Has any one tried this yet? With USB power input for charging the batteries it looks like a useful accessory for a small solar panel for recharging AA batteries. It looks like it takes AA’s only unless you make some spacers for AAA. The fact that it is a charger and power bank combined adds to the versatility if it performs decently. Also one of the few AA USB chargers that can handle four batteries that I know of.
I've been looking at this one for a while Rich. Think I'll have to just get a couple and test them. Fasttech has had them listed for some time but no reviews or questions posted on their site yet so perhaps people aren't interested in AA packs?
From what I can work out, it seems to be a 2S2P arrangement with the AA cells so you'd probably want to keep dedicated matched sets for this Soshine box.
I have a GoalZero Guide 10 plus pack that came with the Nomad 7 panel and it works very well. However, the GoalZero pack puts out 1000mA whereas the USB output on this Soshine unit is only rated for 500mA.
I can get some charge into my iPad (not much admittedly) with my GoalZero unit but I don't think this one would do much.
I don't know how much you've dabbled in solar charging. I have been messing about with it for a couple of years and have found solar charging of AA to be quite tricky if you want a proper charge rate and termination. The Sanyo USB Eneloop chargers (now discontinued but an equivalent is apparently made by Panasonic) are good units but they appear not to work at all if your panel can't keep a steady 500mA output. I find I have to buffer mine with a Li-Ion bank (ML-102) to get a reliable charge when there is any kind of passing cloud or haze.
Ideally, you don't want to charge AA cells slowly as it encourages crystal growth and capacity loss but I'm not sure how much of problem this is in practice or how long it would take to manifest.
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts if you get one before me.
I think we should suggest HKJ test it, and gadabout, i have never heard of this crystal problem in NiMH batteries, in fact i have read in many, many places that low charge rates extend battery life, its even written in my BC700 manual.
The Goal Zero 21005 Guide 10 Plus USB Power Pack is an expensive little monster compared to the Soshine at almost 4 times the price as listed on Amazon. Does it have separate charging circuitry for each battery? In fact the whole Goal Zero product line appears to be pretty expensive though they do offer power packs with more capacity than anything else I have seen it appears, the larger ones with 12V output too in addition to 5V.
As for output I have multiple Lithium Ion USB power packs that can output up to 2+ Amps in some cases. Thinking of the Soshine as a charger more than a battery pack. With the demise of the Sanyo USB powered charger for NiMH and the scarcity of sources for the Panasonic equivalent charger there is a real lack of high quality USB powered NiMH chargers it seems like.
The Soshine SC-H2 does look to be a reasonably sophisticated USB powered universal charger too though it is limited to 2 batteries but claims to handle NiMH and Lithium Ions.
I agree about the expensive part. I was lucky enough to pick up my Nomad 7 kit on a "deals" site (here in Oz) last year for a little over $70 but have never seen them since. The regular pricing is a harder pill to swallow.
It's pretty difficult to find a definitive answer to the question of cell balancing. I know they charge in series but a couple of review pages I read a while back suggested there was some kind of smart electronics that looked at the cells individually. Not sure how this could be. I emailed GoalZero several times but couldn't get any sense from the fluffies who tried to answer my questions and eventually gave up.
I can say that I've always used matched sets of Eneloops in my Guide 10 plus (mine was supplied without the OEM cells) and have done random checks with my C9000 after the Guide10 reported charged. The cells always come pretty even - within about 50mAh of each other.
I was lucky to find stock of the old Sanyo USB units on Amazon about 6 months ago and ordered 4 so I'm not especially shopping for more USB chargers at the moment. Like you, I wanted something that can output USB using AA but not at GoalZero prices.
I have PM’d HKJ requesting that he do a test of the Soshine unit.
I would think that a voltage check at the battery slots while running and a resistance check while unpowered should show whether the batteries are being charged in series or individually. Do the instructions require a minimum of two batteries be installed to charge them? A true independent charging four slot charger should be able to charge any number from 1 to 4.
Not sure if you are asking about the GoalZero or the one in your OP but the GoalZero pack must have all 4 cells loaded at all times. It is definitely in series (4S).
I would charge with my BC700 and just use this device as a power bank for cell phones and whatnot, but i still would not buy it without an expert’s analysis
Sure - 4 via USB would be better but only if they can be individually monitored. I think it's a very niche market. Multiple panels and multiple chargers?
Perhaps a 12V supply and a regular unit like the C9000 would be a better option for car camping/solar. Not so useful for hiking/canoeing/cycling though.
Or a USB powered NiMH charger for traveling that can be charged from a computer USB port, wall wart, solar panel or even a Lithium Ion USB power pack. In other words maximum versatility.
The GoalZero definitely doesn’t look at cells individually. I just tried charging 3 almost full AAA batteries and 1 that was totally discharged. The green light on the Power Pack came on in a few minutes indicating that the batteries were charged. I left it plugged in for another hour but nothing charging. I measure the voltage of the discharged battery when it was plugged in and it never went above 1.30 volts, and only had 43 mah when I discharged it.
It’s an ok charger if the 4 batteries are equally discharged but otherwise does a poor job. If I had to use it to charge batteries, say in a disaster, I’d plug it into the solar charge with 4 lower quality batteries in it and then plug my Sanyo USB charger into it. I found that the Sanyo charger doesn’t work well with intermittent power and plugging it into the Power Pack buffers the output so that it’s more constant.
That makes sense. I wouldn't be deliberately putting odd cells in there since I know they are in series.
As I said earlier, I try to keep matched cells when using the Guide10+. This works out ok for my EA4, D40a, camera flash or Steripen.
For individual cells at different rates of charge, I also plug a Sanyo USB charger into the Guide10+ as a buffer. One of the nice things about the GoalZero unit is its ability to accept charge and output via USB simultaneously. Not all power banks will do this.
Having said that, a ML-102 with an 18650 is a much cheaper option if I'm just looking for a buffer.
One useful point about the Guide10+ is that it will charge from the Nomad7 panel even on cloudy days when my Sanyos won't work at all without a buffer. It takes longer of course, but at least I know that what little current can be harvested by the panel will be going into my Eneloops. (This is using the dedicated charger port rather than the USB in as my source. Out of curiosity, perhaps I should test to see if the same holds true via USB in?)
I also only use the GZ by itself when 4 batteries are used concurrently. On some of my overseas trips I have to bring a Steripen and the batteries should be at about the same level when I charge them up.
This summer I tested charging a 18650 in a ML102 connected to the GZ power pack using the USB port from the solar panel. It fully charged so at least in the summer it wasn’t an issue. However I’m not surprised since the AA batteries were almost fully charged. When it’s a little sunnier I’m going to fully discharge 4 AA’s and rerun the test just as a worse case scenario.
I PM’d HKJ and he indicated that he has ordered the Soshine SC-EAA and will try to find time to test it when it arrives. If others PM him too then it may raise it on his priority list.