Test/Review of USB battery box 4x18650 Huamen/Evertones ET-406

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers USB Power Devices
1

USB battery box 4x18650 Huamen/Evertones ET-406



I was send the box from gearbest, they list the following specifications:

  • Brand: HUAMEN
  • Type: Portable Mobile Powers
  • Compatibility : iPhone 4/4S, Sony Ericsson, Nokia Lumia 920/820, iPhone 5/5S, Blackberry, Galaxy Note 2 N7100, Universal, Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300, HTC, Galaxy Note 3 N9000, Nokia, Google Nexus 7 2nd, LG, Samsung Galaxy S4 i9500/i9505, Motorola, Google Nexus 4/5, Apple, iPhone 5C, Samsung, HTC 8X
  • Capacity Range: >10000mAh
  • Capacity (mAh): Replaceable 18650 Battery for Infinite Capacity
  • Special Functions: Dual USB Outputs, Super Slim
  • Connection Type: Micro USB
  • Battery type: Li-ion Battery
  • Color: White
  • Material: Metal, PC, ABS
  • Input: DC 5V/1.0A
  • Output: DC 5V/2.1A (max), DC 5V/1A
  • Product weight: 0.09 kg
  • Product size(L x W x H) : 9 x 9 x 1.8 cm
  • Package size (L x W x H): 12 x 11 x 3 cm
  • Package Contents : 1 x Mobile Power Charger Box



How does it look



I got it in a cardbox box



The box contained the usb box, a usb cable and a manual in probably Chinese (A manual is not needed to figur out how this box works).



The box has white top and bottom with aluminium sides.



Everything in the user interface is collected on one side. The box has two usb outputs and one micro usb input. There are 3 blue leds used to show charger state and function and a push button.
The leds can show charger state when the button is pressed.
They show a running light when output is loaded and a flashing led while charging.
The button is only needed to show charge state and activation after overload or battery replacement.



To open the box, the lid slides off and there is space for four 18650 batteries.
The batteries are not directly in parallel, i.e. it is possible to use batteries with different charge state.



The box is designed for unprotected batteries, but I could fit a 68.3mm battery in it (It was a tight fit).
This extra length means that unprotected button tops will fit.



Here I have put a full load for 3100mAh batteries in it.



To get inside the box I had to remove five very small screws.









There is a lot of electronic in this box, the reason is that each battery can be connected/disconnected as needed.


Measurements

  • Blue leds is "running" when providing usb power.
  • When the button is pressed in unloaded state, the leds shows charge status (2 leds is on above 3.6 volt, 3 Leds is on above 3.9V).
  • When charging the leds shows charge status and one led is flashing.
  • When finished with charging all 3 leds are steady on.
  • The button will activate the box again after battery replacement or overload.
  • When in standby the box drains the batteries with about 3 uA (Very good).
  • Any load on the output will turn it on (It is very sensitive).
  • The output needs about 140mA load to keep on else it turns off after about 30 seconds.
  • When the box is charging the usb output is turned off.
  • No problem with mixing full and empty batteries.
  • Both A & B output are Apple 2.1A coded (I would have prefered one Apple, one usb DCP).
  • Output turns off when overloaded, button must be pressed to reenable output.
  • Uses 1A from usb when charging.






The two output is has the same current capability and also the same coding. The overload trip point slightly above 2.1A looks good.



With a single cell and 0.5A load (10 ohm) the box works very good with an efficiency above 90% and it will disconnect the batteries at 3 volt.
The slight jumping up and down in the output voltage is not noise, it is due to the regulation and will not affect connected equipment.




Using other battery capacities works exactly the same, except for runtime.



A 0.5A test with four batteries. I had a voltmeter on battery #1 and battery #3. The box connects and disconnects batteries as needed to maintain the output.



A 2A test with four batteries. Due to the high current the efficiency is lower.
Battery #1 runs empty at about 160 minutes, the box continues to work on the other batteries.



Here I have zoomed in on the chart from above. As can be seen the battery connect/disconnect is fairly slow with minutes between.



The noise is fairly low with 9mV rms and 137mVpp at 0.5A



At 2A the noise has increased, but it is still a good value with 25mV rms and 195mVpp.



The box is charging with CC/CV, but the turn off is not working correctly (it is to sensitive and the box will start charging again).
Notice that the "DC input current" is lower than the charger current. This box does not use a linear regulator, but it is reversing the switching circuit and using it for a charge controller (I like it).
This box will charge as fast as possible while keeping the usb current at 1A.




No surprice with 2600 and 3400mAh batteries.



