Power cans come in a variety of capacities, but even high-power devices need to be charged correctly to ensure the product performs as efficiently as possible. Depending on the model, the connection to the electrical source may vary significantly.
The charging method will also determine how long it takes to restore the functionality of the portable battery. This article will discuss the most optimal options for connecting a power bank to various electrical energy converters.
Is it possible to charge a new power bank using an AC adapter?
After purchasing a new device, you have to decide how to use it. Even if you have a fairly high charge level, it's best to take the time to get it to 100 percent.
Built-in controllers used to protect the battery located inside the case require periodic calibration. To do this, it is necessary to charge a power bank that has been lying for some time in a store window or warehouse. This will help the automation register the peak indicator in order to build on the obtained parameters during everyday use.
After making a purchase, it is not recommended to connect your smartphone or other gadget to the portable charger. This may result in shorter service life and faster failure due to increased charge/discharge cycles.
To properly charge the power bank for the first time, it is recommended to use a not too powerful AC adapter. This will replenish the battery charge in a gentle way.
How long will a charge from a power bank last?
To find out the number of possible charges, you can use a special formula. When calculating, the capacity of the power bank and the minimum self-discharge are taken into account. If operating conditions are violated, the functionality of the battery decreases over time. It is necessary to take into account the fact that a power bank cannot provide 100% of the available energy.
Xiaomi Power Bank
How to achieve 100% battery capacity usage
To use the power bank as efficiently as possible, you need to perform several cycles. This is done with the aim of “boosting” the battery, due to which its upper and lower threshold values are fixed by the electronics. The controller will rely on the received data to turn off the power, protecting the battery from overload or excessive “pumping” of energy.
It is recommended to do the same if the capacity begins to decrease noticeably. Sometimes 2-3 full cycles help to use the battery reserves, after which it begins to work more efficiently. This is especially noticeable during the first year of using a power bank.
Disabling the battery until fully charged
Although this action is not directly prohibited in most instructions, it can actually have negative consequences, especially if done regularly. This applies to both small-capacity gadgets and large power banks with 30-50 thousand mAh batteries.
The built-in indicator will always help you understand that the powerbank is fully charged. If it is made in the form of four LEDs, then they will simply begin to glow without blinking. The digital indicator will display the value at 100 percent and turn off the special icon.
Premature shutdown results in less efficient battery performance and reprogramming of controllers. As a result, they begin to consider the new value as a threshold, and do not allow the battery to discharge and charge to the required level. The user of such a device independently limits its efficiency, which is why it is necessary to connect it to the network more and more often, wasting the resource.
Although occasionally disconnecting from the network adapter before reaching 100% is allowed, you should not abuse this opportunity if you want to extend the life of the purchased power bank.
Connecting a power bank to a power bank
Since a standard Power Bank produces the same voltage as the power supply from a smartphone or tablet, there is no prohibition on charging such devices from each other. However, this process is extremely unprofitable due to the operating principle of the converters.
Inside the power bank, depending on its type, there is one or more batteries with a nominal voltage of 3.7-4.2 V. For the usual connection, a USB output with a voltage of at least 5 V is used. Therefore, the energy received from the built-in batteries increases using special DC converters. They require part of the charge to operate, which leads to losses.
In exactly the same way, the 5V sent to the charging connector of the power bank is converted to a lower voltage in the device being charged. Because of this, total losses can reach 20-40 percent, depending on the quality of the devices and their internal structure. Therefore, manufacturers do not recommend using their developments to connect the same gadgets.
Connecting an external battery to charging
All modern batteries, including lithium-ion and lithium-polymer, are sensitive to deep discharge. Because of this, the process of their degradation can begin much earlier. To avoid this, manufacturers install different types of controllers that block operation when a certain value is reached.
Don't rely on electronics to do their job on time. It is better to monitor the charge level indicator yourself. Most modern budget-class power banks are equipped with it in the form of four LEDs. When only one, the last one, remains glowing, it’s time to connect the gadget to the network.
More expensive models are equipped with a digital indicator displaying percentages. In this case, it is worth connecting the charger at about 10-15 percent to avoid overdischarge, which accelerates battery wear.
The duration of the process of replenishing the battery capacity will depend on the power of the network adapter and the characteristics of the power bank. To find out how long it takes to charge your existing powerbank, just divide its capacity by the power of the charger and add 10-20% for losses caused by voltage conversion.
Indicators to pay attention to
Battery capacity is expressed in mAh. The weight of the power bank and its dimensions depend on it. The latter are characterized by specific energy intensity and low self-discharge current. The choice of a specific model is carried out based on the type of gadget used. Particular attention should be paid to the charging current. It is in the range from 1 to 2 amperes.
Find out the charging time of your battery
Charging Power bank
The line of modern Xiaomi mi power bank models includes devices that contain solar charging panels. Thanks to them, the battery becomes more economical and convenient. Appearance and material of manufacture play a minor role.
