TWH - Where did the battery/power banks go?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › TWH - Where did the battery/power banks go?

tchart

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#201859 7-Sep-2016 12:57

I'm after a Tech.Inc batter/power bank from the Warehouse. Problem is I have not seen any lately - the stores I have been to have an "Out of Stock" sticker showing. They have disappeared off the website too.

The reason I want these specific ones is that they are "always on" so can continuously power IOT devices (ESP8266 etc). Others tend to power off after a while which is of no use.

Pure speculation but was there a recall that I missed or have they just run out of stock?

Even took me a while to track down a picture of said power bank.

tchart

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#1625044 7-Sep-2016 13:07

Rappelle:

Might be more to it for the specific brand, but I believe most power bank stock got bought when the Pokemon game came to mobile

That occurred to me too. Bit weird that they disappeared off the website too. I'll keep an eye out for new stock.

sidefx

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#1625047 7-Sep-2016 13:17

So you're using them as a kind of mini UPS?

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tchart

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#1625057 7-Sep-2016 13:34

sidefx:

So you're using them as a kind of mini UPS?

Yeah kind of - for USB powered devices. Application is IOT at my gate which has no power and is 100m away from the house.

The problem is most power banks turn off when the draw plateaus. Most "off grid" IOT tutorials I've seen wire in a resistor to draw a dummy load to keep the power bank on.

These Tech.Inc power banks didn't need that as they are always on (they have no on button too).

timmmay

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#1625060 7-Sep-2016 13:40

Just get yourself a 12V SLA battery and a car USB adapter (alternate here). Long thread here about this approach.

tchart

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#1625063 7-Sep-2016 13:46

timmmay:

Just get yourself a 12V SLA battery and a car USB adapter (alternate here). Long thread here about this approach.

Thanks @timmmay, I have something similar in my shed already (trickle charges from a small solar panel).

Ideally I need something a bit more stealthy at the gate that someone wouldn't nick!

sidefx

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#1625077 7-Sep-2016 14:10

tchart:

sidefx:

So you're using them as a kind of mini UPS?

Yeah kind of - for USB powered devices. Application is IOT at my gate which has no power and is 100m away from the house.

Ah so it's not plugged in while in operation? Sorry I thought you might be running some IOT device through it while the powerbank was plugged in as a kind of IOT UPS - was going to say it sounded like a cool idea but not sure power banks are designed to work like that 0 But it sounds like you're actually using it as a battery\powerbank? Don't you have to keep swapping it out to recharge it? Sorry, just curious as it still sound interesting :)

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tchart

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#1625108 7-Sep-2016 15:30

sidefx:

Don't you have to keep swapping it out to recharge it? Sorry, just curious as it still sound interesting :)

All good @sidefx. The power bank will be charged by a solar panel but I still need to work that side out :D

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1eStar

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#1625197 7-Sep-2016 17:13

I have a 20Ah Pineng brand power bank that stays on regardless of load, however also have a 6.6Ah pack of same brand that switches off.

It sounds like what you are looking for is one that supports pass-through-charging if you are hoping to power it by solar eventually.