My question:
Is there a way for a regular Joe to check if a portable battery pack is delivering the stated mAh capacity?
I purchased a brand name 11,000 mAh lithium-ion battery pack at Best Buy last year for travel use. Works great so far.
My wife now wants one for travel. As I’m looking in stores a year later, I see several brands of no-name packs (aka cheap Chinese junk) that are labeled as 11,000 mAh “lithium” (versus Li-ion) but are half the price and about half the physical size of the Li-ion pack I bought a year ago.
I understand the price difference, but I find the size to power ratio startling. In everything I’ve read Li-ion is more “power dense” delivering the same power in a unit half the size.
My obvious reaction is skeptical: Has there been some breakthrough in battery technology in the last year that has caused Li packs to be smaller and more powerful than Li-ion? Maybe, but not that I can find, so I suspect that the stated mAh is BS.
I’m not planning to buy a no-name pack, but the experience got me to wondering whether there is a way to tell if any pack delivers the stated mAh or if it’s BS?
Regardless of whether the mAh is true or not, I would recommend against it. There have been several recalls in the past 15-20 years for Laptop Lithium-ion batteries from reputable companies because they got too hot - sometimes with the danger of exploding; I personally don’t want the risk, even if it’s small, that of 1 000 faulty batteries I might have the one that does explode (because of hydrogen buildup in faulty ones).
Considering that even brand-Name US and Japanese companies have outsourced an unknown amount of their manufacturing to China - sometimes it does say so on the parts “Manufactured in China” - I would trust no-brand Names from China even less, given all the reports that instead of 4th Generation Robot factories (like in Japan in the beginning) China still does a lot of work directly by People by Hand.
Also with Lithium-Ion = rechargeable batteries, I think despite promises, they still tend to have the Problem with lesser capacity during run (like the old Ni-Cd Akkus), to which the only solution is to let them run completly empty and then recharge.
Also, all rechargeable battery experts I’ve read say that you can’t expect more than 1 000 load cycles no matter what.
Yes, battery technology is improving rapidly – and yes, Chinese made odd-brand batteries may well be mislabeled.
Stick with something like an Anker PowerCore 10000 (from a reputable seller – because places like eBay may have cheap off-brand stuff wrapped in a phony label.)
Thanks for the recommendation on the Anker, I’ll look at that one.
Also, a buddy is an electrician, I’ll see if he can test the discharge rate just to satisfy my curiosity.
constanze - I appreciate your concern but I think the Li-ion batteries that have had heat & fire issues have been laptop (or Samsung phone batteries) that are used under high stress and output conditions. I can’t find any evidence of the portable packs causing issues.
I frequently travel on business and mine is invaluable. It completely takes the stress away from wondering if I have enough battery on my phone to check-in with my e-ticket etc. or desperately looking for a wall outlet. I’m also aware of the 1000 cycle life, but at my usage rate that will be many years, so $40 is a great investment.
It works great and does exactly what OP is requesting for Li-ion, NiMH & NiCad batteries.
It does not work for the newer lithium chemistries that have come out in recent years.
If you read the actual listings and reviews of those powerbanks, the problem is the panel in them is always a joke. 1.5 - 2 watts generally, not adequate for anything but a negligible amount of charging.
16 watts and 2 output ports. You would need to pair it with a battery bank that has dual input ports. A reputable brand so they don’t cheat you on the capacity.
One problem with these solar chargers, though, is :
It needs to be outside, and might get rained on. Glass reduces the charge rate too much, and it will die from heat if you put it in a car in the window.
During the last storm in Houston, for some people the power was out for a week - and it was solidly overcast the entire time. Basically no power from solar panels at all.
I just picked up a “Tzumi PocketJuice” 10k mAh at Walmart. Interestingly, this model is now less than 1/2 the price of the one I bought last summer (but still the same size). The one i bought myself has worked great so far.
My internet search did turn up that Costco US was selling two of these 10K units for the about same price as a single unit in Canada. I also figured that if Walmart & Costco both carry these that must count for something in terms of the brand quality.
The biggest challenge I see with these is less the batteries and more the ports where the micro USB or the USB connect. The cheaper unit’s ports get easily bent and then they either won’t charge in or out.
I keep telling my wife and daughter not to carry them connected in their bags unless they’re charging their phone. They’ve snapped the USB connections in a couple so far (at least the story I’m sticking to is that it’s them! :smack:)