Power nrf52840 Sense via LiPo battery

Products & Technology XIAO
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I’m trying to make the Seeed Xiao nRF52840 Sense (Seeed XIAO nRF52840 Sense - The Pi Hut) portable by powering it through a 3.7V 500mAh LiPo battery, currently through a breadboard and without soldering. I have read that breadboard powering through LiPo batteries can be dangerous without proper setup (from shorts).

I found this battery which reportedly has in-built discharge and overcharging protection: https://thepihut.com/products/500mah-3-7v-lipo-battery

Is it safe to plug the battery (via the JST connector) directly into the breadboard and power the XIAO board? If yes, can I do this by connecting the JST connector via breadboard wires directly into the breadboard? And does this have to go through the power rails first or can it go directly in-line with the XIAO board?

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the main problem with breadboard charging or LiPo power for that matter is the connection

These chargers and batteries are capable of delivering extreme amounts of power

if the conection is weak (which is the definition of a breadboard conection) it causes the resistance to increase and with an unlimited amount of power and high resistance tremendious heat cna be produced. not only can the breadboard catch fire… but a short or low voltage of a lipo can cause the battery itself to catch fire… IMO…HTH

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Correct - Provided you don’t short the LiPo, everything should be OK. I generally use a “fuse” on LiPo supplies just in case.

Eg. RXEF010 - will hold at 100mA and trip at 200mA. This allows for the XIAO to charge the LiPo and for the LiPo to supply enough current to the XIAO.
For higher power projects I use the RXEF017 (or larger).

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500mA into a breadboard is fine… no fire, smoke or heat. 1A is generally consider the “max”, though I have just tested with 2A!

That said, it is better to err on the side of caution.

I may need some more information on where you want to connect the battery on the XIAO?

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Thank you very much! I partially solved it for the interim by going via the Xiao Expansion Board (instead of a Breadboard) which has a JST Connector input to plug the battery in and built-in battery management.

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How did you solved …. I mean which solution worked for you ???

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I used a Grove Expansion Board which has a in-built plug for a LiPo battery (via JST connector). I understand the Xiao Seeed has already in-built battery management so the risk of shorting / causing an issue with the battery should be reduced (though I haven’t tested in detail yet).