Portable Powerbanks vs. Solar Powerbank chargers?

LYRICALRAVER on 15/11/2014 - 23:00

Ok, I've decided to buy a Powerbank charger gadget for charging my mobile phone when I'm out and about for a long time, e.g camping etc.. but now I've got 2 (or more) choices?

the first is a portable AC adapter type : on sale now at Aldi:

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/wednesday-19-novembe…

and the other is a solar powered charger powerbank. at miniinthebox or lightinthebox online stores?

Which one is better in terms of longer lasting power or and ultimately more cost-effective in the long run??

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Woodyg22 on 15/11/2014 - 23:52

    I bought an Opteka Powerbank/Solar charger for $25 (was 75% off so retail of $100).
    Good brand and has a 4000mAh battery built in as well.

    Saved me countless times but can't say any of those times were because of the solar panel on it.. Sure it might charge the thing a little but I've never been able to get enough charge into it from the sun to actually be of any use. Friend bought one and found the same.

    You'd need at least one of these which actually looks quite good and happens to be on sale.

    YMMV I've only had this one solar charger so as mentioned sample size of 1 (or 2).

  • kathmandu-jeff on 16/11/2014 - 14:54

    Your better of getting a large capacity battery pack than a solar powered one because they take forever to recharge.

  • ty2050 on 05/12/2014 - 06:33

    You're way better off with a larger capacity ones. Keep these things in mind when picking a winner. (5000-15000mah)
    1. You want lithium ion. (Last longer more recharge cycles)
    2. The extra cost of an solar panel will cost more then charging the battery 200-700 times.
    3. Leaving a battery out in the sun will decay the cells quickly. (Look at dashcams they use capacitors now because battery's get destroyed in staya's sun)
    4. The solar panel adds unessary size with very minimal levels of charge. Probably take 3-4 days of sun to fully charge a bank depending of size and wattage of solar panel.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/12/2014 - 16:03
    +1

    Agreed with the large capacity powerbank.

    It also depends on what you want to power, how long away from a power socket you expect to be and what kind of environment you will be in (for solar).

    A xiaomi 10500mah powerbank can charge a typical smart phone at least 3 times.

    If you are going camping, outdoors with your car, for anything less than 7 days you can bring a powerpack with you. Scale up with the number of devices and number of days you will be missing.
    Once the weight/cost/size approaches the weight/cost/size of a petrol generator you might want to switch to just that.

    If you are doing superlight long distance hiking, you want something to charge your GPS device then you might be better served with a solar charger. It is going to be useless in forested areas though.

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