Might just bite the bullet and order it in.

How do domestic distributors ship power banks to retailers in NZ?

Shadowfoot: Last week an Anker 20,000 mAh power cell arrived for me from AliExpress without any problems.

How long did it take from order to door?

dias87:

 

Shadowfoot: Last week an Anker 20,000 mAh power cell arrived for me from AliExpress without any problems.

 

How long did it take from order to door?

 

Ordered: 2018-07-23

Shipping started: 2018-07-24

Delivered: 2018-08-04 (to the office while I was out of town)

This is the powerbank https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Anker-Power-Bank-20000mAh-Fast-Charge-5V-3A-Battery-Pack-Powerbank-USB-Charger-for-iPhone-Samsung/32846795221.html

dias87:

Been lurking around these forums for a few months now and I am looking for any advice in importing power banks from China, specifically Aliexpress.

sbiddle:

Having said that though, over the past year or so neither Anker or Ravpower have introduced a lot of innovation to the market. If you're a typical Android user (excluding some devices such as Huawei which have their own standard) you'll want something with QC3.0 support to deliver the fastest charging speeds. Likewise most new laptops from this year are now all USB-C PD and you need a minimum 30W PD to charge a laptop.

neb:

dias87:

 

Been lurking around these forums for a few months now and I am looking for any advice in importing power banks from China, specifically Aliexpress.

 

So you're taking something that has the potential to be a powerful incendiary device if it's not designed and assembled correctly using components from reputable vendors, and buying it from a place that's notorious for dodgily-engineered, badly-built devices from dubious sources?

This is for personal use, not commercial.

I am looking at the ZMI 10 which has reputable reviews.

I've bought Xiaomi powerbanks off AliExpress before without a second thought, never had any issues with them not getting here. That would be over a year now since the last one I bought though, so maybe things have changed recently. 

dias87:

This is for personal use, not commercial.

 

I am looking at the ZMI 10 which has reputable reviews.

sbiddle:

 

Every good powerbank will have the Wh printed on it as this is now legally required to comply with aviation rules. As a general rule of thumb most powerbanks use 3.8V cells so the conversion is to multiply the mAh rating by 3.8 to get Wh. 

 

Ankers have Wh rating. I've been using 3.7V to convert as most cells (Samsung/Sanyo/LG) have 3.6V or 3.7V as nominal voltage.

nitro:

 

sbiddle:

 

Every good powerbank will have the Wh printed on it as this is now legally required to comply with aviation rules. As a general rule of thumb most powerbanks use 3.8V cells so the conversion is to multiply the mAh rating by 3.8 to get Wh. 

 

 

Ankers have Wh rating. I've been using 3.7V to convert as most cells (Samsung/Sanyo/LG) have 3.6V or 3.7V as nominal voltage.

 

 

 

Oops my bad I meant 3.7 not 3.8. 26800 mAh is the maximum you can take on a plane under normal circumstances.

wratterus:

 

I've bought Xiaomi powerbanks off AliExpress before without a second thought, never had any issues with them not getting here. That would be over a year now since the last one I bought though, so maybe things have changed recently. 

 

Lots of new IATA rules came into effect on the 1st January 2018 that place a lot of additonal restrictions on the carriage of lithium batteries. Even more rules come into effect on the 1st January 2019.

It is simply not legal to ship powerbanks the way some retailers and sellers are - and that's only going to result in even tougher restrictions.

I was chatting to somebody at an Air NZ recently and they're amazed at the numbers of powerbanks still confiscated daily in baggage by Avsec despite the fact people have either been asked (if checking in face to face) or has to click a big yes/no on a kiosk declaring whether you have restricted items including powerbanks. They end up copping flack from passengers when their equipment is confiscated and seem to forget they're the ones who have ignored the rules packing their bags, and then ignored warnings at check-in.

I'm afraid that some courier companies turn a blind eye to carting dangerous goods. A company I used to work for ordered and had delivered (without any special safety precautions) at least one container of hydroflouric acid. That crap is deadly.

I'd never considered a power bank not being allowed on a plane....

Looking at Air NZ's page above there, they say anything for personal use under 100Wh is allowed in carry on. 

That covers basically all powerbanks, even (for example) a Makita 18v 5Ah battery is only 90Wh. 

Or am I misunderstanding that?