Portable Powerbank

Looking fine on the outside.... Lungs likely getting destroyed on the inside. Not trying to be a downer, but realistically there is no way that poor thing didn't inhale those toxic fumes.
My 97-year-old grandpa started chewing on lithium ion batteries when he was twelve. Got up to 40 or 50 a day before Omi made him cut back. Never seemed to hurt him none.
 
Which always reminds me ... should Li-ION batteries be stored "loose," as in a closed bin or storage container with nothing separating the batteries, or is that dangerous? It's kindof hard to store many rechargeable AA/AAA/etc. batteries in any constrained way.
 
Which always reminds me ... should Li-ION batteries be stored "loose," as in a closed bin or storage container with nothing separating the batteries, or is that dangerous? It's kindof hard to store many rechargeable AA/AAA/etc. batteries in any constrained way.
I'd say dangerous for LiIon. Not great for NiMH or alkaline either, though likely just messy or annoying rather than dangerous. Precautions should be taken to prevent the circuit from completing accidentally.
 
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Not sure how many 18650 or 21700s' are in it, but it will recharge itself at 65W

$27.50 with coupon 👍 maybe a gift

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Not sure how many 18650 or 21700s' are in it, but it will recharge itself at 65W

$27.50 with coupon 👍 maybe a gift

View attachment 68235

The 20000 has four 21700s and the 25000 has five 21700s. The 25000 can be fast charged at 100W. Not as fancy as the Anker 27650 but more bang for the buck especially when on sale for like $50-$60.
 
Just ordered myself an Oupes Exodus 600 Power Station for $119 with free shipping. Has a 600 watt/1200 watt surge (for a second) true sine wave inverter. Battery is 256 watt hours lithium iron phosphate rated for 3500+ charge cycles. Can be charged with up to 240 watts solar and 300 watts A/C at same time to get 80% charge in 33 minutes. Bought an 8mm barrel jack to Anderson connector for it on Amazon for $9 so I could use it with my 60 watt Rich Solar Panel I got recently for $45. Having up to 600 watts for camping run off a solar panel that can fit in my car's trunk for under $200 for the whole system will be a nice alternative to having to bring a generator and waste money on gas. Plus, the power station can be somewhat used as a UPS at home, just probably not for the computer (good for small refrigerator or lights). If I had the money, I could maximize it's potential with a 240 watt folding solar panel, but for now, I think I should have a good entry level setup that should be built to last. Just using A/C, it charges in about an hour so that should be good for last minute packing for camping, most natural disasters, and charging up at partial hookup campgrounds before traveling somewhere else.
 
Just ordered myself an Oupes Exodus 600 Power Station for $119 with free shipping. Has a 600 watt/1200 watt surge (for a second) true sine wave inverter. Battery is 256 watt hours lithium iron phosphate rated for 3500+ charge cycles. Can be charged with up to 240 watts solar and 300 watts A/C at same time to get 80% charge in 33 minutes. Bought an 8mm barrel jack to Anderson connector for it on Amazon for $9 so I could use it with my 60 watt Rich Solar Panel I got recently for $45. Having up to 600 watts for camping run off a solar panel that can fit in my car's trunk for under $200 for the whole system will be a nice alternative to having to bring a generator and waste money on gas. Plus, the power station can be somewhat used as a UPS at home, just probably not for the computer (good for small refrigerator or lights). If I had the money, I could maximize it's potential with a 240 watt folding solar panel, but for now, I think I should have a good entry level setup that should be built to last. Just using A/C, it charges in about an hour so that should be good for last minute packing for camping, most natural disasters, and charging up at partial hookup campgrounds before traveling somewhere else.
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Nice HoF
the first thing I always look up is the solar charging input,, just really important.
From Oupes site::: 240W Max, mppt: 15-35V, 15A Max

Just wondering if the up to 35V rating can do two panels in series, which is a bit over 37V 'working'
It probably can and if it doesn't, it simply won't start charging,, it's not going to blow up:)

No problem, just parallel the panels then
 
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Nice HoF
the first thing I always look up is the solar charging input,, just really important.
From Oupes site::: 240W Max, mppt: 15-35V, 15A Max

