I have an Ankor 3.0 that I've used off and on to charge my phone in an emergency. I'd like to get something a bit bigger for my tablet. Don't need a solar charger, but I'd be open to it.
Suggestions?
Battery Bank?
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steve-in-kville
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Battery Bank?
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Ken
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Re: Battery Bank?
Anker is the best in my experience. They have a HUGE range of backup batteries of every size. I'm sure you can find one with more capacity. They just get heavier and heavier the more amp hours you buy.
Solar is kind of a gimmick for this sort of application. In order to charge a backup battery using solar in a reasonable amount of time you are going to need a much larger solar panel than can fit onto the back of a backup battery. People who do this sort of thing off grid (long distance wilderness hikers and explorers) always bring actual solar panels that they plug into their backup batteries. You can buy them from places like REI. So I wouldn't bother with those backup batteries with tiny solar panels built in.
Tiny solar panels work for super low current applications like calculators and watches. But isn't really practical for things like cell phone and tablet batteries that have much larger current draw. It is a physical limitation to solar, there simply isn't enough solar energy striking a little panel the size of a playing card to charge a tablet, even if it was 100% efficient. You would need some kind of folding panel several square feet in size.
Solar is kind of a gimmick for this sort of application. In order to charge a backup battery using solar in a reasonable amount of time you are going to need a much larger solar panel than can fit onto the back of a backup battery. People who do this sort of thing off grid (long distance wilderness hikers and explorers) always bring actual solar panels that they plug into their backup batteries. You can buy them from places like REI. So I wouldn't bother with those backup batteries with tiny solar panels built in.
Tiny solar panels work for super low current applications like calculators and watches. But isn't really practical for things like cell phone and tablet batteries that have much larger current draw. It is a physical limitation to solar, there simply isn't enough solar energy striking a little panel the size of a playing card to charge a tablet, even if it was 100% efficient. You would need some kind of folding panel several square feet in size.
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ohio jones
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Re: Battery Bank?
https://us.anker.com/collections/portable-power
The battery I take with me when traveling looks like the PowerCore 13000 (not sure if it's that exact capacity) and can charge two devices at once. The PowerCore Solar model appears to have similar capabilities, but with the higher cost and several days to recharge with solar, depending on weather, it hardly seems worth it.
The battery I take with me when traveling looks like the PowerCore 13000 (not sure if it's that exact capacity) and can charge two devices at once. The PowerCore Solar model appears to have similar capabilities, but with the higher cost and several days to recharge with solar, depending on weather, it hardly seems worth it.
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Josh
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Re: Battery Bank?
The best charger for emergencies is your car plus a full tank.
If you have 12V or 20V DeWalt stuff lying around something like this is very effective too:
DEWALT 12V/20V MAX USB Charger, Tool Only (DCB090)
The capacity of a single power tool battery is way beyond a power bank. I carry a power bank around because it’s slim and light, and I use it for more than emergencies - it can’t be an emergency when I forget to charge my phone every few days.
If you have 12V or 20V DeWalt stuff lying around something like this is very effective too:
DEWALT 12V/20V MAX USB Charger, Tool Only (DCB090)
The capacity of a single power tool battery is way beyond a power bank. I carry a power bank around because it’s slim and light, and I use it for more than emergencies - it can’t be an emergency when I forget to charge my phone every few days.
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