Power bank advice

[Another eforum account]

Hello - just wondering if you knowledgable folks have any advice on power banks. Have a feeling my existing ones aren’t operating to full capacity any more. I’m also looking for something that is forward compatible. 
At the moment I’ve an iPhone 8 so need a usb output (my battery life js not great but holding out for a phone that has usb-c input) and ideally I’d like a battery that can be charged using a USB-C, so in the future when I’m out & about I can cut down on how many plugs I need. I’ve theoretically got access to power during the festival but that might be a bit sporadic ie it could be a couple of days before I could recharge a power pack. Would like something not too big/heavy. Used Anker in the past but the options are vast! Oh and if the battery could charge my iPad Pro would be a bonus (though not at the festival!) thanks! 

[efcfanwirral]

So I just ordered a new one yesterday - I noticed that my current power banks (not USB-C) are charging my phone mega slowly when I'm out. Fine when i'm out as I can just leave it on the table, but not ideal for a quick charge at the tent at a festival in the morning.  

Anker has done me well in the past so I've been monitoring the price on this and it was 54.99 before, down to 39.99 now 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LG2X98F/ref=pe_27063361_487055811_TE_dp_1

Will report back on how good it is later on when it arrives!

Edit - will need a USB-C to USB-C to make it fast charge it seems - though you'd likely be on the regular USB for now so definitely forwards compatible

Edited May 16, 2023 by efcfanwirral

[Mr_Grump]

There are lots of factors you need to bear in mind with power banks, with the following been the main four;

• mAh of the power bank
• wattage of the power bank
• mAh of the device being charged
• type of port (USB-A, USB-C etc) being used to charge

 

The higher the wAh of the power bank the better as this is the amount of charge it'll hold. What you need to factor in is that the maximum capacity needs to be 'derated' as the stated capacity is in an 'ideal world'. Outside temperature, age of the power bank, how long since it was charged will have an impact on the charge so the suggested guidance is that 80% of it's capacity would be a truer rating.

To work out how many times you can charge a device from a power bank is to divide the 'derated' mAh by the mAh of the device, that should give you an indication.

 

eg as a rough guide, a power bank has an mAh rating of 20,000mAh. The derated figure would be 16,000mAh (20,000 x 0.8). If your mobile has a 3,000mAh battery (if you google it you should find the rating), you should be able to charge it up to 5 times with your power bank (5 x 3,000 = 15,000).

 

The speed of charge is driven by the wattage of the power bank, the higher the wattage, the quicker the charge. That being said, a USB-C will charge a lot quicker than a USB-A.

[Dave_c]

I bought this last year and it was great

Anker Power Bank, USB-C Portable Charger 20000mAh with 20W Power Delivery, 525 Power Bank (PowerCore Essential 20K PD) for Phone 13/13 Pro / 13 Pro Max / 12/12 Pro, Samsung, iPad Pro, and More https://amzn.eu/d/4HqdHfB

 

[jamesrfisher]

I have this which works very well, not too costly and should last the whole festival.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073FJ6Z8D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Mike A]

I purchased an INIU 20000mAh power bank and received it yesterday.

It should keep my Pixel phone mostly charged up over the course of the festival. Likely a bit heavier than I'd want to carry around for the day but I have an older small Anker that I can throw in my pocket to top up during the day and then use this one to recharge both back at the tent.

Just small enough for legal airline carry-on and well reviewed at that usual review sites.

Charged quickly from ~80% at deliver to 100% over USB-C. And supports fast charging of my phone with USB-C to C. It is supplied with a short USB-A to USB-C cable that you can use for charging either brick or phone, but will be slower than USB-C to USB-C.

US price was $17 w/ free shipping after several discounts and coupons right from the site. Looks like only one of those may be available on UK site, though.

[carlosj]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:09 PM, jamesrfisher said:

I have this which works very well, not too costly and should last the whole festival.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073FJ6Z8D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought this for my wife (I know, romance eh?) which is USB A outputs but USB C / micro USB charging inputs. It should see you right for 2-3 days.

Deal of the day: Anker Power Bank, 325 Portable Charger (PowerCore Essential 20K) 20000mAh Battery Pack with High-Speed PowerIQ Technology and USB-C (Input Only) for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and More https://amzn.eu/d/hAqnpCf

If you wanted ipad charging, I got this, 1.5 times as heavy though. It has USB A and C outputs (where the USB C slot also charges. When I say 'got', it was great until it packed up 11 months later and I got a refund.