The body of the model can be metal or plastic. When choosing the latter variety, special care should be taken. This is due to the risk of overheating, one of the consequences of which is the occurrence of damage. Premium devices include aluminum products. They are characterized by durability and unique design. Among the disadvantages are the lack of differences in shape, noticeable weight and high cost.
Charging POWER BANK K8 990000mah (real capacity 20000)
How to properly prepare a PowerBank for long-term storage
Many people buy power banks just to use them in the summer. During the holidays, you have to be away from civilization, going to undeveloped dachas or going on hikes. With the onset of winter, all equipment is sent to the shelf until the next season, including portable batteries.
To prevent lithium from degrading during long-term storage, you must first charge to 100 percent, and then discharge the power bank by about half . In this state, it can be stored for quite a long time without losing its characteristics.
It would be even better to use the gadget to periodically charge smartphones and tablets so that it does not lie idle. By using it as usual, you won’t have to worry that it will be out of order when the new holiday season begins. In addition, due to constant use, it will be easier to track how much its capacity has decreased in order to replace the device in time if necessary.
In addition, this will help you go through the necessary operating cycles of the device, since it is often used together with a solar battery on long hikes. It allows you to charge a power bank without mains charging, but is unable to bring its capacity to 100 percent due to low power.
How to know if the external battery is charged
How to understand that the device is charged? Most power banks have an indicator that blinks while the device is charging, so in this case, you can easily find out that the battery is charged. Usually, when the battery charge reaches 100%, all device indicators begin to blink. The exact charge can only be obtained from power banks equipped with a digital display.
If you have a homemade Power Bank or you purchased a device without a charging indicator, you can find out that the battery is charged when the power supply ends.
In addition, you can find out the battery charge level using a USB tester. In this case, you will not only find out the battery charge, but also determine the voltage and charging current of the portable device.
What is the best and most reliable way to charge a power bank?
In order for the built-in battery to last as long as possible, it must be charged with a suitable charger. Although manufacturers almost never include this in the kit, they indicate the basic requirements, including power, expressed in amperes, as well as output voltage.
Some models have already “learned” to use high-speed methods of replenishing capacity, which use 9V or 12V chargers to quickly charge the powerbank. But this function is not available to all such gadgets. Most often, a power supply capable of delivering 2 A at 5 V is required.
If desired, you can use less powerful chargers, however, the time spent on replenishing the capacity can increase significantly. This is especially noticeable when charging from laptops, TVs or computers. Almost always, USB ports of such equipment have an output power within 0.5 A, which increases the time spent by approximately four times. Simple calculations show that under the described conditions, a regular 30-50 thousand mAh power bank will take longer to charge than a day.
Some models provide the fastest possible method of replenishing energy reserves. They allow simultaneous charging of the battery built into the power bank with two chargers connected to different connectors. This should be directly stated in the instructions. Otherwise, even if there are a couple of different input connectors, you cannot use them at the same time.
When purchasing a network adapter, you need to look at its manufacturer. Cheap chargers from unknown brands may not meet the stated specifications, but this is far from the main problem. What's worse is that their buck circuits often have no anti-aliasing filters, which results in spurious ripple. The electronics of the power bank itself have to fight it. If its “safety margin” is not enough, it may simply fail. Repair in this case will be impractical, since the entire controller unit will have to be replaced. Therefore, you can charge the powerbank from an outlet only using original branded network adapters.
The same applies to car chargers, which even more often lack the proper level of protection against ripples. By worrying in advance and purchasing high-quality network adapters, you can significantly extend the service life of all charged gadgets, not just power banks.
Is it possible to charge Power Bank and phone at the same time?
In this case, everything depends on the model of the power bank and the instructions attached to it. Some manufacturers explicitly prohibit this because their products are unable to perform these operations simultaneously. If you try to connect a phone to such a power bank while it is charging from the network, most likely the device will overheat and fail. To prevent such an outcome, sometimes protection is built into the electronics, which simply blocks the supply of power to the output connectors if a connection to the network is detected at that moment.
Other manufacturers not only do not prohibit such actions, but even directly allow them in the official instructions. Often this is only possible in expensive branded power banks that have a significant reserve of power from all elements used during production. Partly similar functionality can be found in models with solar panels, since they can initially be charged from sunlight at any time, which means they must be adapted to a similar operating algorithm.
If you try to charge such a powerbank by itself, it will give an error, since these processes are monitored automatically to prevent actions that could harm the device.
How to control the heating level of the case during charging
To prevent your portable power bank from failing due to overheating, you need to monitor how hot it gets during charging. Do not place the device on radiators, radiators or other warm places, including laptop AC adapters or computer power supplies.
In hot weather, it is recommended to use additional cooling. A set of regular computer coolers connected to a separate adapter copes well with this task. Another solution could be a laptop cooling pad.
By adhering to the above tips, anyone can extend the life of even an inexpensive Chinese power bank so much that it will last for several years without failure. This is especially important in the case of branded gadgets, which are sold at a much higher cost.
