Portable Phone Charger Review

[Snagglefoot]

I bought one of these portable phone and tablet chargers a few years ago. They’re pretty cheap and pretty generic. This one is 10,000 mAh. It charges off a USB port and will hold a charge for months. I bought it thinking it would good to have for power outages but really I use it for when I forget to charge my iPad. It will charge an iphone to 100% but can’t gain on an IPad if you are using it. It will maintain the current state of charge. If you shut off the iPad it can add to the charge. Good accessory to make sure I always get my coffee and Bitog fix in the morning.

 

[thastinger]

I did a good bit of research on most all of these. Most are made from 18650 LiFePo4 cells and most you can only get 60% of the rated capacity, the really good ones you can get up to 80% from, test was conducted with an in-line USB power monitor, you can tell how much power goes into the battery bank when you charge it and how much it outputs before it shuts off. This was probably 3 years ago that I did the testing.

Flash forward a bit and the Wife bought me an Ororo heated jacket. The battery bank in it is also 18650 cells but it is configured for 7.4V vs the 5V of the portable battery packs. The Ororo battery has an internal voltage step down circuit and a turbo 5V (3A) USB output, since it is 7.4V, you can get the full 5200mAH out of it, in a smaller package. Most of the larger sized 10K mAH packs I tested would output 5-7Mah before they shut down.

 

[Quattro Pete]

It will charge an iphone to 100% but can’t gain on an IPad if you are using it. It will maintain the current state of charge.

Looks like max rated output for this power bank is 5V/2A.

How much does the iPad's own wall charger output?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Looks like max rated output for this power bank is 5V/2A.

How much does the iPad's own wall charger output?

5.2 V and 2.4 A. It’s fairly old.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Update. The portable phone charger finally died. It will no longer hold a charge. I found it useful enough that I’ll pick up another one.

 

[E365]

I’d recommend an Anker brand one. I use an Anker most days at work to keep an iPad topped off all day. Current one is 2+ years old.

 

[PimTac]

Update. The portable phone charger finally died. It will no longer hold a charge. I found it useful enough that I’ll pick up another one.

That didn’t last very long at all?

 

[Snagglefoot]

That didn’t last very long at all?

When I posted it was “ a few years old.”. Fast forward 9 months and it died quickly.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I ended up buying one that was labeled as Blue Hive. It is 75 Whrs vs 37 Whrs hours and 20,000 mAhrs vs 10,000 mAhrs on the old one. Unfortunately it is twice as thick as the old one so it doesn't seem to be a jump in technology, just more battery volume.
It can now charge an Ipad while it is in use and gain on the total charge vs the old one not being able to do that. It charged the Ipad from 45% to 100% in one hour. The charger was down to two lights from four lights on the indicator.
As you can see the new one in the background is much thicker than the old one in the foreground.