Charging four batteries does take time, here it is about 12½ hour (It is difficult to do it much faster when only drawing 1A from usb).



Again I have zoomed in on the chart from above, it looks like every 6 minute the charger decides what battery to charger.
In the chart I am only measuring on two out of the four batteries in the charger.



Reducing the usb voltage shows that it can maintain full charge current down to about 4.5 volt, but probably only when the batteries are empty.



Conclusion

This box has very good electronic for usb output, it can deliver a lot of current with low noise and it will turn off when overloaded.
It is very compact for a 4 battery box and the aluminium frame makes it fairly strong, without any sharp points.
The missing turn off on the charger means that it is important to disconnect the box from power when it is full (Not the same second it is full, but within a few hours), to get the maximum battery lifetime or charge the batteries in another charger.

This box does nearly everything correct and I will call it a good usb power box.



Notes

The usb box was supplied by gearbest.com for review.

Read more about how I test USB power supplies and chargers

2

Thanks for the test, but there must always be something wrong with these power banks :frowning:

3

Wow…Awesome!

Can it push 2.1A from BOTH outputs and maintain the current/voltage without sagging too much

Great review…looks like a good design…kinda hurts on the not good charge shutoff though

Yeah…seems like every one you find there is a quirk that just screws it up…uggh

4

I do not test that, but I would not expect it, usual the outputs are in parallel, i.e. the total current is 2.1A

At least this quirk is minor for a usb power box, especially if you already have some good 18650 chargers.

5

Thanks HKJ.
Ordered a black one to soak up some laptop pulls.
Interesting, the black version is around
$4 cheaper than the white version
both at Gearbest.com.

6

Not really, I have just put a coupon code on my website.

PS: I do not get any kickback from that code or anything else.

7

Ordered. Thank you HKJ for another great review and for the coupon code. Very much appreciated.

8

Thanks for another good test! (ordered one too)

9

Awesome tests, thanks HKJ!

The battery pack looks very nice and works pretty well too. :slight_smile:

10

Where to allocate the coupon?

11

I do not know it, but I would expect you get asked during checkout.

12

I mean what is the coupon code? I could not find it in your web page.

13

About five lines down on the front page.

14

I have made the line more visible now.

15

Thanks for the review, I have to order one especially with this price :bigsmile:
weird thing is… if you add more than one, the price goes up to the same amount as no discount…
I guess I just have to create 2 separate orders :smiley:
and you have to pay $2 tracking fee if you want your goods to arrive safely :stuck_out_tongue: ( no drama )

16

OK…Got it

17

Long time lurker, first time poster here

I have an ENB battery box, which I bought based on HKJ review. It works perfect for my needs with about half a dozen batteries I own. The only drawback - it's too bulky for a 2-battery box.
After reading this (another excellent) review of Evertones box I decided to buy it from gearbest. After 30 days it arrived this Friday.
Unfortunately, I got a defective unit.
It takes charge from the wall outlet and LED works as described - no problems here. The problems begin after it fully charged - all 3 LED are steady.
I disconnect the wall charger and press the button - instead of all LED to be lit for some time, they blink for a split second and go OFF.
I connect my phone - nothing happens, press the button - nothing, hold the button - nothing again...
The box doesn't give charge!


The same thing happens with different amount of batteries, different kind of batteries, different charge level of the batteries, different phones - the box doesn't work!

The same batteries work without problems in my ENB box.

As I see from this thread, a few of you guys bought this Evertones box. Do you have problems with it, do you get it to work?

Sorry for a long rant :-)

18

I don’t quite understand this part of your Conclusion:

“The missing turn off on the charger means that it is important to disconnect the box from power when it is full (Not the same second it is full, but within a few hours), to get the maximum battery lifetime or charge the batteries in another charger.”

and

“the turn off is not working correctly (it is to sensitive and the box will start charging again).”
and 12 and a half hours, to get a full charge on four cells.

So — what happens if you fail to turn it off “within a few hours” — worst case?

I don’t recall any charger that fails to stop charging being considered acceptable, and a box with four unprotected li-ions is a bit scary.

If this were an ordinary charger, I’d think you’d want to operate it on a concrete slab outdoors and watch it steadily, not plug it in casually indoors and try to remember to come back after about 13 or 14 hours.

19

Usual there is nothing dangerous with it, not more than leaving any charger connected to power.

Today many LiIon batteries are run through some tests to be sure that they do not exploded. These test include stuff like charging to a voltage well above 4.2 volt and also shorting a full charged battery.

But the constant charging will wear your batteries down.

20

Sorry, I have removed it. You can try if it still works: GBspecial0501