw my friend smoking a vape and began to wonder how they worked.

"I used all different types. Some could have been recharged and reused five times before the vape liquid ran out.

"I got all the batteries for free and found a cheap offer for a scooter on eBay. It didn't have good range and could only go to 16 kilometers per hour.

"It took me a month or two to get it together. I had to be careful wiring up the batteries, but now the scooter works better with the vape batteries than it did before.

"Now it goes to 25kph and can charge in about three hours. I go around six miles every day on it."

Tobiasz Stanford with his e-scooter (Image: SWNS)

Tobiasz says people are "wowed" when he tells them the small scooter is powered completely by disposable vape batteries.

He said: "Everyone's quite surprised. My family and friends are completely shocked when they see what I've done.

"Most people can't even tell it's even powered."