Test/Review of USB Load resistor 1A

USB Load resistor 1A







Official specifications:

  • Type: 1A discharge resistor.

  • Used For: Power bank / Battery Capacity testing.

  • Brand new and high quality.


I bought it on ebay some time ago.

The most interesting detail about this type of load is how hot they get, some power resistor has a working temperature between 200°C and 300°C when fully loaded.



This type of load is very simple, two big power resistors and a led to show if there is any power supplied to it.













Load testing
  • This type of load is only designed for 5V input.

  • Current change during 30 minutes with 1A load is 0.005A, i.e. 0.5%




Being a resistor the current will depend on voltage.



As expected the load current and power is stable with a resistor, except for a small drop due to temperature.



M1: 165,5°C, M2: 87,0°C, M3: 57,4°C, M4: 171,9°C, HS1: 181,2°C
The resistors gets fairly hot.
The correct way to mount power resistors is a bit above the board with some distance between. These resistors are only running at half their rated power, but they cannot get rid of the heat.



M1: 124,5°C, M2: 63,8°C, HS1: 132,1°C



Conclusion

The load works as expected and is an easy way to test usb power banks (together with a usb meter), but this model need an external fan to supply lots of cool air.
It is a bad idea to touch it when it is working.



Notes

Expect very similar performance from all resistive loads with two square white 5W 10ohm resistors.

That’s it, no more resistor test in the near future!
This covers the most common 3 types:

Two white resistors 1-2A: Test/Review of USB Load resistor 1A-2A usb output (Discharger3) (2xWhite resistor)
Two green resistors 1-2A: Test/Review of USB Load resistor 1A-2A (2xGreen resistor)
Two white resistors 1A: This review.

Consistency is everything in testing and this seems to have that. Ceramics can take this kind of heat so the PC board and LED would be my concern. If they’re OK with the heat then a small ventilated box enclosure would be enough without a fan. Not sure how you’d easily mount the board in that though, there’s no ‘clean’ areas on the board for screw-in stand-offs.

Phil

FR4 laminate (The green circuit board material) can withstand about 130C continuous and considerable more for a short time.