Battery bank

[rik_uk3]

There has been talk of external battery banks here before so I thought I'd give a little run down on one. I've a couple of these and one is rated at 30,000mAh, comes with a set of connectors for your phone/psp/ipad etc and has two USB ports one rated at 2.1a output for the likes of tablet charging and weighs around 320g.

The little test was using a 10" Android tablet so I made sure it and the batter bank were fully charged then set up a load of films and started to play.

The tablet will on its own play films for about 2.5 hours so after two hours I plugged in the battery and left the films running. I stopped after nine hours, the tablet battery showed an 87% charge and the battery bank about 30%. I turned the tablet off and let it charge fully off the bank then charged my phone (battery level was 15%) fully and the battery bank still had power.

So, a very handy tool to have and on its own would keep your phone charged for a week easily at a guess. I like gadgets so taking the Tablet on trips is OK with me, plug in a 3G dongle and hopefully get online maybe and this setup would be great on glamping trips.

They don't cost a lot http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30000mah-...883?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item257db866c3 you can get the same from China for a fiver less but it can take weeks to get here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Flyto...=UK_iPad_Tablets_eReaders&hash=item2ec8b3b35a is the type of tablet I used housed in http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-2-Keyb...K_iPad_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item5af24a4e82

 

[bopdude]

Good info, thanks for sharing it, I like my SG4 so this would keep me topped up nicely

 

[Andy BB]

I have the 20,000ma version of this, and its excellent. Ordered 2 more - again from China - for family members. Have ordered the 50,000ma version as well.

 

[salan]

I am having a bit of a problem with the stated capacity. 30,000mAh is 30Ah!! Even for a lithium ion/polymer battery that's big!

I think that they are worth themoney for sure, but is the claim really correct?
My CPAP battery is three times the size of that thing (ok it's 12v) but it is 20Ah.
Alan

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I am having a bit of a problem with the stated capacity. 30,000mAh is 30Ah!! Even for a lithium ion/polymer battery that's big!

I think that they are worth themoney for sure, but is the claim really correct?
My CPAP battery is three times the size of that thing (ok it's 12v) but it is 20Ah.
Alan

Very doable with flat cells Alan, Ive got 10ah hour cells 3 of which would easily fit that case

 

[bigroomboy]

These things should really state Wh to make comparison easier. Its hard to say what the real capacity would be but its not hard to imagine the tech from some of the best manufacturers producing batteries in China finding its way into other China products such as this. The way it will retain capacity over time is also unknown. Riks test shows that for less than £30 the capacity is very usable.

 

[Goatboy]

Good mini review there thanks. I've noticed that a few "Electrickery" gadgets have sneaked into my camps in recent years.

Belzeebob23 and I were sitting in my big Tipi with the wood burner going, there was a DAB radio, his Netbook, my laptop, portable hard-drive, two digital cameras, two mobiles and a small portable speaker system. I joked that a mini presentation projector was the next step onto the big white walls of the Tipi, and we both had to give the "look" to each other that was maybe a step too far.

Glamping indeed.

We thankfully still spend most of the time just gassing.

 

[rik_uk3]

The 50,000mah are readily available from China but I'll wait until they start showing up in the UK which won't be long...or maybe not The blurb that came with it says >500 charge cycles. These are handy little gizmo's.

My next little project will be a solar setup for camp

 

[Goatboy]

Looked at some of the solar string lights as tipi lighting, good idea. We even tried out those LED illuminated balloons that I picked up cheaply in Tesco. Good tent nightlight, one filled a 7 man tipi like a bright moonlit night and lasted a few days.

Up here in Scotland I fear I'd have to spend a fair bit to make it worth while to charge gear. More homework required on my part I think.

 

[ged]

Rik, are you in a vehicle with all this kit? I can't help thinking that using the vehicle battery would be more effective and quite possibly cheaper. I have an inverter for my laptop which plugs into the 12V socket in any vehicle, it was just a few pounds.

 

[rik_uk3]

For my Juno 800 I've used white LED xmas tree lights, run for days off a couple of AA batteries. I fancy playing with a solar setup, maybe trickle charge these battery banks. I got my grandson a 'den' and put a little solar charger on the roof and it really surprised me that it will run a string of lights. If asked what I thought were the top ten camping items developed in the last 50 years I'd have to put LED on the list

 

[ged]

... If asked what I thought were the top ten camping items developed in the last 50 years I'd have to put LED on the list ...

+1 to that. That and the multitool.

 

[salan]

The 50,000mah are readily available from China but I'll wait until they start showing up in the UK which won't be long...or maybe not The blurb that came with it says >500 charge cycles. These are handy little gizmo's.

rik I must be having an 'off day' (well actually I am!), but have you any links to others like that?
i.e. direct from China? I would like to compare them.
Thanks
Alan

 

[bigroomboy]

For my Juno 800 I've used white LED xmas tree lights, run for days off a couple of AA batteries. I fancy playing with a solar setup, maybe trickle charge these battery banks. I got my grandson a 'den' and put a little solar charger on the roof and it really surprised me that it will run a string of lights. If asked what I thought were the top ten camping items developed in the last 50 years I'd have to put LED on the list

Absolutely, maybe even on a top 10 of tech achievements ever.

 

[rik_uk3]

rik I must be having an 'off day' (well actually I am!), but have you any links to others like that?
i.e. direct from China? I would like to compare them.
Thanks
Alan

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20000mAh-...lePhonesCasesPouches&var=&hash=item56581ba91f

Alan, the batteries all look the same, odds on they all come from one or two factories mate, like most gas stoves and lanterns these days regardless of the badge.

Richard

 

[salan]

Thanks Rik,
I have bought one (50,000mAH), I ma in no rush for it, so will see what it is like and let you know.
Alan

 

[tim_n]

I got one of these to go with my portable wifi box (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10000mAh-...129?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d40776971) only 10000mah but works well. I've had a few charges out of it. Tried putting together my own, but this was by far the better option

 

[BillyBlade]

Rik, deadly serious, you're one of the most valuable contributors to this website. You seem to have a talent to finding kit that's spot on with the price and is very useful indeed.

Ordered, cheers!

How do you find that tablet BTW? It looks pretty decent in the specs listed. Wifey has a Samsung 10.1 note 2, but no way I'm paying that kind of money for something I'd probably leave in a hotel room down route or drop on it's head. Hence the search for something functional at a good price.

 

[rik_uk3]

Your too kind Bill.

The tablet is fine, the screen is not as responsive as the more expensive tablets but its very usable and the keyboard really helps. Its ideal as a little media centre and for browsing/emails etc. Full size USB port is handy, on mine I put

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9130610.htm which is so ridiculously small it can be left in there all the time. The tablet has good built in wi fi so no problem accessing the wireless router.

 

[Nice65]

I use these two.

The smaller gets chucked in for overnighting and will easily 100% an iPhone 4S with plenty to spare. It does the IPad 4 to about 25%. Looks to contain 2 x 18650 batteries and incorporates an LED torch.

The larger (probably 6 x 18650) one got my ipad to 93% on it's first go, I'd expect it to 100% once the batteres have been stretched a bit. Took hours though, but I'd rather that than a quick and hot charge. Would keep an iPhone happy for a week I'd expect.

I'd suggest using any of these devices voids the warranty, just as a third party in car charger would.