Just wondering if the up to 35V rating can do two panels in series, which is a bit over 37V 'working'
It probably can and if it doesn't, it simply won't start charging,, it's not going to blow up:)

No problem, just parallel the panels then
Why not just use 12 or 24 volt panels up to 240 watts and get a 120 volt panel with micro inverter up to 300 watts and put an A/C pigtail on it and plug it in to the A/C input? Then you get up to 540 watts of solar power. Just remember that you are limited to 600 watts input+output so you can charge at that speed, but if you want to use it constantly you need to stay under 300 watts solar and 300 watts of usage.
 
Why not just use 12 or 24 volt panels up to 240 watts and get a 120 volt panel with micro inverter up to 300 watts and put an A/C pigtail on it and plug it in to the A/C input? Then you get up to 540 watts of solar power. Just remember that you are limited to 600 watts input+output so you can charge at that speed, but if you want to use it constantly you need to stay under 300 watts solar and 300 watts of usage.
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a standard 12V panel is around 18V, some can be a little bit more
.... just if you find another super deal on the same Rich panel you already have.

I always look to increase voltage in any of my electronics,, stuff stays cooler, happier
high amps makes stuff grumpy
 
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Don't forger the cold weather factor. Voltage from the panel will be higher than the standard rating when it's cold outside. There's calculators online for figuring it out.
 
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another cold weather factor,,
LFP batteries should not be charged under 32F, charging in super cold conditions will damage the battery (chemistry)
powerstations will likely have cold protection & just not charge.

Free standing LFP batteries; which I mostly use, may not have cold protection built in, so you have to be smart about it.
that;s their only downside,, other than that, their performance is without compare
 
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My Fenix E-Spark order came in. Can't wait to try out both the flashlight feature, and the emergency power bank function.
 
Two months ago, I decided to build myself a portable private WiFi travel network, consisting of a TP-Link travel router to connect to public WiFi networks, a Raspberry Pi 4B to run Pi-hole DNS server, and a powerbank. I initially ordered an Anker GaNPrime 2-in-1 10000 mAh powerbank/charger, but it wasn't able to deliver 12 V on one USB port for the router while delivering 5 V on the other port for the Pi, so I changed that out for the newer Anker Prime Fusion 9.6 K.

I then discovered some issues with the way that handled the AC power being connected or disconnected, so I am now dedicating the Prime Fusion 9.6K to use for my iPhone, and I've ordered the Anker Prime 200 W 20000 mAh powerbank for the travel network gear. That has two USB-C ports capable of 100 W output, and one USB-A port. One USB-C port will feed the router, the USB-A port will feed the Pi 4B, and the second USB-C port will be used for charging the powerbank. It should arrive in a few days. The Prime Fusion 9.6K will also be used to charge the Prime 20K; even though it is only capable of 65 W output (or 45 W + 20 W if both USB-C ports are in use), and the 20K unit takes up to 100 W charging power, it should be fast enough for my needs.

The USB-C port on the 20K that I will usually use to charge it can also be used in a pinch to power my laptop.

If I run into the same problem with the 20K that I had with the 9.6K (the output drops when AC power is connected or disconnected, causing my router and Pi to reboot, since they don't have internal batteries), or if it cannot provide pass-thru power whilst itself being charged, it will be much less of a problem, since the 20000 mAh battery will have that much more capacity, that I can run my travel network for many hours before requiring a recharge.

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This could be a good gift getting someone into a small powerstation.

River 2 with a free 45W solar panel for $189 {just keep moderate expectations on what a 45W panel will give}
the panel lists for $79 itself

 
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This could be a good gift getting someone into a small powerstation.

River 2 with a free 45W solar panel for $189 {just keep moderate expectations on what a 45W panel will give}
the panel lists for $79 itself

Might want to try the Oupes website for Christmas specials. They have the Exodus 600 for $119 again. They have the 2000 watt Mega 1 power station for $429. If you get their $1 mystery gift with a purchase of a power station, you could end up with a solar panel, power station, flashlight, etc. for a $1.
 
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