Test/Review index of all tested usb chargers, any comments?

Thanks, this is much appreciated!

Hi HKJ. Seems more and more surge suppressor power strips on the market are featuring built-in USB charging ports. Have you considered disassembling and reviewing some of these? I’m curious how they compare to dedicated charger units.

Only one and it is not a surge suppressor, where I have received some requests:

I expect to publish the review later today.

If you want me to review some other, please post some links to where I can get them (Remember: I live in Europe).

It looks like BlitzWolf_40W_5_port_usb_charger and Eachine_PA40W_5_channel_usb_power_charger share the same board. But Eachine is using a much better quality 2014 rev., and BlitzWolf_40W_5_port_usb_charger a 2013 rev.



I am not sure there is much quality difference between the boards.
Many 5 port usb chargers uses revisions of this board, some of them better than other (Anker has electronic overload protection, not a fuse).

My favorites, in a image. Sorry.
I am unable to format the text correctly in the forum.

NOTE:

- Anker devices have electronic overload protection (best), not a fuse (worse) as others.(HKJ)

  • Eachine only supports Apple 2.1A

HKJ, thank you for the reviews.

Hi HJK,

Thanks for all the USB mains adapter testing and the details how the 2.5 and 5kV test are done using the Uni-T 513: test time usually less then 30 seconds and your quote:

Regarding the category of smaller green ticks (possibly safe, haven’t read the CE test report): Have you ever tried a distributor/manufacturer to ask for their CE test report?

Sometimes

My guess is because those do not use synchronous rectification but rely on the cheaper diode bridge?

That is one reason for getting hot, another reason is when the transformer is a bit too small.

Investigators have warned consumers they face potentially fatal risks after 99% of fake Apple chargers failed a basic safety test. From a report on BBC:
Trading Standards, which commissioned the checks, said counterfeit electrical goods bought online were an “unknown entity.” Of 400 counterfeit chargers, only three were found to have enough insulation to protect against electric shocks. It comes as Apple has complained of a “flood” of fakes being sold on Amazon. Apple revealed in October that it was suing a third-party vendor, which it said was putting customers “at risk” by selling power adapters masquerading as those sold by the Californian tech firm.

From the comments:

I like your table but maybe you can be more specific about the risk.
What is the risk of the person getting a mains shock?
What is the risk of destroying your device being charged?

The risk is for persons, not equipment. The reviews are a bit more specific, the reasons are usual a one or more of:

  1. Fail of high volt test, I test at two different levels.
  2. Non-safety capacitor used
  3. Isolation distance too low.

@HKJ: are you referring to the isolation distance being too low when the power is still high AC, before it’s converted to 5vdc? I’m still learning, and I’ve seen cuts in circuit boards in high voltage areas to isolate components.

No, between the mains voltage and the low voltage (There are some legal requirements).
The distance between mains voltage parts can be fairly low without any trouble.

It would be useful to list all the 5-port boxes that include some version of this board, and cautions about which are better.

Check the tear-down photos of all 5 port chargers, it is fairly easy to see.

Using this one for about 2 years: http://www.gearbest.com/plugs-sockets/pp_393296.html (own 1)

Using this one for about 1 years: http://www.gearbest.com/chargers-cables/pp_350599.html (own 4)

Never had any problems with them. All are plugged in 24/7 and used almost daily.

When I made a list for charger selection I also got around to improve this list a bit.

Your table is very useful!
.
I’d like to suggest:

  • number of USB-A Ports
  • number of USB-C Ports
  • number of USB-Ports with QC
  • number of USB-Ports with PD
  • metering results of thermal tests
  • URL to manufacturer’s product page
  • average price

I created some an example table for the features of some review requests:

.
.
And i like to suggest an table for USB powerbanks (you called them USB battery box sometimes).
Especially how well it is usable as UPS.
Helpful categories would be:

  • pass through charging (usable as USV)
  • output turns on when (manual/automatic; button/load)
  • output turns off when (manual/automatic; voltage of battery, current of load)
  • Number of USB-A outputs
  • Number of USB-C outputs
  • Number of QC outputs
  • Number of PD outputs
  • Charging Connector type
  • Number of charging inputs
  • Maximum charging current
  • time for complete charge after empty

Example: