Why those high capacity batteries that we are carrying around in our flashlights don’t have more uses?
Well i run out of battery on my mobile phone almost every day. I was looking for a solution until i saw these:
5V 0 - 2.5A Mobile Portable USB Battery Charger Power Supply …link
4 x 18650 (lots of mAh)
So, as an edc i would have to carry my phone, my flashlight and this portable power supply.
And then i saw this:
Aluminium Alloy T6 Flashlight with Dual USB Portable Charger (3x18650) …link
T6 and 3 x 18650.
So, what do you think? is it suitable for edc? does it worth to give five times more for the flashlight instead of buying just the usb supply? And are those things actually suitable for charging a smart phone?
As someone who owns this I find that it does get quite a lot of use. However it takes a damn long time to charge 4X18650’s off of a usb port. I find that a 5V 2A supply lessens the wait, also it will accept the direct voltage from a 6V solar panel I have.
How fast do the charge a Iphone or a Gallaxy since I assume it’s going at 2.5A? Yea that 15 hour charge time for batteries, you’ll be better off charging the empty batteries on 18650 charger, than the native AC adaptor.
I use an ML-102 when travelling.
Small and light, cheap as well.
Great for charging the phones when off the power grid for a while.
Would be better for EDC as it’s single 18650 or 26650 power.
See https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/5219
I’ve got one of the boxes in the first post, and it does the job. The batteries are parallel, so you don’t actually need 4, which might come in handy at some point. I don’t use it to recharge the batteries — only power other things. One quirk on mine (that may or may not be the same on a different model) is that there’s an unlabeled button inside that you need to press to reset it after you feed it new batteries. The only other bother is that the box closes with a couple of screws.
I have one of the boxes in the first post as well. I have received it, but not the cells I had planned on running in it so I cannot comment on its performance. But it looks well enough made and Its been thrown around in my truck for the last few weeks with no ill effects. For less than $10 it’s almost a no-brainer as long as it performs.
I've been looking for a decent portable device charger and that one you posted looks fantastic and cheaper than any other I've found. I just placed an order for it. ;) I have some field apps that drain the hell out of my Android device and this will alleviate the whole power issue. I also like that it's a flat box and takes 4 cells opposed to another cylindrical type I was going to get that only uses one cell. I can strap it to the back of my phone or tablet and connect with a shorty cable.
Thank you all for your replies! I am glad i was helpfull JohnnyMac. For some reason I can’t make my mind on this. I am more into the ML-102 because is more suitable for EDC as Suncoaster & Scaru mentioned and don’t like taking screws out for replacing batteries.
I also found some other models too, and i think it is worth posting them here
I have one of the 4 x 18650 boxes. Funnily enough, the literature (such as it is) is adamant that you should not use protected cells anyway as it will "burn out the circuit". The box itself has inbuit protection smarts.
I fitted Panasonic NCR3100s to mine. Charging in the box is slow unless you have a high-powered wall wart (1A or 2A). Mine terminates charging at 4.19V. I bought it primarily for use in conjunction with a solar panel and for this purpose it works well.
As to not liking to have remove screws - I guess this depends on how often you think you would need to do that. I rarely take the cells out of mine, so it's no hardship.
I just ordered 4 NCR18650B’s (Protected) and I had planned on using them in one of these as well as for lights.
Curious that they state that you shouldn’t use protected cells. I do not understand how this could “burn out” the electronics in the box. Anyone with more EE understanding than me able to contribute?
I plan on eventually picking up a SR king or similar 4x18650 monster torch so I didn’t want to get the unprotected cells.
Basically, no. While there is a chance the added resistance could affect it somehow I doubt it. However whether or not they will fit is another question.
For what it’s worth, I only use protected cells in my little 4-box. No problems so far. My EE knowledge is slim to nil, but I can’t imagine what the problem could be.
The only circumstance I could think of is if the box was holding only one cell and I use and the low voltage protection on the cell kicked out before the low voltage on the box and there was a current reversal from the device connected causing the damage.
Btw which box is it you use with the protected cells?
I doubt that any laptop can use USB as power input. USB is limited to 5W (ok, some are 10W such as iPad charger, but that’s really pushing it), and most laptops have 40W (13” and smaller) or 65-120W (15” and bigger) power bricks.
I’m using 4S LiPo wired directly to my laptop’s power port (when I’m going on a long power-less trips), with laptop’s input voltage range of 12-19V it works just fine (that LiPo pack has voltage range of 14-17V).
ZW99GT, I nearly ordered that box, too, especially since it has a MicroUSB port, but from the images it seems that the battery compartment might be too small for protected 18650… Could you post about that when you get it?