Power banks?

[rik_uk3]

My point is that I don't care what the actual capacity is, the fact is they do a fantastic job for pennies and are certainly better than many 'lower powered' battery banks that cost two, three or four times the price. Get over the actual power, buy a couple and use them.

[daylen]

Get over the actual power, buy a couple and use them.

I agree with you to a point - I had hoped my posts showed that. I'm sorry they didn't.

I still think my point is valid though and that understanding what actual the capacity is is important, especially as the OP asked whether or not the actual capacity could be anything like the stated one.

I didn't want to start an argument and I'm sorry if it seemed like that.

[rik_uk3]

No problem Daylen, its just sometimes people get hung up on the little things and miss the bigger picture. Lets say these cheap banks run at 25,000mAh, for the price they are unbeatable value. Look at the better branded 'genuine' 10,000mAh chargers which go for £30, £40 or £50...which would you buy?

[Yorkshire Andy]

to be fair having seen what little circuity there is in there i would go for a better quality unit..

i need to get it on the bench at some point and do some probing with my multimeter but i cant see anything to fuse the pack in case of short circuit for example there are 2 very small chips on the PCB a HT4902t which seems to be a usb voltage regulator and a TF414C which seems to be a small amplifier


http://www.datasheet4u.com/pdf/829276/H ... 4902T.html


http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/pr ... o?id=TF414



nothing jumps out as a charge protection circuit...

Im very nervous of charging cheap LI / LIPO cells if they rupture they tend to burst into flames

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhDnHx6umCg

least the old nicads and NIMH just used to get hot and go pop



This are worth watching if your using any lithium devices on how to put them out if something goes wrong


www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh3ZOvhRNwU


i charge cheap lithium batteries out in the garden

[rik_uk3]

Look forward to your results.

[dangerman]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread but I just spotted it - and wish I had spotted it earlier.

That said, I'm not that regretful for my recent purchase, I was just a little disappointed with the performance. I would still have probably bought this stuff anyway.

I got these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331307032882? ... EBIDX%3AIT, which are advertised as 5000mah 18650 batteries.

And one of these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-USB-Power ... 1658643012

My LG G3 has a 3000mah battery and two of these should more than charge it twice (if they're 5000mah), but alas, I get about 60% charge. So there performance is more like 900mah. Bit shat that, isn't it?

That said, I know they're never 100% thermally efficient so I bet they're actually about 1500mah each. I'm going to message them and see what they have to say for themselves. However, the powerbank I made from these two products looks nice. It's small and versatile and cost me just over £3.

Deffo blag batteries though - and since they're advertised at 5000mah, it makes sense that the original power bank in this thread is advertised at 30,000.

[preparedsurrey]

@dangerman

What are you charging those LIPO's with, they look like standard AA size which to my mind is a disaster waiting to happen when someone puts them into a normal charger, also you know you shouldn't run them down to less than a certain voltage 3.4v maybe or permenant damage will occur - you really need a low voltage cut off to be safe

[Hoipoloi]

AA size dia x height 14.5 × 50.5
18650 size dia x height 18.6 × 65.2

[dangerman]

Yeah, the 18650 are a bigger, more chunky battery. Cannot use them in a standard AA charger. I've got a single 18650 specific charger for my torch but this powerbank has an input and an outlet, so I'm just running them down when charging my phone and then charging them back up with my phone's micro USB cable. I think all power banks work in this way.

I've got ten of the batteries, if they start to go bad then I'll know the power bank is a load of crap and just get a new one.