Anker Power Bank, PowerCore III Elite 25600 PD 60W Power Delivery Portable Charger for USB C MacBook Air/Pro/Dell XPS, iPad Pro 2020, iPhone 11 Pro/11 /XS Max/X/8, Samsung and More https://amzn.eu/d/0yUEXLS

 

[Masterluke]

I know there is mobile phone charging there, but can you recharge power banks also?

[mazola]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charmast-30000mAh-Portable-Compatible-Smartphones/dp/B08Y6XBM8X

Bought this a couple of weeks ago for £24.99, looks like it's gone up quite a bit since then so probably not much use to anyone now, but might be worth keeping an eye on.

I fully charged it when I got it, and have used it exclusively to charge my phone with since then.

I'm on day 9 now of using it from a single charge, and there's still 16% left according to the readout.

[stanh]

Can strongly recommend Anker as a brand, despite being on the pricey side, their products have last me years and are still going strong, well worth the money.

[Mr_Grump]

2 hours ago, mazola said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charmast-30000mAh-Portable-Compatible-Smartphones/dp/B08Y6XBM8X

Bought this a couple of weeks ago for £24.99, looks like it's gone up quite a bit since then so probably not much use to anyone now, but might be worth keeping an eye on.

I fully charged it when I got it, and have used it exclusively to charge my phone with since then.

I'm on day 9 now of using it from a single charge, and there's still 16% left according to the readout.

Looks like selected accounts get a 20% off option with Amazon...£29.60 for me today

[Derby_Dave]

we own a couple of these and they do the job fine.  Recommended.
 

INIU Power Bank, 22.5W Fast Charging 20000mAh Powerbank, PD3.0 QC4.0 Portable Charger, 3A (USB C In & Out) with LED Display Battery Pack for iPhone 14 13 12 11 X Pro Max Samsung S21 S20 iPad etc https://amzn.eu/d/e53ZZ6o

[Pandas]

Another tip: switch your phone to low power/low battery mode. You will add about 20% to the life that way. Switch off wifi as phones are constantly looking for a wifi signal which you won't find. Don't try and send too many photos as the network is usually so poor, your phone uses battery to try and send across low signal.

[mungo57]

I have my big power bank which I think is 22000mah, I also have a couple of 5000mah ones and a 10000mah, as well as my smaller 2500mah ones so one for all situations!

 

I normally bring my massive one to festivals and charge the smaller ones off that, that seems to do the trick.

I don't know if they still do but last Glasto I went to they used to charge phones and power banks at the lockups. Might be worth doing that if your power bank runs out (I'd imagine you'd only get limited charge though with all that ampage being shared out amongst 5-10 devices all on the charge at once!)

[Skip997]

2 hours ago, Pandas said:

Another tip: switch your phone to low power/low battery mode. You will add about 20% to the life that way. Switch off wifi as phones are constantly looking for a wifi signal which you won't find. Don't try and send too many photos as the network is usually so poor, your phone uses battery to try and send across low signal.

This

Use your phone to contact mates on site, that's all

[Breeze]

On 5/16/2023 at 6:14 PM, Mike A said:

Just small enough for legal airline carry-on and well reviewed at that usual review sites.

I hadn’t heard there was a limit. Do you know what it is?! 

[Mike A]

19 minutes ago, Breeze said:

I hadn’t heard there was a limit. Do you know what it is?! 

Generally any power banks under 100 Watt-hrs are fine (in reasonable quantities).
But airlines may be more restrictive. I'm flying into Bristol from the US on Aer Lingus and their policy requires that any lithium/lithium-ion power banks be less than 100 Wh and must be taken in carry-on baggage and can't be checked

Edited May 23, 2023 by Mike A

[Ricci's Special Kebabs]

Anker all the way, I've tried others and they never match up to the quality. 

[blutarsky]

I'm another who will vouch for Anker - swear by mine. Mega fast charging too. 

[Dave_c]

On 5/20/2023 at 5:23 PM, Masterluke said:

I know there is mobile phone charging there, but can you recharge power banks also?

I'm sure you could but they take a long time to fully charge, any modern phone with fast charging will charge faster than a power bank. I think my 20,000mah bank takes a few hours to charge fully.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Dave_c