Battery recharger - robust

[Clanton]

I am after a fairly lightweight, decent but overall robust battery recharger. I had a Proporta one which did the job but the recharging port (for the pack) failed after a few trips so I can no longer recharge it.

Any recommendations? I am thinking in particular of a nine day stage race I have coming up where I want to recharge my Garmin multiple times from it....

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm liking Zendure packs - not cheap but seem to be very well made and with decent capacities / charging rates. Auto off / on is a nice touch for the forgetful too.

[pistonbroke]

Interesting that Zendure confirm pass-through charging which is a big plus if it's hooked up to a hub Dynamo and powering a Gps at the same time. They state input wattage of 10W which is beyond the output of hub dynamos, is this an issue? Also the input plug seems to be a micro usb. For me, the perfect setup would be a mini as it would suit my Kemo without additional adapters. Am I right in this Stu?

[Bearbonesnorm]

They state input wattage of 10W which is beyond the output of hub dynamos, is this an issue?

It charges fine from a dynamo.

Interesting that Zendure confirm pass-through charging which is a big plus if it's hooked up to a hub Dynamo and powering a Gps at the same time.

I did have an issue here. With the dynamo plugged into a prototype control box, then into the battery, my edge 200 kept telling me that it had lost external power at low speeds. However, running it straight off the battery was fine. I know the control box works as it'll charge a phone etc without any trouble, which leads me to think the battery may not be as 'pass through' as we'd like. I'm still not quite sure what's going on there yet.

Also the input plug seems to be a micro usb

I'm actually not sure. The input connector on the supplied lead is certainly small but I don't know the difference between micro and mini. I can tell you the output is standard, full-fat usb if that's any help.

[dlovett]

SON Hub split to Revo and Ewerk. Ewerk to Zendure, Zendure to Garmin or iPhone/android. Zero button pushing, everything just works. Zero issues. The Zendure is the best made usb pack I have every owned and I've had a few!

[ianfitz]

Maplins sell a little thing called a juice cube. only 2000mah but uses micro usb (same as garmin etc) and does pass through. Its also quite a useful cube shape. Not that you'd guess that from the name!

[dlovett]

Maplins sell a little thing called a juice cube. only 2000mah but uses micro usb (same as garmin etc) and does pass through. Its also quite a useful cube shape. Not that you'd guess that from the name!

They have them for under a fiver every so often, worth watching out for. Normally the crap colours though.

Still under a fiver.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/juice-cube-20 ... lack-a38na

[BigdummySteve]

I use this bat
PortaPow 10200 mAh SmartCharge Slim USB Battery with Built-In Cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EI5GTXY/ ... Hyb0X57409

It's been great,charging from dyno and solar panels. Unlike some I tried it doesn't discharge itself into a panel if connected on dull days

[BreninBeener]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone used a Maplin Cemo charge controller? They seem a good price but there is only one review which isnt great. Idea is to use it to charge a battery pack, and use that at stops to charge garmin etc.

Thanks

[ianfitz]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone used a Maplin Cemo charge controller? They seem a good price but there is only one review which isnt great. Idea is to use it to charge a battery pack, and use that at stops to charge garmin etc.

Thanks

Kemo? Yes, they are fine. Not so robust as some options but do the job

[BreninBeener]

Oops, yes Kemo!

They seem remarkable value in comparison to other offerings. What would i get by spending more on something else?

[pistonbroke]

I've got 2 of the small ones which have worked well. They're simple to wire up to a Revo and power bank setup which keeps my GPS from having a funny turn when I stop. The added bonus is that it is exactly the same width as a juice cube mentioned earlier so can be stuck to the casing forming a very neat small unit that can be sited under the stem. They seem pretty efficient and robust and for what I want, do the job perfectly.

[DoctorRad]

They state input wattage of 10W which is beyond the output of hub dynamos, is this an issue?

It charges fine from a dynamo.

Interesting that Zendure confirm pass-through charging which is a big plus if it's hooked up to a hub Dynamo and powering a Gps at the same time.

I did have an issue here.

I have a first-gen Zendure (from Kickstarter) and several of the PortaPow USB batteries with the built-in cables. My findings are that when charging from a source which doesn't give high and/or constant current (in my case a '7W' PortaPow solar charger) the Zendure would get itself into a state whereby it wouldn't register a charge level higher than '2 lights out of 4' until it was plugged into a high-current charge source. The PortaPow batteries seem to be much better equipped to trickle charge from less robust sources.

One big advantage of the Zendures over many other designs is the 'auto-on' facility, which means you can bury it in a pack and largely forget about it. The PortaPow batteries have to be turned on manually to start providing juice.

Also the input plug seems to be a micro usb

Both my Zendure and PortaPow batteries have a Micro-USB input, i.e. the same as 99% of Android mobile phones (pre-Micro-USB-C a la Google Pixel).

[BreninBeener]

A quick google looks like a Zendure 10000mAh is £30+, and a Portapow in same capacity is £15. Im thinking Portapow as it seems to cope well with fluctuating charging current.

[DoctorRad]

A quick google looks like a Zendure 10000mAh is £30+, and a Portapow in same capacity is £15. Im thinking Portapow as it seems to cope well with fluctuating charging current.

Yep, but you'll need access to the switch. An outer pocket with a transparent window on a bag might work well.

[BreninBeener]

As im just about to buy a disc dynamo hub, i really fancy the Shimano. I will go for q/r and 36h but there appears a bewildering array of options. Id like 6v and 3w, obviously lighter is nicer....which one do i buy?

Any recommendantions?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Id like 6v and 3w,

Don't buy anything else.

I'm running a DH-3D32. It's certainly not the lightest option but it's 6 bolt disc and compared to most dynamo hubs, it's cheap. I don't notice the weight and it works really well.

[DoctorRad]

Sorry for slight thread hijack, but what's the current consensus on a good value dynamo-to-USB converter widget?

[pistonbroke]

Pay attention Bond.
As mentioned above, the Zumo device, available from Maplins is a fraction of the cost of EWerk, and the one which replaces the stem cap whose name I've forgotten. The big output one has a separate USB lead which increases its versatility whilst the small one has a mini USB but comes with a micro adapter to connect to virtually all the current crop of power banks. I've used mine for about 4 years without problem. It also has an output to power a dynamo light such as a Revo but you can't charge devices and power the light at the same time.
Edit. Stem cap one is a Supernova Plug 3

[dlovett]

Sorry for slight thread hijack, but what's the current consensus on a good value dynamo-to-USB converter widget?

B&M E-werk

[Mariner]

B&M E-werk

Or a B&M E-werk usb - has the cache built not as an extra.

[DoctorRad]

Im thinking Portapow as it seems to cope well with fluctuating charging current.

I had a brainwave while I was out riding today, and confirmed it when I got home: as long as the PortaPow is receiving enough charge current, the electronics will be 'switched on' and the battery will therefore also supply current. So you don't need to switch the battery on in order to charge a device if it's receiving current. If the battery is receiving more current than it's putting out it will be charging.

I use a smartphone for navigation (Android with Oruxmaps). If my phone is fully charged - I top it up before I ride - is draws about 0.1A to run itself and keep the battery topped off. So if we're getting say 700-800mA (= 0.7 to 0.8A) from a USB dynamo regulator, that's around 0.6A to charge the battery (minus regulator losses). If the phone is properly charging, it'll pull about 1.2A from the battery which will be discharging until the phone is fully charged.

[BreninBeener]

Thats good news about the powerpack. Mine has just arrived in the post

[DoctorRad]

Just found this, might be of interest: Keeping your USB battery alive with a low output load.