Emergency phone charger, power bank
- Thread starter Bonehead
- Start date
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
Rayovac, I know it's not sexy but I fill it with 4 AAs and it provides 5V per USB standard.
In my car I keep a lithium ion starter that also has a USB port on it.
Halo Bolt Flashlight - Rechargeable Lithium Flashlight with Car Jump Starter and Phone Charger - LED Flashlight, USB Port to Charger Devices, Portable Car Charger - Silver (801105688) Amazon product
In my car I keep a lithium ion starter that also has a USB port on it.
Halo Bolt Flashlight - Rechargeable Lithium Flashlight with Car Jump Starter and Phone Charger - LED Flashlight, USB Port to Charger Devices, Portable Car Charger - Silver (801105688) Amazon product
warneckutz
Well-Known Member
Amazon product
I have this one. Holds the charge for a while and you can charge multiple devices. If they have an updated model with USB-C, I'd consider that.
I have this one. Holds the charge for a while and you can charge multiple devices. If they have an updated model with USB-C, I'd consider that.
Anker products are high quality. It's a rare Chinese company that seems to value good products. Even though we typically equate Chinese products with cheap crap is because other companies pay to manufacture cheap-ass products in China. China can put out world class production just as easily as they can shovel out trash. This is the only Chinese product I've ever shilled for and I feel super gross lol.
black dog
Free America
I bought my son a few 35.00 dollar ones off Prime for him to use in the field to listen to music and videos a few years ago. Last year I gave him a soft roll/fold up solar and that serves him better when out for longer than a few days.
Chinesium
warneckutz
Well-Known Member
Not a bad idea. I may snag one myself. The big one doesn’t do ya any good if you can’t plug it in as well.
warneckutz
Well-Known Member
If you have a new-ish phone that can charge with USB-C, I’d check to see if you can find one that offers that - they charge a heck of a lot faster
I’ve got a crank up noaa radio with a usb charger, it’s got a 10 watt output so it can charge a phone or a tablet.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
How many cranks to send a text?
Only a few but you have to preface each one with "Hello, Sara?"
1stGenSMIB
Active Member
They are cheap these days. Good find Sneakers! I have found the charging bricks with built-in solar panels are near useless..the re-charge rate of the brick with the solar is abysmal..not worth the extra expense or complexity, IMO...and I don't think the heat does any favors with Li-ion battery life. I also have a fold up solar panel, and it charges a device fairly quickly..it is the size of a skinny text book. My latest brick is a 30,000 mAh no name from Amazon, that performs admirably and includes dual input charge ports to speed up the re-charge time. These things don't last forever, seems like after they sit in a drawer for 6 months they never come back to life, so buy cheap. Most phones are ~2,000 mAh, so a 10k brick in theory will re-charge 5 times...an iPad maybe 1.5x..I don't know exactly the rated mAh of the various iProducts.
Sneakers
Just sneakin' around....
I took a little different route after having a few of the small, portable bricks. They never seem to last very long, die and won't charge, limited recharges of your phone, etc... I went full blown solar backup, a large solar panel and home-built solar generator with 200Ah of battery. Enough to run a fridge, small device recharge is virtually unlimited, and can charge multiple devices at the same time, but still small enough to be portable.
I realize it's overkill for most, but it allows me to have 110VAC backup power for short outages, or to give me time to get the genny running. I can use it inside with no fumes or noise.
I realize it's overkill for most, but it allows me to have 110VAC backup power for short outages, or to give me time to get the genny running. I can use it inside with no fumes or noise.
1stGenSMIB
Active Member
Wow...cool project! How many watts is the solar panel? That set up mimics my boat's house system. I have 230 Ah and supplement the engine alternator with a small 30w panel. I do have a small inverter for 110v AC power, but I use that for stuff like running the laptop or charging power tool batteries. I can see how if you scale up the inverter, you could run a fridge or something for a while. 
edit-more questions...what type of batts? My buddy just spent a few thousand $$ to replace the 6v golf cart batteries in his RV with LiFePo..he got 100 more Ah in the same space, in addition to not having to worry about the 50% capacity run-down limit on lead acid. I think he has solar panels on the RV's roof too..The RV is now his house, so he is going all out.
edit-more questions...what type of batts? My buddy just spent a few thousand $$ to replace the 6v golf cart batteries in his RV with LiFePo..he got 100 more Ah in the same space, in addition to not having to worry about the 50% capacity run-down limit on lead acid. I think he has solar panels on the RV's roof too..The RV is now his house, so he is going all out.
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